Guess what, misogynists? You're the reason 'Ghostbusters' is about gender
"Oh man, are we saying that every man is an antagonist?"
It was a question that Ghostbusters co-writers Katie Dippold and Paul Feig found themselves asking as the 2016 reboot came together.
Yes, the film stars four women where before it was four men. Yes, it's been the target of bilious, misogynistic sentiment. And yes, it has some important things to say about gender politics. But anti-men?
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"I think for the most part we wanted these women to just be really strong, really dedicated and just work really hard at their goal, then see them achieve it," Dippold told Mashable.
"All the gender stuff kept slipping in. I think it was organic. [We didn't] set out to make some big point."
"All the gender stuff kept slipping in. We didn't set out to make some big point."
It's amusingly ironic. Senseless haters attacked the movie for casting four women, and the behavior of those trolls in turn influenced the creative process to address them directly.
Why is Ghostbusters so strongly steeped in gender politics? The haters made it so.
"Just because of what we were dealing with, stuff got in our subconscious," Dippold said. "It kind of became about proving something, or just fighting for what you believe in despite what others think about you.
"A lot of these things weren't intentional but they were going on at the same time, so I think they kept making their way into the script."
Pointed comments in the script directed at unsavory internet denizens and the toxic culture present in commenter spaces were always there. But that was Dippold wanting to speak to a broader point.
"We definitely wanted to [address the way] everyone is looking for this external validation ... from the internet and social media. And I think that's pretty bad," she explained.
"That was sort of at the heart of what [the commenter commentary] was about. And then as we kept getting really nasty comments, then we just threw a couple things in there [that addressed it directly]."
So the movie turned into something more, delivering a sharp political statement in the midst of its entertaining spook comedy. Dippold loves the way things turned out, but readily admits that she had more of a subtle path in mind. She never intended for "the all-female Ghostbusters" to become an unofficial tagline.
"As much as I want this movie to be about female empowerment, to me what's empowering is that you just watch this movie about four Ghostbusters ... and it's not about the fact that it's the female version of it."
It might be hard to accept now given all of the negativity and backlash, but way back when it was Dippold and Feig taking on a new job, it was just a case of two fans landing their dream gigs.
All they ever wanted to do as writers was make Ghostbusters fans -- all of them -- happy.
"That is the thing that breaks my heart when people are upset about this," Dippold said.
"First and foremost, this is a love letter to the original. I think that all the time. Everyone on the cast and crew loves the movie so much. [The hate] really breaks my heart. To me, as a fan, I was hoping this would be a movie that a fan would want to see."
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Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
