This paper compares the fan responses to the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot and 2012’s Elementary, a Sherlock Holmes reimagining. Both reboots faced criticism from long-time fans of the properties, in part because of more diverse casting choices. In previous versions, the Ghostbusters and the character of John Watson represented ciphers through which the audience was introduced to the world, and also the trope of the ‘everyman’ character which the (often-male) fans could relate to. In changing these characters from the normative, straight, white male into women of color (Lucy Liu, Leslie Jones), of a different sexual orientation (Kate McKinnon), or to those who do not fit into traditional standards of beauty (Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig), some fans felt they could no longer relate to the characters. As such, the negative responses were often couched in fears of no longer being the target audience of properties that had previously been important to them.
Rebooting franchises in the modern era is fraught: both Elementary and Ghostbusters reflect the difficulties in changing popular properties, facing strong responses to the casting in particular. Fan bases have organized and entrenched themselves in the digital sphere, as social media sites like Twitter and YouTube allow for direct and wider interaction with both other fans and creators. This has contributed to a rise in toxic masculinity in those spaces, and responses have grown more vitriolic and public, reflecting the drastic shift that fan culture has undergone in the past five years. This subject will be examined through a close reading of internet commentary in conjunction within a fan studies and media studies framework.
About the presentersPeter Cullen Bryan
Dr. PETER CULLEN BRYAN teaches English at Clemson University. He received his PhD in American Studies and Communication at the Pennsylvania State University in 2018. His areas of study include American Studies, Intercultural Communication, and 21st Century American culture, emphasizing comic art and fan communities. His first book, exploring the transcultural adaptations of Carl Barks’s Duck Comics, is out now. His research has appeared in the Journal of Fandom Studies, The Journal of American Culture, and Popular Culture Studies Journal, exploring the intersections of creative activism and fan identities in adaptational and transnational spaces.
Brittany R Clark
Brittany Clark is a PhD candidate in American Studies at Penn State University - Harrisburg. Her primary area of interest is in representations of working culture, specifically retail working culture. Other areas of focus include consumer culture, popular culture (especially television), and gender.