Solo4114
Master Member
Ok, so, let's unpack something really quickly: "cultural significance."
I tend to think that Star Wars has IMMENSE cultural significance and is in a class of its own. Star Wars basically defined "summer blockbuster" and created a new business model for film studios. It revolutionized filmmaking techniques with respect to special effects. It spawned innumerable imitators. You can find its fingerprints on television and in other films as wide-reaching as James Bond (e.g. Moonraker's space battle). Moreover, Star Wars spawned a generation of filmmakers who are basically chasing that same high they had as kids and making their own films. And it fundamentally altered how science fiction stories set in space, with spaceships and such, are told.
What's more, Star Wars provides a cultural touchstone that is global. Everyone, everywhere knows what you're talking about if you reference it, even if they've never seen it. If you say "Use the Force, Luke" -- even if you say it in an incorrect Darth Vader voice -- people just know what you mean. Star Wars as a cultural touchstone in that sense transcends the story itself from which the touchstone derives.
Ghostbusters, while a cracking good comedy that blends genres, was just a fun 80s film. It had a mediocre sequel, a cartoon that you'd never know about unless you're somewhere between the ages of 30 and 40, another cartoon I've literally never seen, and a toyline that I dimly remember my younger cousins playing with. Ghostbusters is not referenced universally. Ghostbusters did not fundamentally alter the cinematic landscape FOREVER. Ghostbusters is just...a really well-made 80s sci-fi/comedy film. It had the potential to be a bit bigger than that, but to put it on the same level as Star Wars in terms of cultural significance is absurd, no matter how much you may personally like it.
HOWEVER
A lot of that depends on what one means by "cultural significance." To me, it means whether something is universally recognized, whether it shaped culture, whether it impacted culture, whether it changed culture or became part of the culture beyond itself. In my opinion, Ghostbusters has about the same cultural significance as, say, Caddyshack, Animal House, or Anchorman. It's an always-entertaining view. It's a classic comedy. It's something that a generation of people know pretty well and can reference here and there with the odd quote.
But it's not like Ghostbusters had a much wider ripple effect beyond that, outside of the hardcore fanbase of the film itself. Someone who has never seen Ghostbusters will not instantly "get" the reference to "Dogs and cats living together! MASS HYSTERIA!" if you say that line. I mean, they may laugh because the line's funny even out of context (such was the strength of the humor in the film), but they won't be like
None of this is to say that Ghostbusters '84 isn't a terrific movie. It is! It absolutely is. But it definitely isn't Star Wars in terms of cultural significance, at least the way I define the term.
