Ghost World Review

Messages: Although there are positive messages about friendship -- the protagonists are loyal to each other -- there are also negative messages that in order to be hip you have to be a slacker who doesn't go to college, care about work, or much of anything other than making fun of other people.

Role models: Enid, in particular, shows a great contempt for most people, calling everyone "stupid" and saying she "hates everyone." Besides Becky, her only friend is Seymour, who also lives in an insular world surrounded only by people who like the exact same things as he. Enid is irresponsible, refuses to hold down a job, and has a superiority complex but is also strong, opinionated, impervious to peer pressure, and a loyal friend to Seymour until she sleeps with him. Becky is a good role model for an unconditional friend who isn't afraid to confront or criticize her friend when it's appropriate.

Violence: Not an issue

Sex: An 18-year-old sleeps with a much older man but all that's shown is a brief kiss in one scene and then the two (covered up) in bed the next. An adult couple flirts, dances. Enid and Becky discuss relationships and joke about virginity, past boyfriends. Enid drags Seymour into a XXX store to make fun of its patrons.

Language: Frequently used words include "f--k," "s--t," "assh--e," and the occasional "c--t" and "pu--y." "God damn!" is also said fairly often.

Consumerism: Not an issue

Drinking, drugs and smoking: Teenage girls drink and smoke cigarettes, and in one scene, a protagonist gets drunk and sleeps with a much older man.