My Pop Culture Apology is to a character that I disliked when I was younger. Now with time and re-watching, I have realized how great she really is. I am here to apologize to Janine Melnitz.
Most of my childhood memories of Janine come from the Ghostbusters animated series, rather than from the movie. I thought that she was annoying and couldn’t stand the way that she was always fawning over Egon. He didn’t seem that interested (in my elementary school mind he had more sophisticated taste than her). I found recently, looking back on the series, how wrong I was. Janine is smart and capable, plus the fawning episodes were fewer and farther between then I remembered.
Movie Janine is even better. She clearly keeps the place running. Peter gives her the day’s receipts, so obviously she keeps the books. That’s a good thing, if paying the guys the power would have been shut off much sooner. Janine was also the one conducting Winston’s job interview. Remember, “Do you believe in UFOs, astral projection, mental telepathy, ESP, clairvoyance, spirit photography, telekinetic movement, full trance mediums, the Loch Ness monster, and the theory of Atlantis?” Judging from her face she doesn’t, even with ghosts locked in the basement.
That or she can’t believe that the guys even wanted her to ask. Whether she believes it or not, she’s just as happy as the guys when the first real call comes in. Janine stands up for herself, too, especially around Peter and his rudeness. She stands up for the team, too, demanding to see Walter Peck produce a search warrant before letting him past her desk.
Janine eavesdrops on Peter and Peck’s first meeting. Partially (in my mind) out of curiosity, but also just in case he needed the backup. Janine is a New York woman and she can handle things.
This is my public apology to Janine Melnitz, a character that I wish that I had appreciated more as a kid. Do you have any characters that you have grown to like?
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