RichardLess wrote: ↑February 11th, 2023, 10:08 pm I’ve read this a couple times now. I’m trying to make sense of it. So beams work in 2021 because Gozer is powered by Ghost of Miners. Why would that make a difference tho?
(This may ramble, I was putting it into words on-and-off all afternoon).
As we observe during the battle with Gozer in 1984, the particle streams don't latch onto Gozer at all.
Based on this we can formulate the following speculations:
•Gozer is toying with the Ghostbusters.
•Or Gozer's "flat top" manifestation doesn't correspond to the same ionization rate that earth-bound ghosts correspond to, making the proton streams useless against it (Gozer's Stay Puft manifestation however does correspond to the ionization rate of earth-bound ghosts, making it vulnerable to the particle streams)
•Or that Gozer's "flat top" manifestation isn't actually physical, but more of a mental projection.
In 2021 however, we can observe the proton stream interacting with Gozer, both when Gozer's batting 500 with Zuul trapped, and also when it's at 100% manifestation again with Zuul free. And when fully manifested, Gozer is still caught in the three streams being fired by Ray, Peter and Winston, even with advance warning.
Based on this we can formulate the following speculations:
•Gozer did have the power to shrug off the particle streams in 1984, but doesn't have that power now in 2021.
•Or Gozer didn't have the power to shrug off the particle streams.
•Or Gozer's flat-top form is much more physical in its returning manifestation in 2021 than in it's 1984 manifestation.
So, what's different about Gozer's manifestation in 2021 versus 1984? Why does Gozer's "flat top" manifestation seem more physical and vulnerable in 2021 than in 1984?
I believe it's down to what was done in the mine to bring Gozer to our world versus what was done at the Shandor Building in New York.
While Egon details that bizarre rituals were conducted by Shandor and his cult on 550 Central Park West's roof, and that Shandor himself indulged in unnecessary surgical operations, there's no mention in the original film of any ritual sacrifice involved in those rituals (despite the sacrificial altar-looking adornment on the roof)... Whereas in 2021, Podcast specifically mentions how the miners leapt to their deaths in the pit in the mine. The dialogue between the kids when they're viewing the chamber in the mine and it's empty wall graves may also infer that Shandor's followers also contributed towards the sacrifices in the mine.
Later, when we see the pit in the mine becoming active, we can see a whole multitude of humanoid shapes which start to coalesce into Gozer's flat top form. When Vinz disables the sentry Packs, we see this coalescence reach completion and become Gozer's flat-top form.
Finally, when Gozer is defeated, we see a bunch of humanoid forms being ripped out of it's flat-top form.
Based on this, we can formulate the following speculation:
•In 2021, Gozer's manifestation appears to need three components: Zuul, Vinz, and the human sacrifices.
•The rituals performed in Oklahoma differed drastically from Shandor's efforts in New York.
I think ultimately, the reason why the guys were able to get a hold of Gozer this time versus 1984 was because the ghosts of the sacrificial victims gave them an edge they didn't have back in 1984: the sacrifical ghosts gave Gozer an achille's heel, a fatal flaw that the Ghostbusters could exploit because... Unlike most prior doomed civilisations that encountered Gozer, the Ghostbusters and the Spenglers had equipment that could capture paranormal entities/ghosts with a known ionization rate.
It's kinda like if you made a sculpture of clay, with bits of ferrous metal buried in it, and then turned on a MRI. The MRI would attract the ferrous metal, potentially damaging the clay sculpture.
TL:DR:
Having the sacrificial ghosts as part of the rituals that drove the 2021 re-manifestation made Gozer vulnerable to the particle streams.
I hope that makes sense.