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T H E S U N T H E S U N T H E S U N T H E S U N T H E S U N T H E S U N

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Posts

  • SchrodingerSchrodinger Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    Hevach wrote: »
    Did they ever say what the main characters last name was?

    At the end, Callie finally embraces the name Spengler. But what were they going by before that?

    According to the wiki it's the only last name given for any of them, and while the kids father leaving is mentioned a divorce is not, so presumably it was always Spengler.

    Unfortunately, the idea of it being always Spengler makes no sense with the current plot since it's not exactly a common last name and it would have been really hard to keep the family secret a secret for as long as they did.

    Paul Rudd is a huge fan of the Ghostbusters, and a student with the last name of Spengler brings in an actual ghost trap.

    Anzekay on
  • HevachHevach Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    It makes perfect sense because after each movie, ghost sightings promptly dried up with the core cause removed and the world was told it was all a hoax and the same world that got bored of landing on the moon couldn't maintain their collective attention span past fall sweeps. The only people who know as much about it as Paul Rudd are internet weirdos.

    Spengler in that world is what Murphy is in ours - a hugely important name that raises a ton of red flags to chemtrailers but nobody else gives a shit. That world's chemtrailers just happen to be right but still nobody gives a shit.

    Anzekay on
  • SchrodingerSchrodinger Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    Hevach wrote: »
    It makes perfect sense because after each movie, ghost sightings promptly dried up with the core cause removed and the world was told it was all a hoax and the same world that got bored of landing on the moon couldn't maintain their collective attention span past fall sweeps. The only people who know as much about it as Paul Rudd are internet weirdos.

    And Paul Rudd wouldn't recognize the last name Spengler? Not even after one of the students brought in an actual ghost trap?
    Spengler in that world is what Murphy is in ours - a hugely important name that raises a ton of red flags to chemtrailers but nobody else gives a shit. That world's chemtrailers just happen to be right but still nobody gives a shit.

    First, that's a completely different movie from the one we were actually given. Phoebe isn't raised thinking her grandfather was a fraud, only to discover that he was right all along. She doesn't know who her grandfather was in the first place. Presumably, Egon's wife would have believed in ghosts. So was Callie a skeptic since birth despite being told that ghosts were real and her dad was a hero, or did she become a skeptic later on? If the second one, then why? If she was angry at her dad, then why keep it a secret? Why not share her resentment with her daughter? Phoebe doesn't seem like the type of person who would need to be sheltered from that.

    Second, that's a pretty bad comparison considering the fact that Gozar actually happened in the world of Ghostbusters with lots of empirical evidence to back it up.

    You can try comparing it to something like climate change or COVID-19 which has plenty of deniers despite being real (And I've already done that), but the idea of "only crazy people believe that the ghostbusters are real" is silly.

    The entire point of Ghostbusters is to show that scientific method can win over superstition. Egon, at the very least, scientific geniuses who managed to invent miniaturized nuclear accelerators. Ray says they continued to catch ghosts after Gozar, which means they still had reproducible empirical evidence that ghosts exists. All they have to do is release a ghost from one of their traps, and that will shut any doubters down real quick.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKoRysKVhn8

    So while the general public might doubt Egon's findings, there's no reason for the scientific community to doubt him.

    Anzekay on
  • chrono_travellerchrono_traveller Registered User regular
    edited April 14
    Do we know when the anniversary event starts?

    Anzekay on
    The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it. ~ Terry Pratchett
  • KnightKnight Dead Dead Dead Registered User regular
    edited April 14
    livestream with all the information is this afternoon i think, so should know soon

    Anzekay on
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  • KrathoonKrathoon Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    Yeah. The Ghostbusters had concrete evidence. Especially with the slime. They had a way to manifest ghosts with that.
    Apparently, no one was maintaining the containment unit.

    Anzekay on
  • SmokeStacksSmokeStacks Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    I saw this last night, and while I liked it there were a lot of weird plotholes and continuity errors. One that really stood out (unless I missed something) was that there are two kids - one is really smart and one is kind of a doofus, but the smart one is the one attending summer school for some reason. I get that they needed an excuse for [younger sibling] and [younger sibling's friend] to meet [Paul Rudd's character], but still.

