Raymond LaVare ’27

Analyzing Primary Sources: How Artists Manipulate the Reactions of Their Audiences, An Examination of Ghost World and Bojack Horseman

 

My favorite thing about watching television is sharing it with my friends and family. I am always eager to see their reactions to my favorite scenes, and to hear their unique interpretations of the plot. Recently, I watched the film Ghost World with my mom. I made my “famous” popcorn, and we snuggled up in her bed. When I started the movie, my mom turned to me and prefaced it with, “Remember, this was made in 2001.” I didn’t completely understand what she meant by that at first, but I would soon find out.

Ghost World follows Enid (Thora Birch), a young outcast who recently graduated from high school. Over the summer, she meets Seymour (Steve Buscemi), an eccentric middle-aged man. He is portrayed as a sympathetic man with no friends or family, but Enid helps him come out of his shell. On the surface they form a wholesome friendship, as she becomes determined to find him love. The plot culminates into a scene where Enid turns to Seymour for solace after she feels like everyone else has abandoned her. She drinks alcohol, and they retire to his room. This is when, to my complete astonishment, they have sex. I didn’t realize this was a romance movie right up until the two main characters kissed, and I screamed “EWWW” as soon as it happened. I said to my mom, “This is an interesting subversion that I am open to, as long as they condemn Seymour’s actions.” The problem was that Enid was drunk while Seymour was sober, and that she came to him for comfort after she felt abandoned by everyone close to her. It is a clear example of statutory rape.

I was utterly confused. I looked up others’ reactions to the sex scene, but did not find much published criticism of this relationship. The consensus online was that it didn’t feel creepy because they had such a strong bond. I felt a similar way about their friendship, but definitely not about a potential romantic relationship. I didn’t even consider the possibility of this outcome, because it felt so out of place in the movie. The age gap was problematic, but technically legal. But to my surprise, Seymour is portrayed sympathetically all the way to the end of the film, and the audience reaction to Ghost World was uniformly positive.

There are a couple possible reasons why Enid and Seymour’s relationship in Ghost World was well received by its audience. It is a coming of age romcom with heavy themes of rebellion and punk rock culture, and its target audience was alternative young girls in the early 2000s. It primarily revolves around the transition period after graduating high school, which appeals to young adults. Enid thinks she is much more mature than other people her age, which is a common belief among this demographic. The audience relates to Enid, so they are susceptible to agreeing with what she does in the movie.

This leads me to the next reason the film found blanket acceptance, which is framing. Seymour is entrenched as a sympathetic character throughout the movie; he is self deprecating, depressed, socially awkward, and lonely. Enid spends time with him out of pity at first, but soon she finds many similarities between them. Most of the movie is spent establishing this strong bond between the two, with hours of context justifying their relationship. Writes Roger Ebert, “Seymour and Enid connect because they are kindred spirits, and it’s hard to find someone like that when you’ve cut yourself off from mankind.” When they have sex near the end of the movie, there is no indication to the audience that what he did was fundamentally wrong. Enid is neutral about the situation, while Seymour is angry when she stops contacting him. He faces consequences for other actions in the movie–but nothing directly related to having sex with Enid. By not addressing the moral implications of their relationship, it gives the impression to the susceptible audience that it was unproblematic.

The final reason why Enid and Seymour’s relationship was received well by its audience is the artist’s intention. The movie Ghost World was based on a 1995 graphic novel series of the same name. The director of the movie adaptation is Terry Zwigoff, who adapted the screenplay from the graphic novels. Seymour was actually a character created by Zwigoff by combining actions of multiple characters in the graphic novel series, and making a whole new character exclusively for the movie. Zwigoff is often compared to Seymour in articles and movie reviews, citing their similar views, niche interests and mannerisms (Ebert). Zwigoff even admits to adding elements of himself to the Seymour character (Filmmaker Magazine). By creating this character that is very similar to himself, it’s easy to imagine that he would have a motive to portray Seymour and his actions in a positive light.

*

A complementary example of a creator guiding, even manipulating, their audience’s reaction, comes from my favorite television show, BoJack Horseman, a 2015 adult animated phycological comedy. The story follows the fifty year old washed up TV star BoJack Horseman, along with his declining mental health and substance abuse problems. He is a very morally gray character, often portrayed as the bad guy in most situations. The audience is often rooting for him to get sober and to be a better person, but this was challenged in season two episode eleven, entitled “Escape from L.A.”

