I have a confession to make. I only saw Ghostbusters for the first time last
year. I know, shameful given its cult classic status. So needless to say, it being assigned viewing for class is ultimately helping me make up
for lost time.
This semester of hauntings has been filled with
malevolent ghosts, violent demons, and a couple entities that just want to show
everyone how wonderful Christmas can be. All the stories have either been creepy, thought-provoking, and serious. Ghostbusters views hauntings through a different lens. While it has
malevolent ghosts that torment the living, it makes them, well, fun. It takes the trope of a scary ghost
story and turns it on its side.
The tone of the film is fantastic. Most ghost
stories have a dark, foreboding quality. Yet even though all the ghosts in this
movie are real threats—and there’s
the end of the world, don’t forget that—there’s a tongue in cheek quality that
carries throughout. Even during the climax of the movie when the Ghostbusters
need to empty their minds so Zuul can’t create her warrior there is a comedic
streak when Stantz can’t help but think of the Stay Puft marshmallow man. Just look at how fluffy he is.
It's the characters are who maintain this light tone throughout the movie.
Maybe I just haven’t found it, but every ghost hunter show I’ve ever seen
features paranormal investigators who are either very serious, take themselves
too seriously, or are a terrible combination of the two. None of the ghostbusters
fill the role of competent, gallant hero. Their technology isn’t tested and
they never have a plan. But they always manage to pull through and save the
city from the terror of ghosts, and it’s their bumbling journey to the happy
conclusion that’s endearing.
One of the things talked about in a genre module I
took at SHU is that all genres eventually become parodies of themselves in some way or another. Ghostbusters is a perfect
example of achieving this without going too far and into the realm of something silly
that can be easily ignored. It takes all the elements of ghost stories and tilts
them on their sides in some way or another, which is the best way to break the
mold of a trope. It reinterpreted the ghost story by showing that they don’t
all have to be somber and dark. Ghosts can cause trouble, even try to bring about the end of the world, but it doesn't have to be a gloomy ride to overcome them.
All in all, I wish I had seen this movie sooner, but
I guess later is far better than never. Also, Bill Murray. Need I say more?
Watching Ghostbusters for this class was a huge trip down memory lane for me. I haven't seen this movie in probably a decade or more. I'd forgotten a lot of the movie so it was kind of refreshing to have waited so long before I saw it again. I like your thoughts about how genre eventually comes to the point where it makes fun of itself and Ghostbusters certainly accomplishes that. It really shows that average people with average intelligence really can save the world, and not have to go all dark, spooky, and serious to do it.
ReplyDeleteI touched on the parody aspect in my own post, because we discussed it in my undergraduate class when we watched Shaun of the Dead. I really think Ghostbusters does a great job with that--especially since, like you said, the ghosts are still dangerous.
ReplyDeleteLook up Lockwood & Co., which I also talked about in my post. It's a YA ghost-hunting series with a lighthearted tone.
And you know the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man incident would happen in real life. You need to not think of anything, and someone's going to think of something. XD
I agree that I never saw these guys as gallant heroes, even if they did manage to save the world. They didn't have a plan or any idea how to stop it, but they were willing to take on the job. They were willing to finish what they started, so there is that. Maybe it was their sense of humor, but there wasn't really one I was rooting for out of the group. They kind of blended into each other for me. Sure, they had their own personalities, but none of them stood out to me. Venkman didn't seem to take anything seriously, even smashing their own equipment in the library scene. However, it was nice to see a traditionally scary topic to be portrayed in a comedic manner. It was a funny movie, and I was willing to let a lot of things slide in the name of laughter.
ReplyDeleteI agree that despite the end-of-the-world qualities, we as an audience never really fear our heroes won't prevail, so it creates a greatly different atmosphere than we've encountered with other stories we've read or seen this semester. Though the ghosts, as you mentioned, possess some darker characteristics, we find ourselves laughing along with the ghosts as they torture the humans rather than actually fearing for the humans like we might have in Hell House or The Haunting of Hill House. The humorous tone makes for a whole different kind of ghost story.
ReplyDeleteI like that you mention how parody sort of breaks the mold on genre a bit. This is so true, and really important. Even when presented as a joke, parody brings in new ideas that can help refresh a genre and restart the cycle. It's an important part of pop-fiction’s constant evolution.
ReplyDelete