David Clowes' Ghost World and Terry Zwigoff's Ghost World: Society's Demands for Differing Genres

When the average American sits down in a darkened movie theater with his or her popcorn, pop, Goobers, Twizzlers, or even nachos, the average individual expects to see a streamlined storyline with obvious beginning, middle, and end. At least some characters should be likeable, if not all, or at least understandable.

When the average graphic novel reader sits down to a new comic book, he or she may not necessarily expect quick resolution. Because of the very nature of monthly issues, or sporadically released collections, all conflicts do not come to an end by the last page of an issue or book. Characters may or may not be understandable or likeable or even interesting, depending on the genre of comic book.

The differences between the genres of film and comic books are multi-faceted, but it is really the difference between their audiences that allow for such different qualities to exist. Because of their continuing maligned status, perhaps comic book readers are more open to the different, the new, and the extreme than the non-comic book reading movie-goer.

Stories do not always need an ending and characters do not always need to be likeable, or good or perfect. Action and dialogue do not always need to be quick and continuous. Ghost World is the perfect example of how these two different audiences shaped the original comic version of the story and then the adapted movie version.

Ghost World was first published in Eightball issue number eleven in June 1993 by Daniel Clowes. Clowes, having developed the comic magazine in 1989, was classified as an underground comic artist due to his subject matter - or perhaps lack of certain subjects, mainly costumed superheroes. Eightball was a regularly published magazine that included different stories of Clowes' ("Eightball," Wikipedia). Ghost World was one of, if not the, most popular and well-known storylines to come out of Eightball, eventually becoming published in a hardbound collection, softbound collection, and in German and Japanese ("Ghost World," Cover Gallery).

Not only was it circulated widely, soon appearing on mainstream booksellers shelves such as Barnes & Nobles, but it was also adapted into a full length movie. There are many differences in storyline between the comic and movie versions, and though many individuals may balk at the idea of printed versions of works being altered, Clowes co-wrote the script with the director, Terry Zwigoff, neutralizing the printed versus film argument that so often occurs with fans of the original work. While criticizing the changes that were made is a moot point, examining why they were made is a worthwhile, analytical venture (Zwigoff, "Making of Ghost World" Featurette).

Ghost World introduces the reader and/or viewer to two recent high school graduates Enid and Rebecca. Often described in reviews of the film as "losers" or "outcasts," Ghost World shows the ups and downs of these two eighteen-year-old girls friendship and their struggle to find a way to exist in a society that does not understand them ("Ghost World," Rotten Tomatoes). They spend their free time often following and investigating the odder members of their community, including a couple they believe are Satanists and an older man who places a personal ad in the paper, among others (Clowes, pg. 13).

It is the use of the lonely man character that changes the print form of the comic drastically from the film. In both forms, Enid and Rebecca discover a man's personal ad in the paper describing an encounter with an unknown woman and asking the woman to contact him. The girls, who live by their own definition of fun, decide to call and impersonate the woman from the ad to set up a fake date at a nearby diner.

The girls return to the diner for the fake date and observe the forty-something man. This is where the similarities end between both versions (Clowes, pg. 42-47). In the film the girls follow the man when he leaves, eventually finding where he lives. Enid becomes more and more interested in learning about him, and eventually befriends him after learning his name is Seymour at a garage sale. Seymour and Enid's relationship continues to escalate, eventually leading to sex and talk of moving in together (Zwigoff, Ghost World).

This relationship is a crucial defining change between the print and film version because in the print version this never occurs. The girls watch the man, but are eventually discovered. They do feel remorse for the cruel joke they have played on him, but there it is quickly forgotten when they find a new fixation (Clowes, pg. 45-48). In the film version, this relationship is the movie. The personal ad is discovered a mere eleven minutes and thirty seconds into the film and the prank follows a minute and a half later.

Enid's obsession escalates and soon the film is about Enid and Seymour's relationship, no longer focusing on only Enid and Rebecca (Zwigoff, 11:30). Enid and Seymour's relationship, while surprising and far from societal norms, makes Enid a more likeable character. In the comic she is cruel and abrasive, and while she retains the abrasive quality in the film, she does not seem as cruel. She is much more remorseful about what she has done to Seymour, and the other similar pranks she plays on people do not exist.

For example, in the comic there is an astrologist character named Bob Skeetes who tells Enid that he fantasizes that the Satanist couple are actually in an incestuous relationship (Clowes, pg. 13). Using one of Skeetes' business cards for his astrological readings, Enid prank calls him and threatens:

Listen Skeetes, I'm on to you…I know about you and those Satanists…I've been watching you…and I saw what you did…I've seen you at Angels, Skeetes…you're not fooling anybody with that toupee…I think…(Clowes, pg. 28)

After the call Enid feels little to no remorse for what she has done, only thinking of her own fun in life. She even has either the audacity or obliviousness to question where Skeetes is when he no longer is found in the diner called Angels (Clowes, Pg. 48). She attempts to call him later in the book, but only to amuse herself and finds that his number is no longer in service (Clowes, pg. 51).

