Ghostbuster fans were not thrilled, when news surfaced regarding the release of the “Ghostbusters” reboot which would include an all female main cast. Following the release of the 2016 movie trailer, the Internet was immediately flooded with hateful and sexist comments from infuriated fans refusing to give the film any chance whatsoever.
Ghostbuster fans were enraged for several reasons. The main ones being the original Ghostbusters who were all male, are now female. In addition, the annoyance at the fact that this film was released but a “Ghostbusters III” was never made. This served as more than enough reason for fans to refuse to give the film a chance. Although an enormous amount of hate revolved around the new release, there were plenty of fans that were thrilled at the idea of a reboot of one of their favorite classic films.
I am personally a fan of “Ghostbusters” and I have seen both the first and second film, and now the 2016 reboot. The idea of an all female main cast struck me as refreshing, new and exciting. These four women bring a hilarious and quirky twist to the original film. Although, I have to be honest when I say that I would not go rushing to see this film again. On the other hand, I would not advise anyone not to go see it. The main characters are nothing short of funny but some parts of the film proved to be a bit slow and dry.
Dave Itzkoff from the New York Times wrote, “Almost from the moment that its leading women were announced in January 2015, it has been the subject of intense criticism from a subset of prospective moviegoers who, though they have not seen the film, say that it should not have been remade and that its female principal cast is a concession to political correctness.”
I can understand fans being upset that this film was released when the third sequel of the original film was never made. But the amount of hate being rapidly circulated throughout the Internet is outrageous. In addition, a majority of these fans did not even watch the film before criticizing everything about it so harshly is hard to believe.
I strongly believe that my feelings towards the all female main cast would be the same regardless of my gender. It is saddening to think that many males discriminate against the reboot so strongly solely due to the fact that women play such a fundamental role in the film. An article from “Vox” written by Caroline Framke in regard to the controversy states, “The simple fact that women are present and involved is enough to make some people mad, even if they don’t explicitly say so.”
This controversy is not a surprising one considering the technology accessible today allows anyone and everyone to voice their opinion no matter how terrible it might be, which we’ve seen in this case can start a wildfire of different opinions and emotions.
It is up to you, the viewer, to decide what your opinion of the film is and what side you are willing to take in this controversy. The only fair way to make this decision is to see the film for yourself, which despite all of the negative attention the film has received, is still worth seeing.
I stand behind author Framke when she says, “The level to which some fans have expressed their resentment over the new movie is so aggressively over the top that whatever love was there hardly matters anymore.”