To escape his responsibilities, BoJack drives from Los Angeles to New Mexico to find his old friend Charlotte, who he had a crush on long ago. She now has a family, including her seventeen year old daughter Penny. Penny offers to have sex with BoJack, which he declines. BoJack then shares a moment with Charlotte, and confesses his love for her. She declines his overture, and tells him to leave. Later, Charlotte hears whispers from BoJack’s room and catches BoJack and Penny undressing. She tells BoJack that if he doesn’t leave, she will call the police.

The reason why people kept watching BoJack Horseman is the collective hope that BoJack will be redeemed. This episode caused a massive divide in the fandom, one side saying they are done rooting for him, and this act was inexcusable, and the other side saying this was his lowest point and yet he can still be redeemed if he puts in the effort. The overall consensus of this plot line is that it is the worst thing BoJack did in the series, and it will have long lasting consequences for him. Interestingly, considering how similar the situations were, the audience reactions to Ghost World and BoJack Horseman were wildly different. It all comes down to, again, target audience, framing and artist intention.

BoJack Horseman is an adult animated show with themes of mental health, the human condition, addiction, and social issues. This show is targeted toward adults, who are presumably more critical of the media they consume. This has led the show to a robust fan base, that’s often in discussion online. As for framing, the intention behind this plotline was to show BoJack at his lowest. Throughout the episode, multiple characters, including BoJack himself, question whether it’s strange for him to spend time with Penny, because of their age gap. BoJack also outright refuses sex with Penny at first, acknowledging that it is wrong.

Raphel Bob-Walksburg, the creator of BoJack Horseman wanted to question his audience’s sympathy towards BoJack by pushing this boundary between right and wrong. He shares, “There was a lot of conversation about ‘how bad do we want BoJack to be in this episode? Is there a point of no return, are we concerned that we’re going to lose some of our audience over this? Are we pushing these characters too far into the realm of the unforgivable?’” (Framke). Raphael Bob-Walksburg and his team were writing BoJack Horseman based on the live reaction of the online fanbase as each season was released. The intention of the episode “Escape From L.A.” was to show BoJack at his lowest point and to have the audience question whether he could be redeemed at all. Bob-Walksburg continues, “A big thing we talked about, too, was the idea that this will have consequences emotionally, maybe that we haven’t seen yet. Going into season three, this is that thing that happened ” (VanDerrWerf). Bob-Walksburg wanted a big negative audience reaction, which is why he made the episode “Escape From L.A.” The writing team for BoJack Horseman ultimately portrays an age gap relationship without condoning it, whereas Ghost World does.

As an audience, we have to be aware of when we are being told what to think. “The arts, it has been said, cannot change the world, but they may change human beings who might change the world”(Greene).  Artists use devices, like the ones discussed here to shape the opinion of their audience, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s okay to agree with the original intention of the artist, but it’s ideal to shape one’s own opinion in response, too. In the essay Protecting the Bookshelf: Reading at the Intersection of Art and Morality,  Elizabeth Schaffer explores, “How do we evaluate and interact with “good” art by “bad” people?” (Schaffer). I think it is possible to enjoy art made by “bad” people, as long as we acknowledge it. There are also ways to enjoy art, without directly supporting the original artist. The beauty of art is how it can be interpreted in infinite ways.

So, the next time you sit down to watch a movie, notice the ways you might be being told what to think–and form your own opinion instead. Trust me, it’s a lot more interesting that way.

Works Cited

Ebert, R. (2001, August 3). Ghost World Movie Review & Film Summary (2001): Roger Ebert. movie review & film summary (2001) | Roger Ebert. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ghost-world-2001

Framke, C. (2020, February 4). “BoJack Horseman” creator on the show’s end and 10 iconic episodes. Variety. https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/bojack-horseman-season-6-series-finale-raphael-bob-waksberg-interview-1203489536/

Pride, R. (2012, December 7). Request - filmmaker magazine. Filmmaker Magazine | Publication with a focus on independent film, offering articles, links, and resources. https://filmmakermagazine.com/archives/issues/summer2001/features/spirits_move.php#.VstenpMrKL12

Schaffer, E. (2019). Protecting the Bookshelf: Reading at the Intersection of Art and Morality. umich.edu. https://lsa.umich.edu/content/dam/english-assets/migrated/honors_files/Schaffer,%20Elizabeth_Thesis.pdf

Tobias, S. (2021, July 20). Ghost world at 20: The comic-book movie that refused to conform. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jul/20/ghost-world-daniel-clowes-thora-birch-scarlett-johansson

James, E. St. (2015, August 23). Why is BoJack Horseman, Netflix’s best show, so very good? Let’s ask its creator! Vox. https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.vox.com/2015/8/23/9186237/bojack-horseman-netflix-interview&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1715396362759884&usg=AOvVaw06cwLtJtdbV_Wel55LFWUu