Draven

It's interesting that despite all evidence to the contrary (wildly out of whack ratios on likes/dislikes, evidence of online communities who are discussing how to dislike the trailer, the existence of a "pile on" mentality in other internet corners), people still think this is natural.

It is absolutely possible that people dislike the trailer AND there is an active campaign to pump up the dislikes to an absurdly high ratio. They are not mutually exclusive.

Josh-da-man

I think that Ghostbusters, as a franchise, has a small but very intense legion of hardcore fans. And then a good-sized amount of casual fans who fondly remember the first movie from the 1980s.

The small but intense group of superfans is then able to turn a lot of the casual fans of the movie against it in a sort of bandwagon effect. Then the MRA/anti-feminist crowd picks up the cause, and it sort of goes nuts.

It sort of reminds of of the backlash against the Battlestar Galactica remake from ten years ago, where the hardcore fanbase of the original was dead set opposed to the remake, and Starbuck was even being reimagined as a girl. But the BSG backlash didn't really to anywhere because the remake was actually good, and the original was a corny Star Wars knock-off.

The original GB movie was rather good, but didn't manage to become a franchise because the sequel wasn't well-received, and it sort of faded away. Which is actually the trajectory BSG took, but since GB was a stronger work than BSG, a remake/sequel/reboot is going to have larger shoes to fill.

Michael Corvin

I'm willing to bet that there are also people that typically ignore the "like/dislike" buttons but decided to vote on this one. I'm not sure that would count towards a "pile on" debate.

Groucho

Not that this has a good trailer, but the narrative that people saw the trailer, were disappointed, and were then dismissed as "sexist" is a false one. You can see the proof yourself around the internet, including the original thread on this very forum. As soon as the mostly-female cast was announced the sexist jokes started up, long before there was a trailer.

Guru Askew

That very well may be but it's a moot point now that these ridiculous dislike campaigns are already starting to taint any legitimate negative reception.

The blame for the mainstream media writing the critics off as misogynists deservedly falls squarely on the nerd hive/mind for collectively acting like assholes at every turn since this thing was announced. Nothing has me rooting for this movie more than the embarrassing behavior I've regularly seen coming from their camp.

Groucho

Proving my own point: this post was made a mere 14 minutes after the female cast news was posted in this forum: http://forum.dvdtalk.com/12187576-post713.html

Josh-da-man

It's not about sexism and misogyny, it's about ethics in game journalism.

brayzie

GB II was a financial success. But Bill Murray refused to do a third film. He only starred in the original GB to get Razor's Edge made.

robin2099

I don't believe that the internet movement to "dislike the trailer" is as much of a small minority as people think. Obviously there are some hardcore fans who are grossly opposed to this movie, but Ghostbusters is a pretty beloved brand. Everyone knows about the movies, everyone knows the symbol and everyone knows the story. I was in the Lego store and a five year old was talking about how cool the Firehouse set looked and about how much he wanted it.

So you essentially have people who know of a brand and have affection for it and the dislikes on YouTube is sending a pretty clear message that this is not what they want from this franchise. If the trailer for Batman and Robin came out today I guarantee it would probably be the same result. The trailer was also pretty dang bad and every time I've seen it in a theatre so far it's bombed. Also, the mother in the Lego Store when he son mentioned a new movie said that it doesn't look good. So it clearly isn't connecting with people.

Guru Askew

In the last thread there was also an impassioned rant about the movie's dissenters being falsely labeled as misogynists immediately after a thinly-veiled c-word pun was posted directed at a picture of dozens of female cast and crew.

When your buddies stop posting abhorrent sexist and racist comments and generally acting like immature assholes then we'll talk about the media painting those critical of the movie with a broad brush.

brayzie

All the people critical of the movie are buddies with sexists and racists?

Guru Askew

I call bullshit on this story. It was actually believable until the mom and the kid went on to discuss the quality of the new movie.

And for what it's worth, I am the proud owner of the LEGO Firehouse. It's a huge fucking thing but there's still gonna be plenty of room for the 2016 Ecto-1 on my shelf along with its 1984 counterpart.

You can't celebrate their "victories" (look at the very first post in this thread!) and then whine when you get lumped in with them.

Mike86

This I can see more being the case over a "dislike campaign". People who typically don't like or dislike may be more apt to dislike this trailer given how divisive it was with people.

