The first trailer for the new Ghostbusters movie debuted yesterday and though it mostly looks great, our first glimpse of Leslie Jones' character Patty Tolan is potentially problematic. "You guys are really smart about this science stuff," says Tolan, the sole non-white member of the new Ghostbusting crew. "But I know New York and I can borrow a car from my uncle." As many film fans have pointed out on Twitter, white actresses Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy and Kate McKinnon are playing scientists, while African-American actress Jones appears to have been cast as the stereotypical "sassy, street-smart one". Some people are even using the hashtag #GhostbustersSoWhite.
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so the three white ladies are scientists/engineers but the black lady isnt?..ooooh #ghostbusterssowhite
— Mr Furiosa (@MrF1978) March 3, 2016
Obviously a two-minute trailer can be pretty misleading, so let's hope Jones' character turns out to be more fully-formed than she initially appears. After all, the new, female-led Ghostbusters movie is potentially very exciting. It's a reboot of an iconic film franchise fronted by four incredibly funny women who don't fit into Hollywood's traditional narrow-minded idea of what a female lead looks like. Leslie Jones has already responded to criticism of the trailer, tweeting earlier today: "Why can't a regular person be a ghostbuster. I'm confused. And why can't I be the one who plays them I am a performer. Just go see the movie! Regular People save the world everyday so if I'm the stereotype!! Then so be it!! We walk among Heroes and take them for granted."
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