So last week I
Add some female characters to your game if you're not going to invest us in the main character. This allows people to build the connection you didn't provide, (doesn't mean your game is bad - not every game needs a story) and get more enjoyment out of the game.
BAM.
Pay me.
But this week I want to say a little about how I see and interpret the female character not in video games, but on the big screen.
I have it in two parts.
PART #1
There has always been an opinion in my head about females in movies, but I never took the time to really flesh out the details. But it was like when you have the nagging feeling something is out of place but you don't know what it is...then you just say "screw it" and grab a beer or something.
But the recent announcement of the "All-Female Cast" in the remake of Ghostbusters actually made me upset.
I can write a book about how I feel about remakes and reboots and how Hollywood is slapping names of good, old movies onto crappy scripts just to grab the cash provided by the kids who saw and loved the movies in the 80's and 90's and are now old enough to have good jobs and pay to see the steaming pile you said was a favorite memory but in reality was a cruel and inhumane joke of an experience you scum.
...
Well maybe I don't need a whole book after all.
But the reason the remake of Ghostbusters made me actually upset wasn't just the remake itself. I admit, I am sick and tired of Hollywood going through the filing cabinet of my good movie memories and finding a way to monetize them, but that is a different blog.
The reasons it made me upset were numerous - one being the treatment of remakes in general recently - but another reason, and a big one, was the "All-Female Cast" part of it.
I was actually embarrassed by this feeling. I didn't know why, but it really rubbed me the wrong way they would make it with an "All-Female Cast".
When I spoke with my friend Tashy at great length about the remake I didn't mention it. I purposefully avoided telling her the "All-Female Cast" bit really didn't sit well with me at all. I had just assumed it was me being a stupid guy who didn't think girls could pull off the remake.
I was honestly pretty taken aback by my aversion to the idea of it all.
But, as is something I have yet to learn and master, it takes me time to rationalize some things. As much as I would like to believe I am a logical and rational person, when my emotions get stirred up I react in a way that isn't either of those things.
And the Ghostbusters remake, "All-Female Cast" aside, really annoyed me.
But time...time was all I needed.
Eventually, after the initial dust had settled and after some more talking about it with myself and with Tashy I began to realize what was the real problem.
I don't have a problem with movies that star females. I loved Thelma and Louise. I think Ripley is what made the Alien franchise the over-the-top success it is.
Hell, I even saw and liked Fried Green Tomatoes enough to buy the movie.
So the "All-Female Cast" thing had to stir my ire in another way...
...in a way that didn't have so much to do with the fact I think Melissa McCarthy is one of the most obnoxious and unwatchable people in Hollywood...
...which she is...
...seriously she will ruin everything ever...
...but back to the story about how Melissa McCarthy just does not make me laugh or think or feel anything but a need to change the channel...
...wait not that story...the one where I was about to tell you my problem with the "All-Female Cast"...
So here we go. This is what I have come up with.
First of all, I definitely feel 100% that redoing Ghostbusters is a mistake. It won't do anything to brighten what is an amazing reputation and tradition - the best we can hope for is it not to tarnish that reputation. Just like how Indiana Jones 4 was a wretched and vile thing, it didn't harm the trilogy's solid,loved and cherished reputation. This was clearly an attempt at snatching cash from people and drowning us in merchandising.
They could do Ghostbusters with another "All-Male Cast" and I would feel the same way.
But by making it, and relying so HARD on the fact it is an "All-Female Cast" demonstrates they don't have anything but the gimmick to work with in the first place. They are using the "All-Female Cast" as the big announcement. You know what I haven't heard?
The plot.
The storyline.
Anything else.
I had to search Google for 3 pages before I found anything that had a plot that didn't involve the word "rumors" attached at the very start.
And no, Channing Tatum will not be doing an "All-Male Cast" remake of Ghostbusters. If he does I will burn this place to the ground.
Do you think they are not publishing the plot as a kind of blind hype build up to the big day? Do you think they are being protective of the plot so other movie companies don't steal their thunder? Is there something in the plot - some twist maybe - that will simply blow our minds?
Get the hell out of here. There is zero chance any of that is true.
So what this means to me is one very probable thing:
They made the decision to make the movie without having a good story or script.
Well, let's make it an "All-Female Cast" and then we will develop a script or something as we go.
Doesn't matter, people will see it anyway.
What this means is the females being cast in this movie have almost no chance of success. The original team in the 80's had freedom and a great deal of that movie is ad libbed. That isn't going to happen here. I think Kristin Wiig is hilarious. But I don't see her being able to play off the other people they cast. On top of that, Hollywood doesn't really allow the whole "spontaneous" thing anymore. Maybe a scene or a line, sure. But those days are mostly long gone.
So here are 3 ladies and Melissa McCarthy that have been plucked to do a movie that doesn't have any sort of story or real, legitimate chance to be successful in the theaters. They have been selected to front a movie they made just to make before someone else scooped up the franchise rights or all the original cast passed away.
I honestly don't think the movie has a real shot, and these three poor women and Melissa McCarthy have been placed dead into the line of fire.
One thing I do know the movie has - is a legion of very, VERY passionate fans of the original who actually are affected by this whole scenario. They love the movie - I love the movie - and I have very fond memories of watching it back in the 80's, and from when I watched it last week.
