The so-called "Wokebusters"
The So-called Wokebusters. Earlier this week I saw a comment on a post about Netflix’s upcoming Ghostbusters animated where where someone whined “Since it’s Netflix, they’re probably going to turn it into Wokebusters.” It’s comments like this that de-legitimze all our real grievances about the 2016 Ghostbusters movie. It wasn’t that it was an all woman team. The reason I disliked that movie was because it was just… bad. The personalities blended together. There were too many improvising jokes that fell flat. And all legitimate parapsychology terminology (like what Dan Aykroyd worked into the original movies) was replaced with phoned-in and barely attempted, generic, technobabble. Now as for Netflix turning Ghostbusters “Woke” let me point out a few things. In The Real Ghostbusters animated series Janine saved the team at least twice. In Extreme Ghostbusters the team consisted of a Goth Wiccan woman who lead the team, which also consisted of a sarcastic Latino man, a paraplegic, jock, white man, and a literary savvy black man.
The last two Ghostbusters movies (Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire) feature the children and grandchildren of Egon Spengler. Phoebe is depicted as “autism coded” and works really well as a girl with a similar mentality to Egon but also her own unique personality. This girl works great as a ghostbuster and was the sort of character I would have loved as a little girl. So what I’m driving at is this. I’m not sure what you may consider “Woke” but I can’t help but feel the franchise went “Woke” back in the 90s. And it was natural. It was fine. I think some “fans” need to do a little soul searching because they need to face that if the 1997 series, Extreme Ghostbusters was made today they’d be decrying that it’s DEI or Woke. It wasn’t too long ago that I found myself in an argument on the IMDB forums (when they still had forums) because someone found it “unrealistic” that one of the Extreme Ghostbusters was in a wheelchair. I have news for you, buddy. Outside of TV most paranormal investigators are either retired or people with disabilities. I, myself, am considered borderline legally blind, and I studied parapsychology academically and have done EVP analysis. Man, woman, gay, straight, young, old, trans, nonbinary, Jewish, Pagan, Christian, no matter the nationality, or physicality, ANYONE can be a Ghostbuster. That was always kind of the point, wasn’t it? There’s no such thing as “too woke” when it comes to The Ghostbusters because there is no bouncer at the door. Anyone can be a Ghostbuster. The 2016 Ghostbusters movie is still (in my opinion) terrible. But I still appreciate women Ghostbusters like Kylie and Phoebe. And you know what? If the new Netflix Ghostbusters series features a middle-aged, trans, Latina woman, in a wheelchair, who converted to Islam, and has ADHD… I say good for her! Because I’m not an idiot who has been brainwashed into fearing diversity, equity, and inclusion, like it’ll somehow diminish me if someone who doesn’t look like me gets the spotlight. Anyone. Can. Be. A Ghostbuster.
I wholeheartedly agree with this!
It’s very much like with what is said about Spider-Man:
If anyone can be Spider-Man, then anyone can be a Ghostbuster.
