You know a lot of "sexism" In Hollywood is based off of numbers, figures and research. It's been shown that in the past, It's a lot harder to get guys to a female fronted film than it is to get woman to a male dominate film with typical female roles.
Recently, The tide has been shifting where studios have realized in some ways they have completely ignored the female movie going market, and the numbers there are strong. Pitch Perfect 2 beat out Mad Max... "Surprise" Hits like Bridesmaids etc. have made Hollywood weary of leaving any quadrant(viewing audience) untapped in a lot of films. It's funny how this has played out in a lot of scenarios. First with Star Wars, Now with Ghostbusters... We will be seeing less 80's/90's typical action/sci-fi casting and a lot more women on screen.
The reason why I think this is a problem with GB(I debated abbreviating this for quite some time...) is because consumers aren't stupid anymore. Everyone has so much access to so much information it's changing the way we see what is given to us. People have seen different movements rise to cultural front and center now (yes, I'm looking at you feminism) Where there is a demand for more women in Film, TV, Higher Pay, Less stereotypical roles... and for once, whether these movements be blamed for it or not when you give the people what they want or have been asking for, they show out in droves!
What I think the problem is, my views on any social movement aside is by taking a male dominated franchise, and giving it up as a victory to a highly polarizing cultural movement. People who wouldn't normally bat an eye are now up in arms, not because of any inherent hatred of women, But because you are now using that medium to declare a victory for something people may or may not agree with, and the veil is kind of thin... Whether that's what the filmmakers intended or not. I will tell you though, I'd bet large sums of cash the studios thought long and hard about how they can take a movie with lots of male oriented humor and sci-fi and pick up the female audience that has been performing very well at the box-office as of late... To further my point, Mad Max was very, VERY-much intended to be a feminist film. The only blowback was from a small vocal minority of internet blowhards. The movie was great, the trailer was great, it cleaned up at The Oscars. Max was in it, even if he had very few lines... and he still kicked ass. If you read Maddox's review of Mad-Max( I recommend it, It's hilarious) Then compare it to his reaction to the Ghostbusters Trailer... That's basically what I feel is going on in the general populace.
This is Ghostbusters, without the Ghostbusters, looking like a very "feminist" film taking over a very much male oriented franchise, but still widely beloved by many. The original is a very well balanced film, though it still fell into stereotypical territory at some points. You are taking all of that, flipping it on its head in a very "aware" period in our culture. People realize they are not doing this to make a point, but to ultimately try to cash in as hard as they can... and at the same time possibly ruining what people loved about the film in the first place, and possibly politicizing it... Well actually they already did that, again whether intended or not. They've flipped the demographic. The same demographic that would see "GB: Original" Is not the same demographic that would go see "GB: Bridesmaids edition"(Well, maybe they are, but who knows). Now they have backlash. The same backlash they would have if they turned Katniss into a Boy, or Bella into a man and had Zoe Saldana cast as Jacob and Edward as Olivia Wilde.
Edited for References:
Mad Max Review:
Mad Max: The only review you need to read for the only movie you need to watch.
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