    I thought the mini marshmallow men bit was kinda dumb (it always feels like stuff like that is added to movies solely to sell merchandise, see also: Porgs), but the one that gives a Terminator 2 style thumbs up as its being melted on the grill made me laugh. I think "You're my subscriber?!" was my favorite line in the entire thing.

    Anzekay on
  • KrathoonKrathoon Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    Somehow the mini Stay Puffs got into Ecto-1. Didn't make much sense.

    Anzekay on
  • KrathoonKrathoon Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    Ray listening to some kid's paranormal podcast is funny.

    Anzekay on
  • KrathoonKrathoon Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    Are there any authentic paranormal podcast or
    YouTube channels? They always seem fake. Ghost Hunters was kind of reputable.
    I did see a video where someone drove through a ghost that seemed authentic.

    Anzekay on
  • darkmayodarkmayo Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    Krathoon wrote: »
    Are there any authentic paranormal podcast or
    YouTube channels? They always seem fake. Ghost Hunters was kind of reputable.
    I did see a video where someone drove through a ghost that seemed authentic.

    Authentic as in talking about and checking out places that are historically considered “haunted” and not trying to make it into something that would be on TLC or History?

    Anzekay on
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  • KrathoonKrathoon Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    darkmayo wrote: »
    Krathoon wrote: »
    Are there any authentic paranormal podcast or
    YouTube channels? They always seem fake. Ghost Hunters was kind of reputable.
    I did see a video where someone drove through a ghost that seemed authentic.

    Authentic as in talking about and checking out places that are historically considered “haunted” and not trying to make it into something that would be on TLC or History?

    Yeah. I did find a Newsweek article on more scientific investigators. They have ran into things like stuff flying off shelves and tugging on sleeves that have been unexplained.

    Anzekay on
  • KrathoonKrathoon Registered User regular
    edited April 12
  • Warlock82Warlock82 Never pet a burning dog Registered User regular
    edited April 14
    I actually watched that livestream. It was pretty cool. Freakin' English voice acting coming!! I'm honestly shocked at that one.

    Also I was laughing at the hosts OBVIOUSLY reading off a teleprompter and acting like it was spontaneous. "This. is. the. first. time. I've. seen. this. and. I'm. so. excited!"

    Anzekay on
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  • chrono_travellerchrono_traveller Registered User regular
    edited April 14
    English voice acting! I'll finally find out what Kroos is shouting about all the time :D

    Anzekay on
    The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it. ~ Terry Pratchett
  • KrathoonKrathoon Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    Here is some serious talk about the survival of consciousness beyond death.
    https://youtu.be/7zSXsQsJRf0
    https://youtu.be/V3ivOXuFfUA

    Anzekay on
  • KrathoonKrathoon Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    He doesn't really dig that deep in that presentation. There is more on the University of Virginia website.

    Anzekay on
  • AlphagaiaAlphagaia Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    Krathoon wrote: »
    Somehow the mini Stay Puffs got into Ecto-1. Didn't make much sense.

    In the LEGO Wrecto-1 there was a bag of marshmallows hidden under the front seat, but I guess that scene got cut as well.

    Anzekay on
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  • SatanIsMyMotorSatanIsMyMotor Fuck Warren Ellis Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    Hevach wrote: »
    It makes perfect sense because after each movie, ghost sightings promptly dried up with the core cause removed and the world was told it was all a hoax and the same world that got bored of landing on the moon couldn't maintain their collective attention span past fall sweeps. The only people who know as much about it as Paul Rudd are internet weirdos.

    And Paul Rudd wouldn't recognize the last name Spengler? Not even after one of the students brought in an actual ghost trap?
    Spengler in that world is what Murphy is in ours - a hugely important name that raises a ton of red flags to chemtrailers but nobody else gives a shit. That world's chemtrailers just happen to be right but still nobody gives a shit.

    First, that's a completely different movie from the one we were actually given. Phoebe isn't raised thinking her grandfather was a fraud, only to discover that he was right all along. She doesn't know who her grandfather was in the first place. Presumably, Egon's wife would have believed in ghosts. So was Callie a skeptic since birth despite being told that ghosts were real and her dad was a hero, or did she become a skeptic later on? If the second one, then why? If she was angry at her dad, then why keep it a secret? Why not share her resentment with her daughter? Phoebe doesn't seem like the type of person who would need to be sheltered from that.

