In the last few years, there’s been a big trend for remaking popular TV shows and films with all-female casts.
For most people, the first movie that springs to mind is Ghostbusters, along with the all-girl sequel to Oceans 11 and the rumored James Bond with a female 007.
Doctor Who also received the Jodie Whittaker touch and now, there are reports that UK’s Peep Show will be receiving an American remake from the point of view of women.
What we want to know is why people are getting so angry about it.
There have been countless Reddit threads and online articles about how “unnecessary” these remakes are and the dreaded term “politically correctness gone overboard” has been thrown around more than a handful of times. Trolls slated Captain Marvel so hard that Rotten Tomatoes had to amend their reviewing policy so that reviews could not be posted prior to the movie’s release date. So seriously, what’s the beef?
We understand that people get defensive about their fandoms. When you love something, it’s hard not to be protective over it, but seriously, just let it go.
What people seem to forget is that a remake does not ruin the original. No matter how many Star Wars movies get made, the magic that happened the first time you watched the original can never be stolen.
Likewise, whoever you’ve handpicked as your James Bond or your Doctor cannot be taken away from you by new people playing that role. By giving these roles to new people, however, people who haven’t yet found their Bond or their Doctor may have a chance of doing so.
Cinema has historically been dominated by male leads, while female characters have tended to play the two-dimensional love interest or OTT mom.
These days, far more interesting parts are being written for women, and although we prefer it when new characters are written for our favorite female actors, it’s also fun to watch old classics receive a reboot by running a gender swap. For a new generation, it’s also exciting to see how they respond to watching our favorite stories with a modern, inclusive twist.
Ultimately, the problem with these all-female remakes is that Hollywood keeps on rebooting old films instead of taking risks with new ones. Remaking a classic with gender-reversed roles does not equate to equality by any means, but it is a fun way to offer a new take on an already-loved tale.
And if you genuinely don’t like the remake, you can always just not buy the DVD. Just a suggestion…
