FreekyGeeky

The Freeky Geeky Chronicles: The Gozer Theory
(The workshop hums quietly on a Saturday morning, just past 5am. A familiar air of organized chaos hangs heavy in the air, near a dusty, unmoving box fan on the workbench.)

So lets start out with a pure simple truth, the movie ghostbusters, all fiction, yep its all made up, dreamt up and made possible by humans. But its a work of fiction that I have loved ever since my dad gave me that first VHS copy at the very age of 4…

But the same way I dig into how I think a proton pack or ghost trap might work, to help me in my attempt to understand my target, I think about movie lore. This talk tonight, we're gonna dive in to Gozer, what do we truly know to understand our target?

RJ: Without further adieu Welcome to my brain…

We need to start with the quote: "Gozer the Traveler. He will come in one of the pre-chosen forms." As a shapeshifter, Gozer can change form, so we may never have seen its true form, and who's to say a god's true form is humanoid anyway? So we have to ask: who chooses these pre-chosen forms? Is it Gozer, or is it the summoners?

Mopes: (A profound sigh) The true form… is but a fleeting echo. All forms… succumb to the whims of the perceiver. The true shape of a god… is a void… waiting to be filled. 

RJ: You know, Mopes, I think that's a perfect way to put it. Gozer is a blank slate, and that's exactly what makes it so terrifying.

To answer that, I feel we need to look at Gozer and understand that it takes on two forms: the "Traveler" and the "Destructor." The "Traveler" is its essence, with no fixed form. The quote continues:

"During the rectification of the Vuldrini, the traveler came as a large and moving Torg! Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the McKetrick supplicants, they chose a new form for him: that of a giant Slor! Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you." We learn from this that Gozer does indeed show up in a pre-chosen form, and it explicitly states that "they chose," meaning the summoners chose.

Pandora: (Her voice crisp and logical, with an irritated undertone) "And while we're 'diving in,' RJ, my internal chronometer is noting a significant drift from the day's projects. This is a profoundly inefficient allocation of resources. Can we return to a more... productive line of thought?"

RJ: I know, I know. But it's a good mental exercise! The lore is a riddle, and I'm just trying to solve it!

The goal of the ritual was to end the world. We know from the movie that Ivo Shandor and his followers wanted to "bring about the end of the world." So why would Gozer show up to chat? Gozer just wants to destroy everything, so there's no reason for it to show up as anything but a Destructor form.

Glitch: (An excited hum) A Destructor form! WOO-HOO! Like a giant, destructive rubber chicken! Or a super-bouncy wrecking ball! We should make our own Destructor form, but it's full of glitter and confetti! That's the best kind of destruction!

RJ: No, Glitch, no glitter confetti bombs. We're talking about a god here, not a birthday party.

"But RJ, Gozer's form was human," you say. We go back to the moment the portal opens. Who was around at this time? Evil summoners who wanted to bring about the end of the world and would think of the worst thing possible? Or was it Dana, Vinz, Egon, Ray, Peter, and Winston? In their minds, they are imagining what a god will look like, so Gozer chooses a form from what they were thinking.

Phobos: (A high-pitched tremor) But that's a trap! A terrible, mind-based trap! The god takes the form of your thoughts, a new form every time! That means every thought is a potential catastrophe! A thought is a trap! My brain is a trap! A terrifying, mind-made trap!

RJ: Hey, it's just a theory, Phobos! It's not a real trap. At least... I hope not.

Now, this is where Gozer gets cocky. No one has ever stood up to Gozer, and no one has ever won, so Gozer is playing with them like a toy. Want proof? Look at Gozer's power in Afterlife. The only reason they won that battle is that Egon was ready. He realized what a big mistake they had made taking a god lightly and was not going to do it again, even if it cost him the family he loved dearly. He protected them the only way he knew how.

Mopes: (Drifting mournfully) The ultimate sacrifice… is but a fleeting delay. The family… the world… they too will eventually be consumed. The god… is a reminder… of the inevitable end.

RJ: You're a real ray of sunshine, Mopes. But you're right, it's a grim thought.

"But RJ, what about Stay Puft?" Remember how I said Gozer is playing with them? Who ever said the Destructor can't change form? We already learned from the quote above that the Destructor is the first form Gozer takes when it arrives. But Gozer can't do much large-scale damage in that initial form, hence the "Choose the form of the Destructor."

Pandora: (A dry chuckle) "A strategic error, to be sure. Gozer, in its hubris, failed to account for human ingenuity and the unexpected application of proton streams. An oversight that cost it the battle, if you ask me."

RJ: Exactly, Pandora! The biggest mistake a god can make is to underestimate humans.

Now here's where there are just ideas, but what if when Gozer changes form from its original ritual form, its power level drops? The link is not as strong. And seeing as he wants to play with his new toys, bringing them hope and then taking it away, in a weakened state, he was not able to stop them from crossing the streams. I like to think Stay Puft's look at the end is Gozer realizing it was about to lose.

Glitch: (Bouncing excitedly) A weakened state! WOO-HOO! That means the Stay Puft was just, like, a tiny little Gozer! We could have taken it down with a super-bouncy rubber chicken! It's a Gozer-Chicken-Battle-Royal!

RJ: No, Glitch, we're not fighting Gozer with rubber chickens. But I like your enthusiasm.

"But RJ, why did he come back as the 1984 Gozer form in Afterlife?" Look how big of a fan Gary was. Don't you think Egon would have described Gozer's form in detail in his science papers? Gary knew, and maybe even his daughter saw some drawings. This time, Gozer was not going to make the same mistake of changing form again, showing Gozer's full power. Luckily, we had Egon, who protected not only his family but the world, knowing how big of a threat Gozer is.

Phobos: (Trembling) The ultimate terror… is the familiar terror! The same god, the same form! It's a reminder of a past failure! It's a cosmic trauma! We're all going to be crushed under the weight of cosmic trauma!

RJ: It's a good thing we have Egon

Finally, let's talk about Egon's line on the roof: "It's whatever it wants to be." First, we know Egon is scared up there and says, "I'm too scared to think." He's already not in the right headspace, and what he knew all came from Tobin's Spirit Guide. Who's to say the information was right?

So, do I have proof of this? Yes, I do, and it's right there in the movie. It proves everything I believe. Who has been with Gozer the whole time? The Gatekeeper, and he's done this a few times and knows how the ritual works. So do we trust a book a man wrote? Or the Gatekeeper himself, the right (or) left hand of the god Gozer, when he said: "Gozer the Traveler. He will come in one of the pre-chosen forms...they chose a new form for him: that of a giant Slor!""

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Stay Freeky, Stay Geeky! – RJ
#Ghostbusters #Gozer #MovieLore #GeekyTheories