It is this continuous lack of compassion that makes Enid a very hard character to like and ultimately feel sympathy for when she experiences rough relational problems with her family, Rebecca, and their friend Josh, the latter two who ultimately lead to her leave town abruptly on a bus at the comic's end (Clowes, 76-80).

In the film, however, seeing Enid in a relationship and seeing her care for someone very deeply adds a layer of humanity to an otherwise callous and jaded person. When Enid leaves in the final seen, the viewer is sad to see her go, unlike in the comic book where the reader is perhaps confused and unnerved by Enid's obvious mood and mental instability.

Rebecca too is given a makeover in the film version into a more likeable and definitely more identifiable character. In the film Enid and Rebecca have plans to move into an apartment together. Neither is going to college nor wants to. Rebecca finds a job relatively quickly after graduation at a Starbucks-like establishment, yet Enid is reluctant to find a job, and when she does she is actually fired on the first day. Here Rebecca is portrayed as very level headed and responsible. She may be crude and heartless at times, but she has a goal, as opposed to Enid who seems content to wander the streets of their town practicing her own form of social psychology (Zwigoff, 1:31:36).

The comic, however, reverses the roles. Enid is applying to a prestigious college - at first because of her father, but then she actually beings to enjoy the prospect (Clowes, pg. 24, 72-75). Becky, on the other hand, never speaks of any plans at all and her job at the coffee shop is nowhere near as important to her as it is in the film. She has even less direction than the film version of Enid, who at least attempts to go to an art academy at one point (Zwigoff, 1:24:06).

Why were these subtle character changes enacted? The simplest explanation is the issue of distribution stated above - films (aside from the rare pre-planned series) contain story arcs that are watched in one sitting whereas comic story arcs can take months to years to complete. A small dosage of the uncaring, unappealing person that is comic book form Enid is much more tolerable because it comes in small amounts. Films present a character's story in one sitting and likeable characters are key if the audience is going to relate and enjoy the film.

A much larger portion of the audience is also much more likely to relate to two characters struggle to make it in the real world, rather than two characters struggle to define their own world. In his book The Abandoned Generation: Democracy Beyond the Culture of Fear, author Henry Giroux writes:

Enid many live in a world of existential angst, but her anger seems to be so diffuse as to be meaningless. Why is it she displays so little understanding of an economic order in which the future for young people like herself seems to offer up nothing more than the promise of fast food jobs and low-skilled labor? Why is it that few commentators on the film in the national media point out that both Enid and Rebecca seem to define their sense of agency exclusively around consuming, whether it be housewares of bohemian artifacts? (Giroux, pg. 116.)

The meaningless anger that Giroux focuses on is in reality much more toned down in the film than the graphic novel, and Enid and Rebecca's materialism is increased in the film. One of the things about Seymour that attracts Enid is all of his old fashioned possessions. Upon first seeing his record collection room, she exclaims, "This is like my dream room…look at all this stuff. You are like the luckiest guy in the world," and it is Seymour, not Enid that quips, "You think it's healthy to obsessively collect things (Zwigoff, 41:10)?"

Enid, who seems to be intent on breaking every mainstream societal norm that exists, is yet still so blinded by material goods that she cannot see how hypocritical she is gushing over Seymour's possessions. This is a perfect example of the many instances where Enid's character overhaul from comic to film has made her a more relatable character. In today's American society, the focuses is on wealth, possessions, and the struggle to obtain, and Enid and Rebecca's unconscious adherence to this value in the film version is essential for creating shared experiences between the audience and the characters.

Besides obvious character overhaul, characters were also made more likeable by rearranging the chronology of the story. Because Clowes was publishing a short section of Ghost World at a time, chronology may not have been his top priority. Readers may be less likely to remember or even care when certain events occurred due to the long periods of time in between each section's publication. However, when viewing a storyline all at once, significance can be given to events if they appear in a certain order. One example of this is Enid's yard sale. In the print form, the second section features Enid having a yard sale for no apparent reason.

The yard sale mainly illustrates her impulsive, irresponsible nature. She decides to sell things that have deep significance to her, things that Rebecca cannot believe she is selling, then proceeds to leave all her belongings out in the yard when she changes her mind and decides Rebecca must see the Satanists at the diner right away (Clowes, pg. 15-20). In the film, however, Enid decides to have the yard sale as a way to raise money for her contribution to the apartment (Zwigoff, 1:02:06). While the portrayal of Enid as just as sentimental as the rest of humanity (she is unable to see a single possession in both versions), it is the addition of meaning behind the yard sale in the film that allows the audience to relate better to Enid as a character.

Clowes played a large part in both versions of his story Ghost World. However, it is the audience and the time span for each version which dictates the changes that were made. Perhaps Clowes did not have every detail of Ghost World planned when he was writing it for Eightball and when he was writing the movie he was forced to consider how the audience would take in the storyline as a whole, eventually producing the changes.

Or perhaps Zwigoff was worried the film would not sell without the extra dimension that Enid and Seymour's relationship gave to the characters and the film. For whatever reason the changes occurred, the outcome was two characters that appears the same on the surface, but actually differed greatly under careful dissection. Both versions of Ghost World cater to a different audience with a different viewing experience, and both versions succeed due to the adaptations.