Revisionism on "The Real Ghostbusters"
Just a few minutes ago, as I was listening to Luc Bovens lecture on the critiques of Robert Nozick's Entitlement Theory, I had a brief but startling revelation. With Ben Estep's platinum blonde locks in the periphery of my field of vision, it suddenly dawned upon me that Egon Spengler, the brainy, scientific counterpoint to Bill Murray's wisecracking Peter Venkman in the Ghostbusters films, was the subject of revisionist whitewashing in the animated series, "The Real Ghostbusters."
Now, you might say "how can it be white-washing if you're talking about Egon? You would have had to honkify (to coin a term) Winston Zeddimore in order to do that!" Well, while the creators of "The Real Ghostbusters" probably foresaw the inevitable blitzkrieg of controversy by the NAACP that would follow the honkification of the show's one black character, and so they chose subtly to undermine the prominent Jewishness of Egon, viewing such a change as more likely to slip under the radar.
Even a cursory comparason of the two Egons, without even delving into their multifarious behavioral differences, is quite revealing. First, the most apparent distinction between the two is in the hair: the poofy dark locks of Harold "The Hebrew Hammer" Ramis have been dyed platinum blonde, and feature a prominent pompadour evocative of a cocksureness entirely missing in the film version.
Second, remark the large protruding beak of the film Egon, which has not been translated into the cartoon Egon below.
Notice as well the strong chin of cartoon Egon, as well as the difference in facial expression: cartoon Egon enters the fray with a look a intrepid bragadocio, while film Egon looks appropriately like a scientist who is shooting a 20 pound particle accelerator and is scared shitless.
In short, the dazzlingly intelligent but nerdy Egon, a model example of the neurotic East Coast Jewish intelligentsia, has metamorphasized into the brilliant and fearless Ghostbuster who looks like a hybrid of Dolph Lundgren, Gunnar Nelson, and the flaxen-locked "Nuclear Man" from Superman IV. This transmogrification from from brainy, bespectacled unter-mensch to the paragon of Aryan perfection cannot entirely be explained with the ostensible rationale of the Teutonic roots of Egon's surname, Spengler. Such a radical departure from the original features of film Egon is only intelligible if we allow for the existence of a fringe splinter element nestled deep in the inner recesses of the entertainment industry, aiming at nothing less than the wholesale eradication of all references to the Chosen People in children's television. Whatever these dastardly, neo-Fascist racists might have planned for the future generations, we can only guess. But one thing is for certain: they must also be responsible for the travesty that was the cancellation of Hammerman, the finest in wholesome Saturday morning cartoons this side of Captain N: The Gamemaster or Camp Candy.
Now, you might say "how can it be white-washing if you're talking about Egon? You would have had to honkify (to coin a term) Winston Zeddimore in order to do that!" Well, while the creators of "The Real Ghostbusters" probably foresaw the inevitable blitzkrieg of controversy by the NAACP that would follow the honkification of the show's one black character, and so they chose subtly to undermine the prominent Jewishness of Egon, viewing such a change as more likely to slip under the radar.
Even a cursory comparason of the two Egons, without even delving into their multifarious behavioral differences, is quite revealing. First, the most apparent distinction between the two is in the hair: the poofy dark locks of Harold "The Hebrew Hammer" Ramis have been dyed platinum blonde, and feature a prominent pompadour evocative of a cocksureness entirely missing in the film version.
Second, remark the large protruding beak of the film Egon, which has not been translated into the cartoon Egon below.
Notice as well the strong chin of cartoon Egon, as well as the difference in facial expression: cartoon Egon enters the fray with a look a intrepid bragadocio, while film Egon looks appropriately like a scientist who is shooting a 20 pound particle accelerator and is scared shitless.
In short, the dazzlingly intelligent but nerdy Egon, a model example of the neurotic East Coast Jewish intelligentsia, has metamorphasized into the brilliant and fearless Ghostbuster who looks like a hybrid of Dolph Lundgren, Gunnar Nelson, and the flaxen-locked "Nuclear Man" from Superman IV. This transmogrification from from brainy, bespectacled unter-mensch to the paragon of Aryan perfection cannot entirely be explained with the ostensible rationale of the Teutonic roots of Egon's surname, Spengler. Such a radical departure from the original features of film Egon is only intelligible if we allow for the existence of a fringe splinter element nestled deep in the inner recesses of the entertainment industry, aiming at nothing less than the wholesale eradication of all references to the Chosen People in children's television. Whatever these dastardly, neo-Fascist racists might have planned for the future generations, we can only guess. But one thing is for certain: they must also be responsible for the travesty that was the cancellation of Hammerman, the finest in wholesome Saturday morning cartoons this side of Captain N: The Gamemaster or Camp Candy.
posted by Det. John Kimble at 16:13
2 Comments:
wow that was a load of bull. so much bull that I feel like I need to use the restroom. I mean serously, they change a haircut and you think its racist? how old are you, 3? were you even alive when the cartoon was on tv? for one, if you havent noticed they changed Ray as well. and their customes!
and sorry but real ghostbuusters was a much better scripted cartoon than any of the other cartoons you mentioned.
I beg to differ with you Mr. Anonymous, as would the ACLU who have taken up the case and are looking for retroactive compensation. You miss a key element in our defense: not only has the hair been changed, but also the nose. The nose is key to our entire defense. We have borrowed physiognomical documents from the Aryan Nation website which prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that there has been conscious teutonification of the Egon character. I was as much a fan of the Real Ghostbusters as you probably were (I was about 9 or 10 when it was out) but if you can't see the light my friend then you must be blinding yourself to the real facts.
Workers of the world unite!
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