Talk:Ghost (1990 film)

Sam Wheat Syndrome?
So what is this Sam Wheat Syndrome referred to in the article? The link doesn't point to an actual article, and I've never heard this term before. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.38.11.146 (talk • contribs).

There was a Wiki article, but it got deleted as WP:OR and/or a neologism. Here's what it used to say (minus some of the Wiki markup):

Sam Wheat syndrome

Sam Wheat syndrome is a cliché in film and television entertainment, describing an affliction that a protagonist is said to be suffering from; its chief symptom is the stubborn refusal of the character to accept the reality of his or her new, unusual predicament. It is to be expected that new, seemingly impossible states of being, situations, or environments will require considerable psychological adjustment, but a character suffering from Sam Wheat syndrome will pass through most of the length of the program without fully coming to grips with the situation at hand.

Origin of the name

Sam Wheat is the main character in the movie Ghost and is played by Patrick Swayze. When Sam dies early in the film, he becomes a ghost and thus can no longer physically interact with the world around him. Despite his ability to pass through doors, walls, etc.--and the inability of living humans to hear, see, and/or feel him--the character cannot quite figure this turn of events out.

In the several weeks following his death, Sam tries to talk to his living girlfriend, assault her would-be attackers, and grab at inanimate objects only to see his hand pass through. He does not understand that he is now a ghost until well into the movie...many failed attempts at interacting with reality later.

Famous examples


 * Quantum Leap - Dr. Samuel Beckett
 * Back to the Future - Marty McFly
 * The Twilight Zone - Numerous episodes feature a character suffering from Sam Wheat syndrome.
 * The Family Man - Jack Campbell
 * Just Like Heaven - Elizabeth Masterson

Categories: Clichés

Atlant 16:10, 10 July 2006 (UTC)

Poorly written
The sypnosis part of the article is badly written, improper for an encyclopedia... I suggest a revision. Hyukan 21:21, 4 January 2007 (UTC) Agreed, the tenses are all over the place. Gemfyre 05:40, 8 February 2007 (UTC)
 * I agree, and have tagged the article as needing cleanup. The lead section needs rewriting per WP:LEAD, the trivia section needs to be eliminated and have its information worked into the main text, and other sections need to be rewritten so that they don't look like simple lists of unreferenced facts. --Elonka 16:17, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

The Pacifier?
Shouldn't there be a reference to the movie Ghost being a major (well, significant, anyway) plot point in The Pacifier? —Micahbrwn (talk) 01:39, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am
I keep hearing about this, but it's mentioned nowhere in the article. At what point did someone drive someone else nuts by singing "I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am" over and over? --DanMat6288 (talk) 16:47, 14 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Yeah, I sing this sometimes to drive other people crazy, but in the movie Sam uses this device to persuade Oda Mae to help him. AlexisDT1830 (talk) 23:21, 12 July 2011 (UTC)

Inspiration
I would like to know if Bruce Joel Rubin, the screenwriter of "Ghost", found the inspiration for it in the M*A*S*H* tv episode "Follies of the Living, Concerns of the Dead"?? Very parallell ideas from the very start (dead soldier's ghost rises out his body and talks to Klinger) of the episode to the very end (when all the dead soldiers walk together to ??)Dcrasno (talk) 00:46, 26 January 2012 (UTC)

Musical or Comedy?
Why it was nominated for Golden Globe Award in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy? It's not both of them. 78.183.68.89 (talk) 11:07, 17 February 2013 (UTC)