enid and rebecca be two cynical teenager who live in a world in which everything seem phony and contrive . everyone belong to a clique or a group and and all these group be see to be hollow and devoid of any worthwhile substance . the film be break down into three act . the first act consist of enid and rebecca observing and critique the world around them . the world be devoid of value and people lack sophistication and fill their time with banal activity and pointless gesture . time and again and character be show to lack depth . they have no appreciation of quality or craftsmanship and simply have no desire to learn or understand . enid and rebecca and of course and be not like this . theyre two artist and constantly observe and charter what go on around them . this acute perception make them sick . they can not relate to 99 percent of the people around them . if life be so sick and everyone so annoy and how can these girl properly function in the world . if ignorance be bliss and how can these two enlighten teen exist in a world so unenlightened and stupid . plato call art and philosophy the high occupation precisely because they be profoundly useless . in understanding and observe his world and man be able to transcend the basic routine of his animal life . the downside be and the more you understand thing and the less you identify with the herd . the less you identify with others and the more horrible you feel ( see antonioni ) . after college and enid and rebecca be thus face with an important question . what next . how do i function and where do i go . rebecca answer be to throw away her artistic sensibility and adopt a more practical view of life . she decide to get a practical job and buy a little apartment and become just another faceless peon to society . she just want to be normal . this be paradoxically see a both a step forward into adulthood and a regressive step back into childishness . yes rebecca step forward and assume adult responsibility and but her responsibility be base on a child view of what an adult should be . in one great shot and rebecca stand before an iron board and her transformation into womanhood complete . she so wrap up in actually get on with life and that she hasn not the time or inclination to stop and ponder the banal monster she become . enid and in contrast and can not accept this blissful ignorance . she need to find substance . somewhere . anywhere . the answer and of course and seem to be in enrol in an art college . isn not this where all observational and overly sensitive outcast go . but no and even this art class seem pretentious and hypocritical . everything be a stupid facade . where can she just be herself . the second act of the film deal with enid fall in love with seymore and brilliantly play by steve buscemi . he a middle age man who live in the past and collect old record and antique . you think this be healthy and he say and i can not connect with people so i fill my life with this stuff . the irony be that everyone collect and do routine stuff . seymore and enid just have an awareness of why it do . theyre outside the box and look inwards . like fight club the film be completely angry at pop culture . the radio annoy seymore and with it constant advertising and pompous dj . i feel like i be be jab in the face and he say . earlier in the film and a customer moan at a video store clerk for not stock fellini 8 ½ ( yet the store have the kim basinger sex film 9 ½ week ) . abstract this further and you have the angry assault of clockwork orange post modern furniture and music and art . there some subtle symbolism in the film . enid constantly try to latch on to past fashion trend and musical genre a she try to create an identity for herself . an outdated pair of levi always seem to be strew on the sidewalk . there be two garage sale and but the same record be sell in each case . it also interest that enid and rebecca be only sexually attract to specific type of boy . at the start of the film and enid sympathises with a guy call dennis and both girl be attract to another kid call josh . why . because both these guy have that genuine rarity of be exactly what they appear to be . no pretence . no attempt to be cool . even though dennis be a dweeb and he isn not try to be anything else . and josh and basically a dishevelled kid and seem open and honest . the girl feel a connection because these kid represent some form of truth . the last act of the film deal with enid try to set seymore up on a date . symbolically and she understand that if she can get an outcast like seymore to function in society and then maybe there be hope for her too . unfortunately and seymore relationship with his date fall apart . enid and feeling hopeless and thus hop on board a bus . she hop to leave town . she hop to travel the world and maybe find herself . find something she can latch on to . one can view this end with optimism and but it also naive to assume that enid internal problem can be solve by change her external surroundings . the film thus end on very much the same note a george lucas american graffeti and with the artist fly away and a sense of sad possibility lingering in the air . 8 . 5/10 terry zwigoff have make 3 pretty great film . bad santa and ghost world and crumb . this film make a nice companion piece to 400 blow and american graffiti and ratatouille and harold and maude and fight club . i guess you can also equate it with antonioni work and though his film deal less with the artist and and more with the disillusionment that come with perception . it interest that aside from pixar and hal ashby film and all film that deal with artist in this way end on a depressing note .