Ghost | Jerry Zucker
This movie takes my wonder of a clairvoyant gift and expands it 1,000 times stronger. Ever since my mom died, I have wondered at ways to communicate with her that could most closely resemble the human experience. Her hugs, her voice, her smile, all of her that I could understand unlike the spirit that I so often can’t. So, I watched this movie fully embracing that longing and relishing the ways the spiritual connection grew between Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and Whoopi Goldberg. At times I wished I was Demi and, at other times, Whoopi. Xnay the fraud, murder, betrayal, risk of death, etc for sure, but oh the tender moments of connection that tap into the awe of life after death? Give it to me.
I will say, having not seen the film before starting my delight exploration, I was curious if Ross Gay and Rick Aviles (who played the villainous Willie Lopez) were in fact dopplegangers (as Gay mentions in the essay). I believe they are. I did multiple double takes and cringed when Lopez did pretty much anything cause it was like all bad. I can only imagine the way that might carry a haunting even when there is a thick swath of fiction between the two people. The delight Gay describes in his essay sits within the context of Ghost, not of the film itself, which makes sense. Could one feel delighted to be the doppleganger of a villain who does not have a full story arc or much complexity and gets consumed by shadow demons? Can’t say I would feel delighted. And there is something delightful in knowing that negative associations can exist deep within anything, and don’t have to be fixed. Disdain and tenderness can exist in Ghost for Gay just like sadness and tenderness can exist in Ghost for me.
To add to the list of topics to chat with my mom about. The movie, Ghost.
[Book of Delights pg. 96 | No. 31 Ghost]