“The New Normal”
I wrote a Ghostbusters “saga” back in 2014 when the news of rebooting the franchise with all women was first announced. The mud-slinging was immediate.
Trolls went into action, Ghostbusters fans expressed frustration, progressives hoped it would blaze a trail for all-women casts (and maybe even inspire younger girls to go into STEM fields), and most people just shrugged their shoulders.
A lot has happened since I made these comics. At various times I’ve been accused of being a SJW, a man-child, a cuck, a misogynist, a libtard, an angry fan-boy, and a “regressive leftitst”. Apparently, I didn’t pick a clear enough side in the most passionate and partisan movie debate in years.
I think two good points were brought up in these comics that I think also have valid counter points:
1) Does the reboot erase the original? Absolutely not. If the reboot isn’t good, could that be bad for the franchise? I think it’s possible.
2) Is Hollywood making too many safe bets at the cost of original ideas? Absolutely it is. Is their batting average good? No but they do get a base hit once in a while. A few even hit home runs.
One thing I could not know at the time was if Ghostbusters 2016 would be any good. As someone who grew up loving Ghostbusters who also wants to see more women in leading roles (and STEM), you bet your ass I saw it the Thursday night it came out (and again with friends a week later).
It was OK. It wasn’t great but it wasn’t a piece of crap. I definitely enjoyed it more the first time I saw it. The average rating of 6.4/10 on Rotten Tomatoes seems appropriate.
Could the movie have been better? Yes. Should the movie have been better? ABSOLUTELY. If your intention from the start is to make a movie that paves the way for other women-led projects, you really have to make something great. Like Bridesmaids. Bridesmaids is an undeniable classic movie with strong characters, real tension, authentic stakes, and great comedy.
I had to put up with a media shit-storm and personal attacks over a movie that isn’t anything special? For that I feel a little betrayed by everybody.
To all the people with an agenda who are emotionally invested in this movie and chose to insult me at any point: Get over yourselves. All that fuss over a movie that would barely graduate high school (but still graduate, mind you) if it was a student with a grade average of 64.
This isn’t a loss for feminism and it’s not a win for men’s rights. It’s a loss for Ghostbusters fans. For years all they wanted was a sequel to continue the story they loved so much growing up. Now everybody thinks they hate women and are NERDS (I thought age of nerd/geek being a pejorative was over). Again, all this over a movie that hasn’t made a compelling argument for its right to exist in the first place. Meh.
