MovieChat Forums > Ghostbusters (1984) Discussion > Anyone else don’t consider Winston as pa...

Anyone else don’t consider Winston as part of Ghostbuster team 👻


1. He came in late during their success
2.He bailed on them during the jail scene

He was never part of the bond

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[deleted]

Oh, I dunno, he seemed very much up on the whole spirits thing, like he remarks on a drive with Ray that the reason they're so busy is that the dead have been rising from the grave.

And later on, at the climax, Gozer asks Ray if he's a god, and Ray stupidly answers no, and nearly gets them all killed. Then Winston corrects him on the whole "deities asking questions" thing:

"Ray, next time someone asks you if you're a god, you say YES!"

Of course, this is all from memory, and I haven't seen the movie for over a year or two, but I think that's how it went down.

I'd say Winston Zedmore is a worthy addition to the Ghostbusters team.

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he redeemed himself when he he told the mayor the ghosts were real

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I have seen SHIT that will turn you WHITE!

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When they were arrested after the storage facility was shut down he was a part of the group. When they were all in jail he said something along the lines, "I got to get my own lawyer." There was nothing implied He bailed on the Ghostbusters.

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Actually in jail he tried to get himself out by telling the guard "Listen, I just WORK with these guys. And I wasn't even there!"

Kinda implies that he doesn't consider himself a real member of the team; at least not enough to go down with them when the shit hits the fan.

I still consider him a bonafide member, though. Especially after part 2 when he's eking out a living doing birthday parties for brats with Ray.

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Agreed. He didn't bail on anyone and he definitely didn't need to go to Dana's building for the finale of the film if he had bailed! Winston is definitely part of the team!

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He obviously didn't bail on them though as he was there with them in the mayor's office and was with them fighting Gozer. He also was in the cartoon which was canon to the movie.

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No. He was a part of the Ghostbusters. Of course, he was a liberal "token" addition but the setting and manner of his joining was realistic. Denying Winston his job title is racist.

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What was racist about the OP? You are literally the only one who has brought race up.

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when the stupid of racism raises it's ugly head: "Let's create racism where none existed" Your attempt at retconning more racism failed.

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I just saw on the news that the left now considers National Parks to be racist because mostly white people go there so when a minority goes there they feel left out and uncomfortable just because they are surrounded by white people. And of course Buckhead, Georgia is racist because they want to break away from Atlanta because the mayor (a black woman) won't protect them

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oh good lord. I seriously believe that this level of stupid can't possibly actually accomplish anything, other than making noise that is roundly ignored for a few years before they move on to the next stupid thing.

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In a few years whites will be the minority in the USA.

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No one cares except you. Unlike you I do not define people by the color of their skin.

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They already are.

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Racist ? Wht part of my question was racist 🤣
If you see racism in the simple question then you’re a racist

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I know that Winston was originally supposed to be played by Eddie Murphy and would have had a bigger part in the movie. I believe the story was he turned it down and Ernie Hudson obviously wasn’t a big name so his part was scaled back. I never thought there was any racist undertone to Winston. He was the Everyman among the Ghostbusters and he also has my favorite scene in the movie when he discusses religion with Ray in the Ectomobile.

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Allegedly, Bill Murray wouldn’t stop improvising while filming Ghostbusters, so the writers and director kept cutting back Ernie Hudson’s role to give Murray more screen time.

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I'm thankful Eddie Murphy didn't take the role cause he would've probably taken away too much focus from the other characters.

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I wonder if the complaints about Winston's characterization are that why couldn't he too have some sort of doctorate or some other high success in academics like Peter, Ray, and Egon? Ernie Hudson himself, said that Winston was originally written to be an Air Force major and demolitions expert. But in the finished product, Winston just comes across as some average bum off the street, asking for a job regardless of his qualifications.

https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Ernie-Hudson-Role-Ghostbusters-Was-Supposed-Very-Different-68102.html

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He's a Ghostbuster. What's shocking is that someone thought it acceptable for him not to be on the poster. As a child I was always confused as to why he wasn't there. Now I know. Racism.

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Yep, it’s clearly the result of white supremacy not the fact that his role in the story was smaller than the main characters.

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He's a Ghostbuster, but not a full and equal part of the team.

Honestly, his half-presence is one of the few flaws in a very good film, because he contributes very little and isn't included in the team bond. Now I know that he was originally intended to have a significant role and that most of his contributions ended up on the cutting room floor, but the end result is that he comes across as the token black guy, one added in a half-assed way and never built up as equal in any way. That was one thing they did rather better in the remake, the film as a whole was certainly flawed, but the built up the Leslie Jones character as being intelligent, an expert in her field, and as important as any team member.

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He’s kind of like the Felix Leiter of the Ghostbusters, yes he’s part of a team but he doesn’t get equal billing with the guy playing James Bond.

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More like if Felix Leiter was Bond's official partner instead of someone that Bond deals with occasionally, but who only got as much screentime and writer attention as the Felix Leiter we all know.

Really, the whole Winston thing was bungled, they should either have left his part substantial or cut him entirely. Because having him sort of half on the team really left a character who felt like nothing more than, well, the movie's token black person. And that is, IMHO, the movie's only real flaw.

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Well the thing is Felix didn’t always get a lot of attention, I mean look at The Living Daylights, I have no idea why he’s even in the movie, he’s only in two scenes and he contributes nothing to the plot other than telling Bond once when he should punch out a guard

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Well, Felix never contributes anything to a plot, except exposition and comic relief. Sound familiar?

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So thats not a ghost 👻 🚫?in the poster but someone in a kkk hood ? 😂🤣

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Well the original three Busters, Venkman, Stanz and Spangler, were established as having been close friends since they started college, if not earlier. So yeah, there was a much stronger bond of friendship between them. They also had the professional bond of all being scientists, and having conceived of, built, and potentially gambled their futures away on the idea of the Ghostbusters in the first place, when it initially looked like it would be a massive failure as a business.

Winston was just an honest, hardworking, blue-collar guy who wanted a job.

I think that he proved himself a legit member of the team by the end of the movie, even though he has dialogue earlier which indicates that he doesn't really consider himself one of them.

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Other than his relationship with Ray, I never got the feeling that Winston was really friends with the other Ghostbusters outside of merely being business and work acquaintances. Ray seems to be the only one who makes an effort to get to know Winston, make him feel at home, and tutor him about the ins and outs of their work.

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