#kcafavsquad

Re: whether or not a reboot should have been made…

There is a difference between remaking something like Gone With The Wind and Ghostbusters. Comparing a cinematic masterpiece to a cult classic is apples and oranges. Yes, the original Ghostbusters is one of the greatest movies of all time, but you know what else it is? It’s a hero movie. It’s a timeless underdogs-becoming-heroes story, and the fact that so many little boys (and girls) looked up to the old ghostbusters should not be a reason to *not* remake it. To properly reboot a franchise one major question you must answer is “how can we make this different and worthy?” And they answer that question with great dexterity by making the heroes women.

I grew up with the original ghostbusters as heroes. We played GB every day on my street, and I looked up to those guys, partially because they were cool role models, but also because there were no women heroes worthy of looking up to. Yes, Annie Potts and Sigourney Weaver’s characters are iconic but they’re not heroes. They’re not heroes of their own story. This new movie could only work as a reboot and it could only work with women. There would be zero reason for a reboot starring men, since the originals are still so popular. And as a lot of grumpy nay-Sayers like to talk about, no it doesn’t work as a sequel with women because a sequel to the originals would mean that these women were riding on the coat tails of men. It would mean that every bit of science they had would have only been possible because men did it first. This reboot gives them a universe of their own where the science is theirs, where the heroics are theirs, and the reward is theirs and theirs alone. You know, like in real life, where women do things without men literally all the time.

These women are the Ghostbusters I needed when I was a kid. It would have been a game changer for me. And what upsets me the most about these butthurt fanboys who can’t shut up about how this movie somehow “ruined their childhood,” is that they completely forget the fact that THEY ALREADY HAD THEIR CHILDHOOD. They HAD their heroes, they HAD their toys, they HAD their fun, and they grew up not knowing what it’s like to never be represented in any way other than an accessory. I will *never* understand why they feel it necessary to try and take this movie away from NEW generations who didn’t and have not had that. Girls who have never seen a group of female action heroes who are smart, and funny, and independent, and so wonderfully bad-ass. Let the girls have this movie. Piggy backing on that- never before have you seen a movie where the action heroes are four women over 30! Three of whom are over 40! And who represent so many different kinds of women! AND THEY’RE SCIENTISTS IN COMFORTABLE CLOTHES! I am always so touched to read posts where women say “I saw myself in this character because…” Representation is important, and if lack of representation doesn’t bother you it means you’re represented enough not to care. If you’re upset that this movie was made for whatever reason I’m here to tell you it doesn’t matter because THIS MOVIE ISN’T FOR YOU. Like Paul Feig tweets all the time, this movie has already made a huge impact on many people, young and old, all different sexes, genders, races, and geographic locations. It’s an unmitigated success on many levels, backed by reports from Sony themselves. When a movie makes nearly $100mil profit in ticket sales (not including merchandise or third party tie-ins) and you consider that the majority of movie goers ARE women, it goes to show that this is what the audience wants. What the audience has been wanting for for a long time.

So thank you to Sony, thank you to the creators of the original for loving and believing in this movie so much, and thank you to the makers and stars of the Ghostbusters reboot because it is important, it is necessary, and it is wonderful. A sequel would show those butthurt fanboys that we don’t need them to get stuff done.

Thank you for your time. End rant.