Release of new Ghostbusters Trailer Causing a Buzz on Social Media

March 4, 2016 Tara Lynne

Ghostbusters

Ever since I heard that three of my favorite comedians – Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Kristen Wiig – were starring in the new Ghostbusters movie, I’ve been on the edge of my seat waiting for more information.

Some months back we got to see the first photo of these ladies along with fellow cast and Ghostbusters team member Leslie Jones, but it was only today that they released the first full trailer. I saw several negative reactions to it well before I got to watch it myself, but once I did I was both surprised and concerned at the amount of vitriol being slung at it. While many people seem to be excited, there are definitely a lot of people on the other side of that spectrum. I suppose I believed that in an age of sequels and reboots, a movie like Ghostbusters could join that list without receiving too much flack…but clearly that isn’t the case.

GhostbustersOne thing I heard is that the trailer proves that the movie won’t be/isn’t funny. But how can a trailer really be the make-or-break it in that regard? I’ve seen hilarious movies whose trailers didn’t have much humor at all; I’ve seen movies meant to be pure comedies that had hilarious trailers and didn’t live up to them. A trailer includes approximately 2% of a movie’s content, and while this one may not have been “funny”, it wasn’t boring, either…and to be honest I’d rather that they save the best stuff for when I see it in the theater.

So what is it? “Bad CGI” in the trailer, as some claim? I have a hard time believing that’s really the big problem, because to me it seems like an homage to the original. Yes, this is a sequel, but they’ve got a lot of Ghostbusters nostalgia included already – similar suits, practically the same car, and of course similar characters…so clearly it’s also an homage to the original. On top of that, many of the original cast are making appearances/cameos – even Bill Murray, who originally didn’t want to be involved, decided to make a cameo because, as he said to Vulture, “I really respect those girls. And then I started to feel like if I didn’t do this movie, maybe somebody would write a bad review or something, thinking there was some sort of disapproval [on my part].”

As I said, Bill Murray isn’t the only one – Ernie Hudson, Dan Aykroyd, and Sigourney Weaver are returning as well. Even if these are just cameos, it’s clear that the original cast is supporting this film. On top of that, director/writer Paul Feig has worked on TV shows such as Freaks and Geeks, The Office, and Arrested Development, while writer Kate Dippold did the Melissa McCarthy/Sandra Bullock feature The Heat and also wrote for MADtv and Parks and Recreation.

And you know what? This new Ghostbusters absolutely *could* be terrible, but why assume that’s the case now, with the release of the very first trailer?

Well, when they first announced this new movie and that it would star a female cast, there was quite a bit of uproar then. Claims that they could never do justice to the original were most of the time just doing a bad job of cloaking the fact that most people were pissed that these new Ghostbusters would be women. I’m not by any means assuming or saying that every single person who spoke or is speaking out against this reboot do so for misogynistic reasons, but there is plenty of evidence out there that a lot of them are doing so. Paul Feig even spoke out about it.

If this trailer simply wasn’t up your alley, that’s fine – everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I actually didn’t even think the trailer was absolutely amazing – but it did make me want to see more, which is what trailers are meant to do. Revealing the entire plot line (I’m looking at you, Miracles from Heaven) or revealing all the funniest parts of a film (there’s simply too many to name, here) aren’t the point of trailers.

Admin Angel put it quite succinctly: “No, not liking the new Ghostbusters doesn’t make you a misogynist. [But] a lot of arguments against it are misogynistic.” To put it simply, a lot of these negative reactions to a reboot with female leads is the same anger that cropped up when Johnny Storm was black (regardless of how awful FANT4STIC was) – people’s favorite things are never allowed to change to anything but white men. And if they’re already white men (or in this case, three white man and an African-American man), then how dare their sequel counterparts be cast as women!