    Second, that's a pretty bad comparison considering the fact that Gozar actually happened in the world of Ghostbusters with lots of empirical evidence to back it up.

    You can try comparing it to something like climate change or COVID-19 which has plenty of deniers despite being real (And I've already done that), but the idea of "only crazy people believe that the ghostbusters are real" is silly.

    The entire point of Ghostbusters is to show that scientific method can win over superstition. Egon, at the very least, scientific geniuses who managed to invent miniaturized nuclear accelerators. Ray says they continued to catch ghosts after Gozar, which means they still had reproducible empirical evidence that ghosts exists. All they have to do is release a ghost from one of their traps, and that will shut any doubters down real quick.


    So while the general public might doubt Egon's findings, there's no reason for the scientific community to doubt him.

    It's all just a conceit for a kid's movie. You're over thinking it.
    And the bolded is absolutely not "the entire point of Ghostbusters".

    Anzekay on
  • CptHamiltonCptHamilton Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    I'm not sure I'd classify the original Ghostbusters or Ghostbusters II as kid's movies. Family-friendly by 1980's standards, sure, but I don't think there's anything inherently child-oriented about either film. The fact that they made a cartoon and line of toys based on it doesn't really say anything, considering there were a number of 80's and 90's era cartoons based on movies that were absolutely not kids' movies.

    But yeah, Ghostbusters and the Scientific Method have fuck-all to do with one another, unless "The Scientific Method" is slang for "burning down a building using nuclear laser guns".

    Anzekay on
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  • SatanIsMyMotorSatanIsMyMotor Fuck Warren Ellis Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    I agree. I'm saying the new Ghostbusters is a kids movie - not the old ones. Kids movie may be a bit too simplistic. It's a pre-teen/teen movie aimed at pulling in a new, younger audience while also being appealing to adults through the power of nostalgia.

    Anzekay on
  • CptHamiltonCptHamilton Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    I agree. I'm saying the new Ghostbusters is a kids movie - not the old ones. Kids movie may be a bit too simplistic. It's a pre-teen/teen movie aimed at pulling in a new, younger audience while also being appealing to adults through the power of nostalgia.

    I'm curious how well it actually works as that. Being a person in their 40's without kids I don't personally know anyone who has seen the movie who hadn't seen the original decades ago. Does it work for a (pre-)teen who has never seen Ghostbusters? Or is it incoherent?

    Anzekay on
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  • Snake GandhiSnake Gandhi Des Moines, IARegistered User regular
    edited April 12
    But yeah, Ghostbusters and the Scientific Method have fuck-all to do with one another, unless "The Scientific Method" is slang for "burning down a building using nuclear laser guns".
    I wouldn't agree with that. Yes, Ghostbuster the film is primarily about telling jokes, but there is definitely theme of 'modern science can and will trump ancient superstition' in there too.

    Anzekay on
  • ThirithThirith Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    If that's what it was doing, then I don't think it was doing it particularly well. The science at play in Ghostbusters is pretty much toys and a funky lightshow, there's nothing there that resembles actual science, and for the purpose of the movie the ghosts and ghoulies are *real*, as real as the science, which pretty much makes them the opposite of superstition.

    Anzekay on
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    "Nothing is gonna save us forever but a lot of things can save us today." - Night in the Woods
  • CptHamiltonCptHamilton Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    But yeah, Ghostbusters and the Scientific Method have fuck-all to do with one another, unless "The Scientific Method" is slang for "burning down a building using nuclear laser guns".
    I wouldn't agree with that. Yes, Ghostbuster the film is primarily about telling jokes, but there is definitely theme of 'modern science can and will trump ancient superstition' in there too.

    If you squint, I guess, but the Ghostbusters' ghost-busting science is effectively magic without even a Science Montage to show us how Ray and Egon arrived at it. And there's not really any superstition being shown. The ghosts, aside from Gozer, are basically treated like paranomral vermin. Gozer uses beliefs and desires and shit but is completely forgotten in-universe. Nobody (aside from, presumably, Ivo Shandor) is worshipping or even has any beliefs about Gozer. It's just the giant spider invasion to the Ghostbusters' pest control service.

