Ways to send the regressive left into a tailspin of panic and rage: chalk pro-Trump messages on your campus, invite Milo Yiannopoulos to give a talk, or criticize the all-female Ghostbusters remake.
The feminist-friendly reboot of one of the 1980s’ most beloved movies has drawn an increasing amount of ire from critics and long-term fans, who point to the movie’s official YouTube trailer (the most disliked trailer in the site’s history) as a sign of impending disaster. With over 800,000 dislikes, it’s clear that the film is generating a considerable degree of opprobrium from die-hard fans and the general public alike.
This has made feminist and progressives, who consider the film to be a triumph of their values, grow increasingly insecure. Last week, when one prominent film critic on YouTube released a video announcing that he would not view or review the new Ghostbusters (because, he said, it just looks terrible), progressives went into meltdown. An astonishing eighteen articles were published across left-leaning media outlets, hysterically slamming the reviewer for his wrongthink.
The Atlantic responded to Cinemassacre’s video stating that the only reason the reviewer didn’t want to watch it was because the film starred women. Inevitably, they also compared the movie’s detractors to GamerGate.
“Ghostbusters, by contrast, has become a rallying cause for a swathe of fans who are beginning to resemble a movement not unlike the Gamergate nightmare that continues to plague the world of video games” wrote David Sims, contributor to the Atlantic. “It’s impossible to know what Cinemassacre would’ve made of a Ghostbusters sequel starring Channing Tatum rather than Melissa McCarthy, but it’s likely there wouldn’t have been quite as much vitriol.”
Another headline on Medium called James Rolfe from Cinemassacre a “bigot” and accused him of “spewing his sexist bile” over YouTube. Death and Taxes called him an “angry nerd.”
The funniest headline came from The Daily Beast, which ran a story titled “Donald Trump’s Sexist Anti-‘Ghostbusters’ Crusade Goes Mainstream.” The author, clearly an expert in shocking progressive audiences, pointed out that the Republican presidential candidate had also criticized the upcoming reboot.
Rolfe even got death threats for his video, with some users mocking his marriage.
“I keep fixating on his wedding ring. Someone MARRIED this man-baby” wrote journalist Eric D. Snider.
“Probably a gold-digger who just married him for his Star Trek V gumball dispenser,” replied another user.
“That’s the only explanation. Why else would anyone kling on to him?” responded New York Times Magazine contributor Alexander Huls.
Of course, the pitchfork-wielders on social media neglected to mention that it’s not just men who think the new Ghostbusters is going to be a disaster. “Comic Book Girl 19,” a popular YouTuber with 450,000 subscribers, also knocked the reboot, calling the trailer a “disaster.”
“You have a remake of a nearly perfect movie that you’re never gonna top in a million years, and then you just put a bunch of women in it and then everyone’s just gonna blame that and think that women suck more,” said Comic Book Girl in a video. “That sucks. That’s not good.”
The official Ghostbusters 2016 trailer has 815,000 dislikes and just 239,000 likes. By contrast, Cinemassacre’s video announcing that they would not be reviewing it has just 2,500 dislikes against 51,000 likes. Comic Book Girl’s? 1,850 dislikes compared to 29,045 likes.
In pop culture as in politics, it seems there’s a considerable gap between the public and the pundits.
You can follow Allum Bokhari on Twitter, add him on Facebook, and download Milo Alert! for Android to be kept up to date on his latest articles.
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