Week 29: Ghostbusters

Dear Avid Reader,

Ugh. Got another rejection email. Sucks.

I'm not sure how this will effect this post, but I intend to press on.

Ray, When Someone Asks You If You're A God, You Say "Yes"

One of my pet peeves is this current trend to qualify things that you say. Rather than say a sentence, there is a tendency to instantly hedge whatever implication your statement so that no one could ever use the statement against you in the future. Here is an example:

"My name is Speaker and I'm a good writer. I'm no expert, I don't do it professionally, but I feel as though the things I write have a degree of quality. No that all of my writing is of high quality. Sometimes I write a real stinker, and I know that. I can admit that some of the things I put out there are not the best. But for the most part, I can say that my writing is good. Overall. For an amateur. I'm no Ayn Rand. Who is after all? And I wouldn't necessarily compare style to Ayn. I have my way of doing it and she does it her way. And she is good at her style, and I can hold my own in mine. So yeah. That's how I feel."

God, what a douche Speaker is.

What About The Twinkie?

This happens all the time. No one wants to take a stand. Like there are armies of lawyers waiting to catch you in some kind of promise and then sue you. Or worse, a friend will be able to bring up the declaration and use it against you in an argument. Or, like the above passage, I get the feeling folks are afraid to oversell themselves. But why say something is you are gonna qualify the crap out of it. "Speaker" should have never brought up the fact that he felt like he was a good writer. He obviously doesn't feel that way. He should have gone with something like this:

"My name is Speaker and I am a good writer. I defy you to challenge me on this."

See. No wasted time. Why talk if you aren't gonna say something?

What Are You Supposed To Be, Some Kind Of A Cosmonaut

This brings us to Ghostbusters. Ghostbusters is a perfect movie. The End.

You're Right, No Human Being Would Stack Books Like Thi

This flick is one of the reasons I originally started this blog. It is hugely popular, infinitely rewatchable, and yet it routinely is left off "greatest movies" lists. Probably because it is a comedy. It doesn't have an epic scope that provides the viewer with hope of a better future with a twinge of sadness. Greatness, it seems, crawls fro the spawning pool of melancholy.

But here's the thing, Ghostbusters unifies us as humans. Ghostbusters achieves what all art wants to achieve, impact over the whole of mankind. Everyone knows who to call if there is something strange in their neighborhood. "Crossing the streams" is shorthand for a last ditch effort or a suicide mission. And the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is the go to option when forced to pick a monster to do battle with. These are the gifts that Ghostbusters provides. Mankind is wealthier because of this knowledge.

What A Lovely Singing Voice You Must Have

I'm gonna do something that I did back in my Top Gun post. I'm gonna give you the list of the films that were up for the Best Picture Oscar the same year that Ghostbusters was released.

Amadeus (winner)
The Killing Fields
A Passage to India
Places in the Heart
A Soldier's Story

Amadeus notwithstanding, did you see any of these flicks? The most famous thing that any of these other flicks produced was Sally Field's award acceptance speech. I submit that Ghostbusters is better than all of these movies accept Amadeus. Furthermore, Ghostbusters should forever be included in "Best Of" lists as an example of comedy and adventure movies. These movie genres are woefully under represented in discussions about great film.

Nobody Steps On A Church In My Town

Now, am I asking that novelty records be nominated for Grammys? No. But I also don't think rap should be excluded just because it defies the current preconceptions of what great albums are supposed to sound like. What if country artists weren't nominated for the General Awards because it was too popular and wasn't epic enough in scope? It would be ridiculous. I don't think the two situations are that different.

I refuse to backtrack on this. Movies other than dramas are great and should be considered as such! Ghostbusters is great. No qualifications. Remind me of this post in ten years and I will stand by it.

But even if I don't you'd be an asshole for bringing it up. I mean it will have been ten years ago.

Until Next I Blog,

James