    Anzekay on
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  • SatanIsMyMotorSatanIsMyMotor Fuck Warren Ellis Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    I agree. I'm saying the new Ghostbusters is a kids movie - not the old ones. Kids movie may be a bit too simplistic. It's a pre-teen/teen movie aimed at pulling in a new, younger audience while also being appealing to adults through the power of nostalgia.

    I'm curious how well it actually works as that. Being a person in their 40's without kids I don't personally know anyone who has seen the movie who hadn't seen the original decades ago. Does it work for a (pre-)teen who has never seen Ghostbusters? Or is it incoherent?

    My neighbours kids are my barometer for this kind of thing. They've been exposed to the old films through their parents and relished the opportunity to share some geek-outedness with their parents with this new film. They absolutely loved the new movie and found it fully coherent - they just care less about Bill Murray.

    Anzekay on
  • SatanIsMyMotorSatanIsMyMotor Fuck Warren Ellis Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    But yeah, Ghostbusters and the Scientific Method have fuck-all to do with one another, unless "The Scientific Method" is slang for "burning down a building using nuclear laser guns".
    I wouldn't agree with that. Yes, Ghostbuster the film is primarily about telling jokes, but there is definitely theme of 'modern science can and will trump ancient superstition' in there too.

    If you squint, I guess, but the Ghostbusters' ghost-busting science is effectively magic without even a Science Montage to show us how Ray and Egon arrived at it. And there's not really any superstition being shown. The ghosts, aside from Gozer, are basically treated like paranomral vermin. Gozer uses beliefs and desires and shit but is completely forgotten in-universe. Nobody (aside from, presumably, Ivo Shandor) is worshipping or even has any beliefs about Gozer. It's just the giant spider invasion to the Ghostbusters' pest control service.

    Yeah I'm not sure what part of the scientific method involves covering the Statue of Liberty in ghost-goo and marching it through NYC while blaring "Higher and Higher".

    Anzekay on
  • WordherderWordherder Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    I'd say the point of Ghostbusters, or at least the original one, is "the cast of Saturday Night Live* shoot lasers at spooks." Lots of goofiness and adlibbing, and the climax was a kaiju marshmallow fer crissake.

    In that respect, the tone of the 2016 movie was much, much closer to the original than Afterlife. Afterlife got way, way too reverential, and did very little supernatural stuff that wasn't recycled. Reanimating Shandor for like five seconds (way to waste JK Simmons), but that's it.

    *yes, I know only two of them were actually in SNL, shut up

    Anzekay on
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  • Snake GandhiSnake Gandhi Des Moines, IARegistered User regular
    edited April 12
    But yeah, Ghostbusters and the Scientific Method have fuck-all to do with one another, unless "The Scientific Method" is slang for "burning down a building using nuclear laser guns".
    I wouldn't agree with that. Yes, Ghostbuster the film is primarily about telling jokes, but there is definitely theme of 'modern science can and will trump ancient superstition' in there too.

    If you squint, I guess, but the Ghostbusters' ghost-busting science is effectively magic without even a Science Montage to show us how Ray and Egon arrived at it. And there's not really any superstition being shown. The ghosts, aside from Gozer, are basically treated like paranomral vermin. Gozer uses beliefs and desires and shit but is completely forgotten in-universe. Nobody (aside from, presumably, Ivo Shandor) is worshipping or even has any beliefs about Gozer. It's just the giant spider invasion to the Ghostbusters' pest control service.
    Like I said, it's mostly about jokes. But I'd argue that the reason it's better remembered than all the other 'SNL alums do funny stuff' movies is because it's got more going on under the surface.

    I'm not very well versed in this sort of film criticism so my argument sucks but I do think there is a strong undercurrent of 'modern science vs ancient religion' going on in the movie. Just the way certain things are shot or presented. Even the climax presents itself as 4 plumbers vs Old Testament God.

    Anzekay on
  • SatanIsMyMotorSatanIsMyMotor Fuck Warren Ellis Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    I think it's more about scrappiness overcoming bureaucracy than anything else. Sure, there's science in the movie - but it's all nonsense ghost science. It'd be like saying Ghost Hunters is a science-based reality show.