But that is where it should stay. I miss my grandmother, she was a smart, witty, and funny woman. I can assure you I would be quite upset if someone decided to remake her with an "All Male Cast" that is not smart, witty, or anything other than fart jokes, physical comedy and CGI lighting effects.
Calling it "My Grandmother" does not make it as good as the original without a lot of work.
Weird analogy, I know.
Can you spot the impostor?
No shit, right?
But if you think about it, it actually makes a positive feedback loop that exacerbates the situation.
Think about it this way:
These movies don't do women in Hollywood any favors.
The "All-Female Cast" Ghostbusters movie will probably make money. What does this do? It gives other people in Hollywood permission to just slap an "All-Female Cast" onto a movie regardless of the script and it will make money. This, of course, feeds into these movies being crap, and inspiring less actual content being offered to what could be a well-written movie starring an "All-Female Cast".
A positive feedback loop.
When your story or script is good enough you don't have to even mention the "All-Female Cast"...that is when it is good enough to film.
I am not suggesting any "All-Female Cast" movie is going to be awful. I am saying this one will be, and they took an idea and shoehorned a gender into it because hey, isn't that wacky and isn't this a twist?
I can't wait for the "All-Male Cast" Thelma and Louise.
I may even pre-order tickets for the "All Male Cast" of Sex in the City.
No.
I refuse.
I refuse because those would be crap movies.
So I am upset by this movie not because of the "All Female Cast" but because of what it represents.
You know what would be awesome?
Why not remake Ghostbusters with a male and female cast?
I bet if they made a mixed-gender Ghostbusters I wouldn't need 3 pages of Google to find something actually real about the plot after wading through a sea of "Mixed Gender Cast" titled articles, links and pages.
Because it would have a plot to read about.
To try to wrap up that meandering and twisting thought process, I will say this to sum up my point:
Slapping an "All Female Cast" on Ghostbusters demonstrates some of Hollywood has a definite design and framework for a lot of female characters on the Big Screen. Including "All-Female Casts" as the only hype for a movie should not be a gimmick to sell tickets, and neither should "All-Male Cast".
But you don't see "All-Male Cast" being a used as a remake gimmick, do you?
The reason?
Because Hollywood doesn't think "All-Male Casts" are gimmicks.
Hollywood does think "All-Female Casts" are.
POINT #2
Hollywood objectifies women.
No kidding.
It puts beautiful women into movies.
Unfortunately, beautiful women, by definition, are not beautiful actresses.
In fact, some beautiful women are quite awful.
In fact again, some women who are not beautiful are wonderful actresses.
This is how it works.
But sex sells.
HEYOOOOOO!
Putting in the most beautiful person who shows up to casting won't do any favors to her character, your movie, or how women are perceived as a whole.
I am by NO means saying attractive women cannot act. Charlize Theron is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful actresses in the business...and she can act for miles and miles and miles.
So how can we have an Owen Wilson be considered a sex symbol? The guy looks like someone stole his nose and he replaced it with a painted dill pickle.
Liam Neeson is not exactly the definition of Greek God, but he has a massive following of people who consider him sexy.
But Owen can act.
Liam can act.
Why don't we get that same treatment for females?
I suppose the answer is this:
It is much easier to throw a heavy-chested body into the female role than actually write some goddamn character development I suppose.
However, I have noticed that the pendulum has swung while we weren't looking.
Channing Tatum, by definition, must take his shirt off in every movie at least three times.
Channing has a strong jawline and a great physique.
But he can't act for shit.
Colin Ferrell is a big name actor.
He has a good face and an Irish accent.
But he is a marginal actor, at best.
So this point doesn't necessarily only apply to women. But it would be hard to disagree that in a lot of movies that could be led by a female, they get a big name male and tack on some eye candy female to follow him around trying to remember her 6 fucking lines.
Once again it shows Hollywood doesn't get it. They are living in a world where half of its customers are women. And they still haven't figured out that if they would just treat the genders with a little equality they would make even more money.
Every now and then they do it right and you get a character like Ripley in Alien, Princess Leia in Star Wars, Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's, Emily Blunt in Edge of Tomorrow, or even Marge the Police Chief in the frickin' Fargo movie.
But there should be more.
It's over, Hollywood. People are changing. Yes, you can still slap some eye candy on the screen - male and female alike - and it will sell tickets.
I will even watch some of these and likely enjoy them! No one is telling you you can't make that kind of stuff anymore!
But it's time.
The world is ready.
Females can fight this world's wars.
Females can run this world's companies.
Females can fix and drive the fastest cars in the world and compete every week.
So why can't they get a share of this world's great movie characters?
It isn't like we will run out of them - you can just make more!
Thank you all SO much for reading through this blog! I try to make sense of a lot of ideas and thoughts in my head, and I really don't know how successful I am at anything of the sort.
I appreciate you taking the time to read, and I hope you enjoyed it! Always feel free to comment right below and let me know what you think.
I also want to say thank you to those of you that made your way over to my YouTube Channel! I just hit 50 subscribers and am really, really enjoying myself! If you haven't stopped by yet, maybe you could have a look? Click the like button or subscribe if you want to see more!
Thank you!
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