Mindy Kaling, magical soothsayer (or, at least, on-point cultural observer) Photo: Getty
Maybe we're all a little hopelessly naive, but who could've imagined the angry misogynist backlash the development and release of the upcoming all-female Ghostbusters would unleash on the world?
That's not a rhetorical question, the answer is: Mindy Kaling could - and she did.
As Hitflix just uncovered, the Mindy Project star predicted the fanboy uproar five years ago, in a chapter from her 2011 memoir, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns).
Ghostbusters opens in cinemas on July 14.
The excerpt, taken from the chapter titled 'Franchises I Would Like To Reboot', finds Kaling fretting over the potential boy backlash to her wonderfully girly Ghostbusters premise:
"I always wanted the reboot of Ghostbusters to be four girl-ghostbusters. Like, four normal, plucky women living in New York City searching for Mr. Right and trying to find jobs - but who also bust ghosts. I'm not an idiot, though. I know the demographic for Ghostbusters is teenage boys, and I know they would kill themselves if two ghostbusters had a makeover at Sephora. I just have always wanted to see a cool girl having her first kiss with a guy she's had a crush on, and then have to excuse herself to go trap the pissed-off ghosts of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire or something. In my imagination, I am, of course, one of the ghostbusters, with the likes of say, Emily Blunt, Taraji Henson, and Natalie Portman. Even if I'm not the ringleader, I'm definitely the one who gets to say, 'I ain't afraid a no ghost.' At least the first time."
Firstly, we would pay double the price of a normal cinema ticket ($84?) to see that movie, that sounds delightful.
Secondly, that's a pretty accurate prediction of the controversy the upcoming film has endured - although it's not just teenage boys threatening to kill themselves; it's grown-ass men pettily making the trailer the "most disliked in YouTube history", organising boycotts, and generally crying man-tears about it across the deep reaches of the internet.
In other words, either Mindy Kaling is a magical soothsayer (hey, she's done it before), or people have recognised Hollywood's bro-centric bullshit for ages. It's obviously the second answer, but we're also going to believe the first.