    Anzekay on
  • CptHamiltonCptHamilton Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    If we're going to try to fit a meaningful message into Ghostbusters I think something like, "The world is weirder than we think but mysticism is bullshit" probably fits better than anything about The Power of Science.

    As for why it seems more meaningful and lasting than other "funny guys doing funny stuff" films of era: I think it's just the worldbuilding. Ghostbusters manages to paint a picture of a really weird and interesting world full of monsters and stories-come-to-life but where regular, blue-collar schlubs can still make a difference and save the day. It's jokes and sexism and ghosts-as-rats-with-nuclear-powered-pesticide but you can't watch the movie without feeling like there are a thousand other stories luring around the corners, and these guys in overalls who (despite their technical credentials) present as everyday joe's are in there being badasses. If it did lean hard into making Ray and Egon Very Scientific Professional Scientists, or without Tobin's Spirit Guide and Class IV Free-Repeating Specters, I don't think it would have worked nearly as well.

    Anzekay on
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  • KrathoonKrathoon Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    What I find neat is that there have been thousands of cases of people (usually children) remembering what seems like a past death. Then, they have researched it and there is an actual historical account of that death.
    That is something that science does not have an explanation for. Usually, they just throw it out.

    Anzekay on
  • SchrodingerSchrodinger Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    Thirith wrote: »
    If that's what it was doing, then I don't think it was doing it particularly well. The science at play in Ghostbusters is pretty much toys and a funky lightshow, there's nothing there that resembles actual science, and for the purpose of the movie the ghosts and ghoulies are *real*, as real as the science, which pretty much makes them the opposite of superstition.

    If ghosts are real in this universe, then presumably, superstitious methods for defeating ghosts would be real as well, such as exorcisms an magical trinkets or chosen one protagonists or whatever. And that's the route that most movies normally take. The humans either demonstrate humility by learning to respect the old ways, or they get defeated by their hubris.

    They could have just as easily had Egon be an expert in the occult where the team is armed with wands of lightning. Ghostbusters intentionally doesn't go this route. Because it's not enough for the ghostbusters to win, they have to win via science.
    I think it's more about scrappiness overcoming bureaucracy than anything else. Sure, there's science in the movie - but it's all nonsense ghost science. It'd be like saying Ghost Hunters is a science-based reality show.

    You're basically dismissing the entire genre of science fiction because the fictional science isn't real.

    The science in ghostbusters is metaphorical, but in the context of the fictional world, the science is very much real. It's a metaphor. Just like Star Trek is a metaphor for scientific exploration, even though FTL travel isn't real and none of these alien species actually exist.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPoILjs6BYI

    MovieBob has a great essay on this. Relevant portion starts at about 11:30.

    Anzekay on
  • SchrodingerSchrodinger Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    Krathoon wrote: »
    Did Gozer not recognize them? It seemed like it.
    Hevach wrote: »
    Akroyd drew from certain folklore and old Christian demonology a lot, both of which often have malevolent spirits being extremely procedural. Demons, fey, and a lot of others are bound by rule or ritual and aren't truly possessed of free will.

    Even having been driven back once, Gozer is running the same script, except Egon had figured out how to disrupt it - capture and hold one of the heralds needed to complete the summoning and hold crossed streams against the portal. Part of the ritual is that mortals are insects but Gozer will treat with a local god before going about her intended business.

    I just realized that this might also be a callback to the first movie, where Dana asks the same question twice:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNnIbFFzpD8

    Anzekay on
  • SchrodingerSchrodinger Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    Yeah I'm not sure what part of the scientific method involves covering the Statue of Liberty in ghost-goo and marching it through NYC while blaring "Higher and Higher".

    Observation: Judge yells angrily at the ghostbusters, slime reacts and explodes

    Hypothesis: Maybe this slime reacts to negative reactions?

    Prediction/Experiment: Yell at the slime to see if you can reproduce the results. It does.

    Okay, so new question: Does this slime only react to negative emotions, or can it react to positive emotions as well? Does it only respond to actual people, or would it respond to recordings as well?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qTsB3qfNUk

    Yes, obviously mood slime doesn't exist in the real world. But that's not the point of this scene. The point of the scene is, "If mood slime WAS real, then how would scientists react to it?"

