Criticism, the Alt-Right, and Ghostbusters
By Eimear Conroy | Sep 30 2016
With the storm surrounding the Ghostbusters remake now in the rear-view, Eimear Conroy examines the hate behind the comments[br]THEY say there is an exception to every rule. If that’s true, then the adage that “all press is good press” has been put to bed by 2016’s Ghostbusters, the quasi-remake of the classic 1984 comedy. Framed by mainstream media outlets as a case study of the moral bankruptcy of geek culture and the internet community as a whole, the reality is as usual far more complex than snappy headlines would lead the public to believe.The genesis of the Ghostbusters controversy was the release of its official trailer in March of this year. As the lowest rated film trailer in YouTube’s eleven-year history with over 1,000,000 down-votes, it has since been hit by a veritable hurricane of internet criticism that has haunted it ever since its release.The trailer was criticised, even by fans, for showcasing jokes that failed to land without proper context. It also drew serious criticism from fans of the film’s predecessor, disappointed that another beloved franchise was being abused by the studio to make a quick buck.However, some complainants found Ghostbusters’ all-female leading cast unsavoury, accusing Sony of pandering to feminist interests and flooding the video with vitriolic, hateful, and often misogynistic comments. Almost immediately, the studio began removing negative comments aimed at the film. While many civilized remarks of dissent were caught up in the deleting spree, a large number of sexist comments remained untouched, leading some to suggest that Sony was manufacturing controversy in order to promote their film. “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about,” as Oscar Wilde once wrote.Whatever Sony intended, Ghostbusters became a fountainhead for provocation and harassment from all sides. Director Paul Feig is guilty of provoking internet trolls, describing geek culture as “home to some of the biggest assholes” he’d ever met in the Independent. Unsurprisingly, this comment infuriated self-identified geeks and, as the anger grew, the distinction between the upset geeks and the hateful alt-right critics began to blur.“Whatever Sony intended, Ghostbusters became a fountainhead for provocation and harassment from all sides.”
However, even the hate directed towards the Ghostbusters trailer would pale in comparison to the fallout the film would greet upon its release. Whether or not the media storm surrounding the trailer affected the preconceptions of filmgoers or subverted questions of quality, most of the mainstream media had a middling response to the film. Rotten Tomatoes’ aggregate score of 72% and IMDB’s user-generated rating of 5.5, were lukewarm at best. The New York Times found Ghostbusters to be “enjoyable, disposable fun,” and Rolling Stone described it as “a fine, fun time at the movies.” Critical consensus all-around suggests that Ghostbusters was an enjoyable summer blockbuster, while it paled in comparison with the original.Nevertheless, wherever the film went, its detractors were never far behind. Negative reviews disparaged the script as both lazy and unimaginative, and described the film’s humour as hit-and-miss, at best. Ghostbusters stumbled at the box office, failing to make back its $144,000,000 budget in its two-week run, in no small part due to a boycott attempt organized online by both disgruntled fans of the original and those with anti-feminist agendas.Among the film’s most high profile critics was one Milo Yiannopoulos, Breitbart technology editor and self-confessed professional provocateur. In an article describing the four main characters as “teenage boys with tits,” and decrying the movie as “pandering to the kind of woman who thinks misandry is a positive lifestyle choice.”Milo aimed his contempt at actress Leslie Jones in particular, referring to her as “spectacularly unappealing.” His scathing review wasn’t only confined to Breitbart however; his criticism of Leslie Jones spilled over to his then 300,000 Twitter followers, who proceeded to descend on her social media accounts in a fury of hateful, sexist comments and racist photos.Twitter suspended Milo’s account permanently after his appearance on CNN in July, where he attempted to renege responsibility for the “disgusting” comments made by his followers on Leslie Jones’ accounts. While it was shown that he violated Twitter’s terms of service on multiple occasions, the timing of the decision to suspend Yiannopoulos’ account raises questions of free speech and censorship in the internet age. How much ability should private companies like Twitter, a crucial tool for communication in the modern world, have to censor its users?Some have argued that Milo’s comments were merely critical rather than explicitly hateful, yet his actions exacerbated an already negative situation, which has since spiralled even further out of control. Jones’ personal computer has since been hacked, with the subsequent the leaking of her nude photos, passport, and social security card online.What does this massive surge of negativity towards an innocuous ‘80s reboot say about the movie-going public? It’s clear that fans feel neglected by a movie industry that sells out material they love for a cheap summer blockbuster. Many have had their distaste for today’s endless stream of lazy remakes hijacked by companies employing outrage marketing and people with their own political agendas. If nothing else, this controversy has demonstrated the force internet culture has become in society. Unwittingly, Ghostbusters has made itself a vehicle for opposing sides of a larger cultural zeitgeist, where progressive values butt heads with those concerned with free speech in the internet age.