Just My Two Cents on the Ghostbusters Fracas

Some of you may have seen this already

If you haven't, let's quickly get you up to date:

A few days ago, YouTube reviewer James Rolfe, aka Angry Video Game Nerd, posted a video explaining that he had decided not to see or review the new Ghostbusters film when it comes out. AVGN has done reviews of bad movies in the past, but in this instance, he presented several reasons why he would skip this particular film, noting that based on what he had seen thus far he didn't see any driving need to waste money on something that wasn't going to live up to his love of the original 1984 movie.

For just about any other upcoming theatrical release, it probably would have raised a few confused eyebrows and evoked responses of, 'Okay? Great on you, buddy.' If he had declared a non-review of, say, TMNT: Out of the Shadows, few outside of his fandom would have taken note.

Of course, you know full well what happened next because this is Ghostbusters.

The internet was quick to take note

The upload evoked an immediate response from various news outlets and blogs. Some satisfied themselves with chuckling about the irony of an online reviewer declaring that he wasn't going to do his job. Brad Jones (Cinema Snob) and the Observer's Vinnie Mancuso both uploaded their own videos parodying Rolfe and claimed that they too were refraining from reviewing things they didn't like.
Others decided that AVGN's declaration obviously placed Rolfe squarely in the misogynistic movie protester faction and published rebuttals thoroughly explaining why he was a sexist man-child for doing this.

All aboard the hate train!

Translation:
"Hahaha, hey everyone, get a load of this dork! I'll bet he has to pay women money to hang out with him so he can pretend he's not a virgin!"

Nice to see the professionals keeping it classy.

Patton Oswalt ventures into the fray

Before too long, comedian Patton Oswalt tweeted his response to Rolfe. It was a bit callous and personal, but to his credit he did post a followup tweet explaining that he enjoyed Rolfe's Cinemassacre reviews and was just poking fun at the whole 'reviewer not reviewing' issue.

AVGN fans counterattack

Right about this time, supporters of AVGN fired back at Oswalt. And to no one's surprise, a lot of them went straight for the topic of his wife Michelle McNamara's recent death.

A quick personal aside:
First off, fuck you. That shit is completely uncalled for and inexcusable. Have some modicum of goddamn respect.
Second, seriously? Out of all the things you could have gone with the only rebuttal you had was 'lol dead wife'? Don't give me a counter-argument that you only spent 1.5 seconds on Google preparing.

Sorry, had to get that out. Anyway, for obvious reasons the previous commentators seized on this as further proof that Rolfe and his followers were part of the ongoing male-led campaign to slander and bring down Ghostbusters and posted response articles and tweets. The majority were about as civil and unbiased as one would expect at this stage.

We have chosen this battleground, and here we shall fight

The AVGN drama is only part of a much larger problem.

At one extreme end of the Ghostbusters response spectrum, we have the rabid haters, the trolls, the sexist assholes who don't want to see Ghostbusters With Boobs and will do everything in their internet power to see it gloriously bomb in flames.
At the other extreme we have the hardcore supporters, white knights and SJWs who are committed to seeing this movie become a box-office smash success and instant classic.

Both extremes are very motivated and *very* vocal about where they stand.

The problem is, that's not the whole picture

As you've no doubt already realized, there are a whole lot of us that fall outside of these extreme camps. Some of us are sick and tired of remakes and reboots trying to milk our nostalgia, some feel that the gender-swapped premise is a bit too gimmicky and trying too hard, others have expressed reservations based on the trailers and feel that the jokes and effects are sub-par compared to the 1984 original.

But that's not kosher with these extreme factions. The haters camp has made it quite clear that they don't approve of a chick trying to fill Venkman's jumpsuit, resulting in the supporters camp doubling down on their defense of the reboot and classifying anyone who doesn't toe to their party line as simply more of the sexist hater trolls. Both sides are firmly entrenched, but in the process they've written off a lot of people in the no-man's land wandering around and getting caught in the crossfire. There is no grey zone here for them; it's all or nothing.

Neither side will back down

The question is, at what point is the battle over? For the supporters, this movie HAS to succeed, or in their eyes the sexist/racist hordes have won. All of the cool kids have hitched their star to this bandwagon, and if they waver at all in their support, isn't that just admitting to themselves that they backed a lame horse? If Ghostbusters flops in theaters and gets scathing critical reviews, is the protest campaign to blame for the failure? Conversely, if it's a critical darling and makes money hand over foot, will the haters attribute it to a vast SJW conspiracy forcing everyone to pretend to love it?

Neither faction can afford to back down from their respective positions in the slightest, and you know that it's only going to get worse.

Allow me to let you in on a secret

It turns out that despite what the extremes are telling you, there is indeed a grey zone.
And it's pretty damn big.

Here's the thing: at the end of the day, it's a movie. Nothing more, nothing less. Despite what the haters may announce, Ghostbusters 2016 will not be the end of all things, nor will it be the shining pillar of feminism that casts misogyny into the darkness as the supporters believe.

In all likelihood, it'll come and go as a brief blip on our cultural radar, rather like Y2K. Something that got a lot of people anxious and up in arms at the time, only to be lost and vaguely remembered among the other momentary crises in the grand stream of history.
And I don't know about you, but personally that's unbelievably worrisome given how vicious and personal the attacks have gotten from both sides over this thing.

Where do you and I stand in all this?

We all like different things, and that's okay. And it's okay to be part of the grey zone. Not being on board with the reboot or wanting to wait for reviews and feedback before splurging on a Friday night movie ticket doesn't make you a sexist pig.

Say it with me: It's okay to not like Ghostbusters.

No one is forcing you on how to spend your money, and pay no mind to pretentious morons who think they have that right. If you like what you see, go check it out. If you don't like what they're peddling, go right ahead and see something else. There's nothing wrong with taking the extra time to do your own research and make an informed opinion.

The movie itself can go any number of ways

Farming childhood nostalgia is big business, but like most things it can lead to mixed results. You might end up with a beloved reboot that everyone quotes endlessly, or an utterly forgettable piece of half-baked garbage that disappears from our cultural attention as soon as it arrives. Some movies deceive us with well-cut trailers and earn our eternal displeasure, others pleasantly surprise us with a fresh and invigorating take on well-known and covered material.

In short, who knows? Some people, like James Rolfe, have already made up their mind about how it'll turn out. And there's nothing wrong with that in the slightest, because it's their money and they can spend it on whatever they choose.

In conclusion, make Mister Rogers proud

It's no doubt going to get even more intense in the weeks leading up to the release. Throughout it all, I encourage you to *politely* do whatever the fuck you want. Don't be petty and vicious if a supporter explains at length why you're a nun-beater if you hit the dislike button on the Ghostbusters trailer. Keep it civil and professional, and don't sink to their level of social shaming for not blindly following something you have doubts about. On that same note, don't let someone try to shame you for wanting to stand in line and buy a ticket. You're not a frothing misandrist for being curious and catching a screening on opening night.

We are the grey zone; you do you!