    Anzekay on
  • darkmayodarkmayo Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    Yeah I'm not sure what part of the scientific method involves covering the Statue of Liberty in ghost-goo and marching it through NYC while blaring "Higher and Higher".

    Observation: Judge yells angrily at the ghostbusters, slime reacts and explodes

    Hypothesis: Maybe this slime reacts to negative reactions?

    Prediction/Experiment: Yell at the slime to see if you can reproduce the results. It does.

    Okay, so new question: Does this slime only react to negative emotions, or can it react to positive emotions as well? Does it only respond to actual people, or would it respond to recordings as well?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qTsB3qfNUk

    Yes, obviously mood slime doesn't exist in the real world. But that's not the point of this scene. The point of the scene is, "If mood slime WAS real, then how would scientists react to it?"

    they would sleep with it.

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  • KetarKetar Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    I agree. I'm saying the new Ghostbusters is a kids movie - not the old ones. Kids movie may be a bit too simplistic. It's a pre-teen/teen movie aimed at pulling in a new, younger audience while also being appealing to adults through the power of nostalgia.

    I'm curious how well it actually works as that. Being a person in their 40's without kids I don't personally know anyone who has seen the movie who hadn't seen the original decades ago. Does it work for a (pre-)teen who has never seen Ghostbusters? Or is it incoherent?

    My kids have seen the original movie once, maybe 2 years ago. Never watched the second or the 2016 one. They both loved Afterlife.

    My 7 year old daughter was most excited that the main protag was a young girl, but she followed along with everything pretty well and only had one or two questions along the way. My 10 year old son was having a blast all throughout, and would get very excited at anything he could tie back to his memories of the original. He had no trouble at all following everything.

    Anzekay on
  • ThirithThirith Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    I'm not very well versed in this sort of film criticism so my argument sucks but I do think there is a strong undercurrent of 'modern science vs ancient religion' going on in the movie. Just the way certain things are shot or presented. Even the climax presents itself as 4 plumbers vs Old Testament God.
    Four plumbers is not really what I think of when I think 'modern science', and arguably Gozer is at least as much an '80s electronica pop star in how they're presented as they are an Old Testament God. Of the O.G. Ghostbusters, one is a stereotypical science nerd, and Venkman undermines science through his behaviour, if anything. If you're looking for thematic resonance in the original Ghostbusters, I'd argue that the gang stands much more for Reagan-era small business/entrepreneurship in the face of academia and bureaucracy.

    I can't say much about Ghostbusters 2, because it's been decades since I've seen that one, but whatever the original film's themes were, I don't think there's much evidence that it wants to be about science vs superstition.

    Anzekay on
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  • AlphagaiaAlphagaia Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    Krathoon wrote: »
    Did Gozer not recognize them? It seemed like it.

    Time has not been good to them.

    She remembered: she even mockingly quotes 'if they are gods' in response if she remembered them.

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  • SchrodingerSchrodinger Registered User regular
    edited April 12
    Thirith wrote: »
    Four plumbers is not really what I think of when I think 'modern science', and arguably Gozer is at least as much an '80s electronica pop star in how they're presented as they are an Old Testament God. Of the O.G. Ghostbusters, one is a stereotypical science nerd, and Venkman undermines science through his behaviour, if anything. If you're looking for thematic resonance in the original Ghostbusters, I'd argue that the gang stands much more for Reagan-era small business/entrepreneurship in the face of academia and bureaucracy.

    I can't say much about Ghostbusters 2, because it's been decades since I've seen that one, but whatever the original film's themes were, I don't think there's much evidence that it wants to be about science vs superstition.

    I'm not sure why you see professional plumbing and modern science as incompatible. When you use modern science to overcome superstition, then overcoming superstition becomes mundane and ordinary. Most of the technology you take for granted today would have come across as magical 100 years ago.

    As for the role the EPA makes in the movie, you could remove that subplot from the movie entirely, and the only think you lose are a few jokes. For instance, you could have the containment system fail because of any number of different things, and the rest of the movie would play the exact same way. Heck, you didn't even really need the system to fail in the first place. Yes, the themes of Reagonomics are there, but that seems to simply be reflecting the current sentiment of the era without really digging any deeper. Where as the decision to have science triumph over ghosts was in direct opposition to popular media at the time.

    Anzekay on
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