Actually, for the time being, everything is about this, because this is everything. I can't imagine I have to explain too much about what you're looking at; typically I would just bury something like this on Instagram and we could get on with our pathetic lives. Except this deserves entirely more appreciation - particularly from me; so rarely do we find objects that beg us to believe "They made this just for me!"
I can't exactly call it obscure - it's a straightforward reference to an extremely popular movie that appears to grow in admiration with each passing year. But of all the striking imagery throughout the film, I'm so pleased they chose to represent this sorta throwaway scene that doesn't really feature any real characters or quotes you'd find on a t-shirt. And I love it not because of its lack of recognition or anything like that - it's because of the Zagnut candy bar.
As a kid it was tough to determine exactly what he was holding because Zagnuts were unfamiliar to me and not available in my part of the globe. It wasn't until my 20s when I stumbled upon them in some sorta candy emporium with a selection of obscurities, and suddenly the world got good. Then I tried one, and it got even better.
Made by Hershey, a Zagnut is just "crunchy peanut butter and coconut" pressed firmly into the shape of a candy bar. They have a particleboard texture and they crumble like horsehair plaster when you eat them, but God help me they're my favorite -- their scarcity and cultural significance amplifies the experience, but I love them with or without the window-dressing. Sure it works as a top shelf Beetlejuice toy, but for me it's a well-crafted monument to my preferred confection and the exact moment in time that I became aware of it.
Spirit's license for Beetlejuice has been entirely beneficial; lotta dumb stuff aside, there are some beautifully-made masks and decor that seems to be getting more involved and esoteric with each passing year. I'm also fully aroused simply by the idea that Miss Argentina has been promoted as a recognizable representative, and the results have been an overwhelmingly (and accurately) turquoise delight.
But this was acquired without question or pause. Its actual function is a candy dish - the whole thing is roughly 5 inches tall and the "dish" is about half an inch deep, which acts in the service of nothing; even your basic Halloween fun size bars can't really find a home here. But it doesn't matter; the only thing that truly belongs in the bowl is fun size Zagnuts - and good luck finding those. In the meantime, it's a pretty nice fuckin' model.
- Paul
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