What did you think of the new Ghostbusters trailer? Whether you liked it or not – whether you’re looking forward to the movie or not – we always welcome constructive discussion. And what with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Independence Day: Resurgence, the X-Files revival and more, it’s obvious that they won’t stop creating sequels or reboots of the things a large generation of people grew up with. So I suppose my question is, why not open your heart to Ghostbusters? Or if you’re already embracing it, what are you excited for?

Author: Tara Lynne

Tara Lynne is an author, fandom and geek culture expert, and public speaker. She founded Ice & Fire Con, the first ever Game of Thrones convention in the US, and now runs its parent company Saga Event Planning.

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8 thoughts on “Release of new Ghostbusters Trailer Causing a Buzz on Social Media”

  1. I am so excited. Like you, I love the actors from their former roles so I’m biased in that I would watch them in any more. Even if to just give it the 10 minute rule (we have a rule in our house that we’ll at least give a movie 10mins before ruling it out). I haven’t seen the original – probably one of the very few who hasn’t. And maybe that’s why I’m excited. I see a film about a team of women, most of them scientists, hunting ghosts. It’s a comedy and has some of my fav female comedians in it. Plus Thor as a sexy nerd in glasses. I don’t see the reasons for me not to watch it or to think it won’t be worth watching. It seems right up my ally. And I tend to never trust a trailer. But even then, I liked the trailer *shrugs*

  2. First of all, I believe that all the people who haven’t seen the original movie are probably going to like this movie. It won’t be great but OK. All the people who have seen the original movie, this movie is going to be the equivalent of shit. Why the reboot? What? Because the original cast doesn’t want to participate in another sequel as their original characters you just replace them and do a reboot? And for the love of god why are they ALL women? When I was a kid and saw the movie, all the girls thought the movie was gross. If they replaced one or two male characters it would be fine but why ALL of them? This smells like feminist bullshit all over. And then the cast, if you have seen one of Melissa McCarthy’s movies, you have seen ALL of them. She is a one-type actress, the equivalent of Seth Rogen. There are so many things wrong with this movie. In short, this movie is [ADMIN REMOVED TRIGGERING CONTENT] my inner child.

    Sorry for the bad English, it’s not my native tongue.

    1. Also want to say that this is a feminist post. “And if they’re already white men (or in this case, three white man and an African-American man), then how dare their sequel counterparts be cast as women!”. What the hell does this mean? Why don’t we change Wonder Woman to Wonder Man? Because it’s Wonder Woman!! They did not change Luke Skywalker to Lulu Skywalker for the sequal. Why couldn’t they do the same for Ghostbusters? Just a group of friends (MALE AND FEMALE) who want to become Ghostbusters like Venkman and the crew. And why is the black female the less educated one? Isn’t that racist? Why not include that in your post? One of the main rules that I follow in life is “Don’t fix it if it’s not broken”. Sony clearly doesn’t follow this rule.

      Again sorry for the English.

      1. Come down off the ledge. It’s a reboot, not a sequel so they’re not changing the gender of any of your beloved characters. They are entirely new characters. Your childhood is going to be okay.

    2. Hello,

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  3. I’m excited about a lot of things, but mostly I want to see the new movie’s take on the various gadgets. I got a taste with the Duel Proton Pistols and the Bear Trap style Ghost Trap. I want to see more.

    Also I like that the movie is not just a homage of the original 2 movies, but it also makes subtle references to the cartoons. Kate Mckinnon’s (Kristen Wiig) hairdo is reminiscent of the peroxide pompadour of the Staurday Morning version of Egon Spengler. There’s a scene where she poses with a couple of dummy heads on a shelf, which seems to be a call back to an episode of the saturday morning episode where the busters were trapped in the underworld.

    Also, the aforementioned Proton Pistols. They feel like a reference to the Proton Pistol given to Kylie Griffin from “Extreme Ghostbusters”. Who also happens to be my favorite character from that run.

    The only thing I’m a bit worried about is the inclusion of Slimer. I’m not going to think much about it, but I’m pretty high on hype.

  4. Pingback: Second Ghostbusters Trailer Ignores The Skeptics

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