The cast has been announced for the Ghostbusters sequel..reboot..sheboot?, and sadly it has turned into social media’s nerd version of the child vaccination debate. Some, myself included, support the all-female cast. I’ve gone on record on our podcast and suggested even more franchises I’d love to see get the “sheboot” treatment (I’m really trying to get that to stick).
Others are appalled that the latest iteration of the Ghostbusters team would have the unmitigated gall to be women. Who do these ladies think they are? It is GHOSTBUSTER, not GHOSTBUSTERETTE and that is a scientific fact! I realize I’m mocking the sentiment of those who disagree with the casting direction of the upcoming film, and I’ll stop, but you guys have to realize you’re coming off kinda Champ Kind-y here, right? Thing is- you shouldn’t be mad at Sony, or Paul Feig, or Kate McKinnon, or anybody involved in this project. You should be mad at yourself.
I know what you’re asking: What the hell did I have to do with these dumb filmmakers ruining my childhood? That’s the problem- these filmmakers are just following the dollars, which they’d be misled not to. We as a generation of filmgoers and income disposers have conditioned them to keep feeding us endless iterations of the things we loved growing up. More Star Wars, more Indiana Jones, more Ninja Turtles, more Transformers. There’s a reason that Jem, He-Man and the GoBots (the FREAKING GOBOTS) all have films in various stages of development. America votes with their dollars, and we have consistently re-elected the Hollywood reboot/repackage/recycle treatment of all of our childhood loves.
By the way, if we get a GoBots movie before Silverhawks or M.A.S.K. is rebooted, I might give up.
Whether we unwittingly fund these misguided reboots via our morbid curiosity, or if we genuinely enjoy seeing legacies dissolve before our eyes, until we stop patronizing them the development dollars and resources will continue to be dedicated to reviving the tried and true franchises.
In short: if you don’t want to see an all-girl Ghostbusters film, then you shouldn’t have loved Ghostbusters so much. OK, that may sound ridiculous, but the reality is this- we are getting this film and we are going to continue to get things like this because SO many of you paid real money to see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, every Transformers film, G. I. Joe 1 & 2, and more. Stop enabling them. None of those movies are good. I don’t want to hear about ‘redeeming qualities’. I want good, original films, and I want my childhood loves to remain intact and unsullied. Unless you’re going to do it right, then reboot away.
