My Girl Power is now rebooted

Little did I think that when I took annual leave for two weeks at the start of this month I would be feeling the full force of Girl Power again, a whole 20 years after the Spice Girls released their first single.

By the way, for those who have been asking about how the holidays went, I will only say this: ‘If I never see them childer again it will be too soon’.

Anyway, as the days dragged into weeks, I found myself looking longingly at the new Omniplex at Dundalk Retail Park. Guaranteed a couple of hours’ peace and if they were charging €20 a head in, I would have willingly paid it. I looked around at the movies and came upon the Ghostbusters reboot.

I knew very little about it except for the fact that all the lead roles are this time played by women. The classic movie, which is a remarkable 32 years old, made household names of Dan Ackroyd and Bill Murray. I will be honest and say that I didn’t know whether my two Lads would be happy about the ladies taking on the role of ass-kicking ghoul-battlers. I realised there have been NO movies that my fellows have seen that have featured this number of women in lead parts. It was time to change that.

I had a look online about the film and was stunned to discover that the trailer, which was released on YouTube around April, is the most disliked preview ever on the website, with more than 900,000 dislikes, coupled with some serious misogynistic comments. No-one had seen the movie, but they thought: ‘How dare four women take over this all male classic film and try to make it funny?’ I was genuinely shocked by the level of hatred for those involved in the movie, which, as it turned out, the critics mostly liked. The film reviewer for the Guardian revealed how he had been trolled online after he gave the new film a favourable write-up and was even wrongly accused of being paid to write a positive article.

As usual, it’s a storm in an internet teacup, but it was really appalling to see women targeted purely because of their gender. We went along to the film and I bounced out of the cinema, along with the Lads, who declared it ‘awesome’. It is a really, really good film. It’s not going to win Oscars, but neither are a lot of ‘ blockbusters’ released to coincide with the school holidays. The actresses are laugh out loud funny and they are faithful and respectful to the original, which also features cameos from Ackroyd and Murray.

The best part about it was the fact that the humour doesn’t rely on the fact they are ladies, it’s as physical and situational as the first movie.

I asked the Big Lad if he noticed the Ghostbusters were women. He didn’t, and neither did the Wee Lad. And I wondered if this was a ‘moment’ for the movement that is called, though I think it’s a dated term, ‘feminism’. By making this film and taking the ‘ bold’ decision to recast an all female line-up, the producers have actually created a clarion call, not only for girls and younger women, but even for middle-aged ladies like me who needed a boot (or reboot) up the backside.

I recall being delighted with the feeling, 20 years ago this month, that the Spice Girls had given teenagers like me who were allowed to go out into the world and not be defined or limited by our gender. But in the intervening years, especially working in a male-dominated profession where the boys still rule, with few exceptions, the Girl Power had almost drained from me. And I know it’s only a movie and I realised two decades ago it was only a pop band, but every woman needs her cultural reference and inspiration to continue the daily struggle for equality. I have found mine. Ladies, head to the cinema this summer and find yours. I promise you will feel prouder and happier than you have in a long time.