Mabuse

Maybe this new film will be good, maybe it will be bad, I'll judge it when I see it. But the number one thing that's bothered me through all of this is folks writing things like what you just wrote above. I find it distasteful to defend this new movie (that you haven't seen) by criticizing the original film which is a widely seen and enjoyed film that is a popular favorite even after 30 years.

I'm not putting the first film on a pedestal. I make no claims to its perfection. I just feel that ultimately it is the Test of Time that determines a film's quality. Does it transcend its era, can it find new fans, do its lessons and humor still apply as times change? I've got an 8 year old daughter who says it's her favorite movie, and last night at the "Daddy Daughter Dance" I witnessed a room full of Girl Scouts lose their shit when the song was played, all of them dancing and jumping.

The original film has moved beyond the usual measures of success, box office and film critics. It has proven to withstand the Test of Time.

I really don't like Animal House very much. Structurally it feels all fucked up to me. But I look at it objectively and realize I'd be a fool to take up the argument that the film is flawed. The people have spoken, time has proven the film to be long remembered and enjoyed by several generations of people at this point.

You are welcome to your opinion, but frankly I think you're argument is every bit as dumb as someone who decides to defend Pam Anderson's Barb Wire by arguing that Casablanca wasn't really that good after all.

Guru Askew

C'mon man, you can't honestly believe this. There are hundreds of YouTube comments discussing and celebrating reaching certain dislike voting goals and you think just one of several possible psychological reactions people are having accounts for all these votes?

Mabuse

THAT'S a sexist joke??? It's a joke, period. What the heck is sexist about it? Does just making a reference to undergarments makes something sexist?

Guru Askew

Oh, man. Thank you for this.

Mike86

Like I said before I find it hard to believe that someone or some group of people is convincing hundreds of thousands of people to dislike the trailer or getting people to do it multiple times. It's just something I think most people wouldn't care that much about to really do. There may be a certain group but getting that many people to do it seems like a stretch unless it is a bot program or something.

Mabuse

You're thanking me for telling you I don't like your style of argument where you denigrate the original? You're welcome, I guess.

Guru Askew

Where did I denigrate the original?

Mabuse

Stuff like this:When you cherry pick a moment from the universally enjoyed classic film and say "It's not that great after all" and then you say some moment in this new film (that you haven't seen) is a better joke. It drives me crazy.

Here's my impression of you in 1996: "That airplane in the beginning of Casablanca looked pretty fake. I'm sure the effects in Barb Wire are going to be MUCH better than that, so stop trashing Barb Wire everybody."

Groucho

Show me an equivalent thread, where a joke about jock straps (or similar) was made after a movie featuring a mostly-male cast of characters was announced.

robin2099

[QUOTEI call bullshit on this story. It was actually believable until the mom and the kid went on to discuss the quality of the new movie.

And for what it's worth, I am the proud owner of the LEGO Firehouse. It's a huge fucking thing but there's still gonna be plenty of room for the 2016 Ecto-1 on my shelf along with its 1984 counterpart.][/QUOTE]

Just like I call bullshit on your story about how everyone cracked up at the trailer at your Civil War showing. The only difference being that I haven't defended this movie against literally every criticism that someone has thrown at it like you have. The only difference is I have more credibility than you do and my story actually happened.

Seriously dude? Every chance you get to criticize the jokes in the original when someone criticizes the new one you do. The only difference is the original is a classic that has stood the test of time and this one is not looking to follow suit.

Mabuse

I imagine the Magic Mike thread. I don't know.

EDIT: Here's a gem, "I think it will be a well balanced movie. Man ass and peen shots for the women and gay men, oliva munn boobies for the straight men."

Some others:
"I cannot wait to throw my money at this movie this weekend." That is so demeaning to their career choice!

"I can't believe we are two dudes arguing about the significance of Magic Mike."

There's this comment about the Bluray multipack: "+ 6-pack??? Beer or Abs?"

Groucho

Here is a highlight of this forum's reaction to announcement of the male cast of The Expendables:

"Not many movies contain so much Awesome."
"Oh man thats pure man movie right there!"
"this could be the manliest, biggest, most bad-fucking-ass testosterone overdrive this side of a Commando/Uncommon Valor/Extreme Prejudice triple feature"
"I'm in."
"Can't wait."
"sounds good."
"I'm all in."
"The poster should have a warning: 'Not recommended for pussies.'"
"This like a movie based on Testosterone. No Vaginas allowed to see this flick for sure..."
"This movie's going to be insane."

This all from the first page, with only a brief description of plot.

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/movie-talk/...pendables.html