I interpreted "you have to be a spirit, you can't be no ghost" to have several very important meanings. Up until the beginning of this movie, Bullworth had become a ghost, like so many other politicians in Washington. He voted the way his lobbyists told him to vote. He was part of the cynical, money lubricated machine, unaware of the fact that he was already dead (the definition of a ghost) long before he wanted to die.
There's an old adage that goes, "it's only after we've lost everything, that we're free to do anything". Up until the point when Bullworth sets his death in motion, he's a man trapped in a cage. Afraid to say or do the wrong thing for fear it might cost him votes, lobby dollars, political standing, the love of his family, you name it. He was a man trapped in a self-created cell as so many people are in society today.
Once he knew that he was going to loose everything (die), he was finally "free to do anything". His first act after gaining this freedom was to say everything that he ever wanted to say, but held back out of fear of the consequences. A spirit is free. A ghost is confined. He became a spirit, and in that moment, found his voice.
Bullworth could have remained a "ghost". It would have been the easy thing to do, especially considering the later consequences of becoming that "spirit". But I think he was burdened by the realization that he might as well be dead if he's only living to be a ghost.
I believe he died at the end, but he died as a spirit. The homeless man was prophetically reminding us of the most important lesson of all in this movie, and in life: that no matter what the consequences are, that no matter how afraid or filled with self-doubt you might be, you have to be a spirit. You can't be no ghost.
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b_corp2
13 years ago
That's a nice interpretation Dylan1669. but I saw it as something else:
A ghost is silent and simply hangs around (or whatever). But a spirit can be an idea or thing that permeates through society and moves people to action. In the end, the old "crazy" man speaks directly into the camera (or so I thought) and says "you have to be a spirit, don't be a ghost", meaning, the writer of the film wanted the audience to feel the impact of what he was saying and take it to heart, to carry it with them and use it to affect change.
"You've got to be a spirit, don't be a ghost"
I really liked this movie, it cut thtough the crap of politics and told it like it is. Politicians and the system is corrupt.
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PhoenixPhuck
10 years ago
Wow I must be getting old because some one just used a Fight Club line and referred to it as "an old adage".
Even the most primitive society has an innate respect for the insane.
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