Ars gets me all (sexually) excited about Ghostbusters

What would you think if you read this headline?:

• Dogs and cats, living together: Ars reviews Ghostbusters

That’s right, you would think, “Awesome, they’re doing an MST3K-style group review of Ghostbusters, the classic 1984 movie starring Bill Murray and Dan Akroyd.”

Sadly, you would be wrong.

They’re in fact reviewing a new video game.

Here’s the trailer.

Obviously, I don’t follow video games. Interestingly, though, for some months I have been meaning to broach a topic that may be of interest to anyone who has read this far: the sexual politics of Ghostbusters.

Consider the facts.

• The movie follows three screw-up science nerds (plus Winston) who go around fighting off death (a metaphor for the ’80s?) and making awkward moves on Sigourney Weaver.
• The big no-no is “crossing the streams” of hot plasma issuing from the mechanical bishops (or “proton packs”) they lug around.
• Which they use to conquer death, by the way.
• That is, until death takes the form of a comforting figure from childhood.
• Which is right after it took the form of an Eastern European model in a tight pink figure-skating leotard (who looks like she could snort rails of coke the size of highway lane markings).

• And along the way, Bill Murray publicly emasculates a strident environmentalist.

I’m no expert in cultural criticism. I’m just noticing things. You tell me if they add up to anything you find meaningful.