The director of The Housemaid, Paul Feig, has had enough of social media outrage. Notably, he has been at the receiving end of it for his 2016 reboot of the iconic Ghostbusters franchise. Now, in a recent interview, Feig had some scathing words to say about controversies in popular culture.
Pop culture outrage has blown out of proportion, implies Paul Feig
At Variety’s “Power of Law” breakfast event, Feig came out in support of Sydney Sweeney, who recently faced backlash for the American Eagle jeans ad. The campaign slogan “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans” became a subject of intense controversy, with critics arguing that it subtly promoted “ideal” genetic traits and fueled the notion of eugenics.
While referencing Sweeney’s controversy, he said that people nowadays get outraged over trivial matters. “Sydney, she had a contentious thing… unnecessary outrage is the biggest problem in our society right now. People get so outraged about stupid s—.”
Feig appears to fall within the category of people who saw the ad as old-school fashion marketing and wordplay. Elaborating further on his point, he stated that serious issues are happening around the world that people need to worry about, and that minor cultural issues shouldn’t be treated as major crises. The debate highlights a growing divide in how audiences interpret cultural moments in the age of social media.
“When there are all kinds of things to be outraged about, we outrage about pop culture,” Feig stated. He then cited his own 2016 film, Ghostbusters, which triggered massive online backlash for its all-female lead cast. Originally, the franchise had featured male-led casts. The trailer for the film became one of the most disliked on YouTube at the time.
Implying that the outrage at the time was disproportionate, he quipped, “The female ‘Ghostbusters’ 10 years ago, you would’ve thought I launched an invasion.”
While outrage culture continues alongside the rise of social media, Feig’s statement does leave us with something to think about.
Do you agree with the filmmaker’s stance on outrage culture? Do you think people react strongly to trivial matters that dilute attention from real-world problems? Let us know in the comments section below.
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