So, this is a theory i postulated on my show this morning, The success of the all female reboot of the Ghostbusters franchise will predict the outcome of our presidential election. Essentially, if people can't get behind an all female Ghostbusters movie,(which is flawed,yes, but overall way better than Ghostbusters 2) then i doubt our country is progressive enough to elect a woman president. Of course you can say that it is ridiculous to equate the two, but as of this opening weekend, the film is in second place behind an animated movie about what pets do when your not there. Not that Ghostbusters didn't perform well enough for the studio, they are already predicting sequels, but it has shown how divided the genders can be about females entering roles typically reserved and made memorable bu men. As this article in the UK's Independent shows us, the average rating by females for this movie is in the high 7's (out of ten) while the average rating by males is in the low 3's. It's almost like people were watching different movies.
I got into an argument about whether the film was "feminist" or not with our radio shows resident film critic, Michael Calleri, who was of the opinion that there was not an inkling of feminism to be found, just a lot of rehashed jokes and confusing characters, but I disagree. Giving young women the type of role models i had growing up, Han Solo, Peter Venkman, John McClain, (Flint from Jaws, Dave from Ski School :))Essentialy characters, yes, but characters who offer a self assurance and reliance,(and one liners) that can be instrumental in believing in yourself at a young age.The "don't look back, don't need a man" attitude of this film was refreshing, and all the male characters were essentially idiots, which has caused some to speak of sexism, but to me just seems like the rising wave of comeuppance men have been dreading since the dawn of time.
And that same dread will permeate this election, as it drags on, and in the end we may be able to statistically correlate how wide the gender gap is in this country. But will we be able to step forward and change history and admit that the new Ghostbusters is actually not bad and that the choice between a seasoned experienced Stateswoman and a windblown buffoon should be no choice at all?
We'll see.
I got into an argument about whether the film was "feminist" or not with our radio shows resident film critic, Michael Calleri, who was of the opinion that there was not an inkling of feminism to be found, just a lot of rehashed jokes and confusing characters, but I disagree. Giving young women the type of role models i had growing up, Han Solo, Peter Venkman, John McClain, (Flint from Jaws, Dave from Ski School :))Essentialy characters, yes, but characters who offer a self assurance and reliance,(and one liners) that can be instrumental in believing in yourself at a young age.The "don't look back, don't need a man" attitude of this film was refreshing, and all the male characters were essentially idiots, which has caused some to speak of sexism, but to me just seems like the rising wave of comeuppance men have been dreading since the dawn of time.
And that same dread will permeate this election, as it drags on, and in the end we may be able to statistically correlate how wide the gender gap is in this country. But will we be able to step forward and change history and admit that the new Ghostbusters is actually not bad and that the choice between a seasoned experienced Stateswoman and a windblown buffoon should be no choice at all?
We'll see.
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