The kind of thing I say in class to see if anyone is awake
Posted on February 25, 2008 @ 3:12 pm
From today’s lecture: “Little known fact here, but the 1984 film Ghostbusters was actually inspired by Britain’s post-World War II welfare policies. True story — it’s all in the DVD commentary.”
Posted by Jess | Filed Under Tales from the Classroom |
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You’re wrong good sir. It was inspired by France’s Post-World War II social and cultural policy and their battles with the ghosts of the pasts. Slimer was Algeria, the Stay Puff marshmallow man was the American influence on their culture and Bill Murray was Jerry Lewis.
Forgive the correction, my good man, but as a student of cinema, I must interject.
Ghostbusters is actually a clever reworking of the little known William S. Burroughs novelette, , “I’m a gonna get you, Ghosts!” In which Burroughs fights the demons of troubled past including addiction (slimer), anger (Stay Puf Marshmellow man) and his wife (Zool). The four Ghostbusters represents different aspects of Burroughs splintered personality. The analyitcal side (Harold Ramis), the pragmatic (Dan Ackroyd), the impulsive (Bill Murrary), and the black side (the black ghostbuster).
There is even line for line homage to Burrough’s book…
“Where do these stairs go”?
“Up.”
Of course in , “I’m a gonna get you, Ghosts!” the main character is talking about his ascent into the afterlife, but it’s still poignant.
Did anyone call you out on it? Sometimes I make purposeful mistakes like that on the tests, but I don’t think I’m verbally smooth enough to just slip something like that in without laughing my head off.
What do you teach anyway?
If I was a student still, I’d sign up for your class.
Wouldn’t attend much, but I’d sign up.
I’m pretty sure I wrote a paper where I compared the Stay-Puft Marshmallow man to Yeats’ “rough beast,” slouching towards Bethlehem. Sometimes even I wonder.