It seems that remakes and reboots of our favorite shows and movies have become insanely popular in the last year. And on July 15, 2016, a remake of the 1984 classic Ghostbusters hit theaters. But this time around, the movie had an all-female cast.
Prior to it’s premiere, the movie, which stars, Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon, received a lot hate for the casting. While fans of the original have every right to be weary and protective of the original, most of the criticism was because the leading ladies were, well, ladies. It’s like no one believed that women could carry this comedy and make it success, despite Kristen Wiig’s wicked successful film Bridesmaids, or McCarthy’s many seriously popular flicks.
And this is exactly why everyone needs to see Ghostbusters. It’s important for little girls to see women onscreen who are heroes, scientists, engineers, or whatever it is they are interested in. They need to know that there are so many careers, interests, and hobbies they can have. Also, the women in this movie were different than the typical young twenty-something, that is usually cast. It’s important for girls to be able to go to the movies or turn on the television and see women in a diverse array of roles, so they believe they can do those things. According to EW, in 2015, the amount of women protagonists increased 10% from 2014. However, this only means that 22% of the protagonists in the top 100 domestic films were women. For making up half the world’s population, we are not fairly represented in films. While this movie more than fairly represents women, this cannot be said for every movie. In an interview with The New York Times, Melissa McCarthy perfectly reacted to the criticism of females in comedy, "there's room for everybody."
Not only are women fairly represented in Ghostbusters, but we are seeing women in comedy that is universal. Ghostbusters is not a a story that deals with issues faced by only women, like Bridesmaids or Mean Girls. Just like the original, it’s a comedy for everyone, but this one just happens to star women. It didn’t revolve around a boy or a problem that would only resonate with women, it was four women kicking ghost ass and making us laugh in the process. Historically, women face a lot of doubt in comedy, despite having a long history of success in the genre. Back in 2012, Matthew Perry summed up the sexism in comedy. Being a women does not automatically make you unfunny, just like being a man does not guarantee you laughs (I mean, have you seen a Kevin James movie?). And after hearing the crowded theater laugh at the movie for two hours, I can confirm that these ladies delivered.
Ghostbusters was the movie I needed when I was younger. Watching this movie, I was taken back to being a little girl who believed that she could be a Ghostbuster, because for the first time I saw women could be. Leaving the theater, I saw little girls walking out, and I was so thrilled because they would grow up with this version of the story. That they wouldn't doubt they could be in comedy, or a Ghostbuster for that matter, because Wiig, McCarthy, Jones, and McKinnon have shown them they can.
I hope that the success of Ghostbusters, brings more movies that teach young girls to be heroes.
