As you probably know, there’s a reboot of spooktacular ’80s classic Ghostbusters coming this summer with an all-female cast.
The new paranormal investigators are played by Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones.
#whoyougonnacall pic.twitter.com/hnrSjhCqSl
— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) July 10, 2015
It’s a terrific cast, with a proven comedic and action director at the helm (Paul Feig, director of Bridesmaids and Spy), but a lot of people seem to be unhappy about the project.
The official trailer that was launched last month has clocked up 30 million views on YouTube. But it has also earned 650,000 dislikes (to 222,000 likes), making it the most disliked movie trailer EVER uploaded to the video site.
What’s behind the historic number of downvotes? Well, one reason is that the trailer is not especially good, something that even its star, Melissa McCarthy, has now acknowledged.
“I think it’s very confusing,” she told a US radio show.
“It’s a reboot, not a remake. I know it’s weird that they say [in the trailer] “30 years ago,” but in this movie it’s like the first one didn’t happen…It’s a great story, but told totally differently. It’s the same thing of four unlikely heroes, it’s in New York city, ghosts are taking over. It’s the same classic story, but it’s not a ’30 years later’.”
— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) December 17, 2015
Other people seem to hate that any kind of remake is happening, which is a fair enough grievance for anyone worried that their precious childhood memories are about to be tainted:
However, others see deeper-ingrained forces at work when it comes to criticism of the new Ghostbusters: namely racism and misogyny.
African-American comedian Leslie Jones’ character has come in for particular criticism:
https://twitter.com/Woody_AFC/status/726513654997344256
Anybody else find the new @Ghostbusters is saying "were not sexist, just racist!"?
— Have you seen… (@haveyouseen7915) May 3, 2016
https://twitter.com/curlyheadRED/status/727511968073023489
https://twitter.com/twofingersmusic/status/727096686162644992
Typical of internet comment culture, there’s a lot of invective underneath the trailer that couldn’t be interpreted as anything but misogynistic: for example, “GhostBusters – Fat Dyke Edition – Official Trailer (HD)”, “‘Funniest Actors working today’. When are people going to learn that women aren’t funny?”, and, “By the way I’m fine with an all female cast but at least hire better looking women to stare at especially if I have to sit through this garbage.”
And haters, attack me all you want but when you attack and insult my cast, you've crossed the line. Grow up and leave my cast alone.
— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) March 8, 2016
Director Paul Feig doesn’t mince his words when it comes to the controversy, calling the backlash (or “frontlash”, as nobody has actually seen the movie yet) “some of the most vile, misogynistic shit I’ve ever seen in my life.”
No, they're attacking my cast personally. Look at @Lesdoggg mentions. They're going after her and @melissamccarthy. https://t.co/xhq0iXwmPx
— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) March 8, 2016
Many are disputing the claims of a women-hating motive, but as ‘The Hollywood Reporter’ points out that many of the most disliked videos on YouTube are female-fronted.
It reports:
“In fact, more than half of the videos on the list star women, which points towards a depressing truth: Ghostbusters is falling victim to the seemingly inherent sexism that surfaces across the internet, especially when it comes to nerd culture.”
What does this all mean for the new Ghostbusters? Will it be a hit, regardless? Or will all this negative advance publicity doom it before it even opens?
You can make your own mind up on July 15, when Ghostbusters opens in UK cinemas.
— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) February 14, 2016
