Character Analysis
9 to 5
For the fourth Ghostbuster, busting ghosts starts out as just a job. From the moment we first meet Winston Zeddemore during his interview with Janine, he doesn't try to hide this fact...
JANINE: Do you believe in UFOs, astral projection, mental telepathy, ESP, clairvoyance, spirit photography, telekinetic movement, full trans-mediums, the Loch Ness monster, and the theory of Atlantis?
WINSTON: If there's a steady paycheck in it, I'll believe anything you say.
Luckily (or unluckily?) for Winston, his lack of interview skills doesn't stand in his way of becoming a Ghostbuster. By the time he comes on the scene, the guys are so busy they can barely handle the workload, and Ray hires Winston without so much as checking Winston's resume.
His passion for the Ghostbusting profession doesn't grow too much as the movie progresses. When the boys are arrested after the big explosion, we find Winston yelling to the guard,
WINSTON: I just work with these guys! I wasn't even there!
We really can't blame Winston, though. If we just started working with a company that almost got us arrested and nearly incinerated within the first couple weeks, we might want start thinking about other employment too.
In the end, though, Winston's loyalty to the Ghostbusters, to NYC, and to the human race is proven when he stands with the guys against Gozer, although during the final showdown, he still can't help but quip,
WINSTON: This job is definitely not worth eleven-five a year!
So. True.
Everyman
The other thing to notice about Winston Zeddemore is that he's the only Ghostbuster without "Dr." in front of his name. Unlike the rest of the guys, he doesn't even pretend to be an intellectual; he's just an ordinary dude trying to make it in the world. The movie uses this in places to get across information, like when Ray explains how the containment unit works and Egon gives the famous Twinkie analogy.
Even though Winston isn't a science guy, he is a man of faith. This becomes clear in a scene in the Ecto One with Ray, when Winston asks...
WINSTON: Hey, Ray, do you believe in God?
RAY: Never met him.
WINSTON: Yeah, well I do. And I love Jesus's style, you know.
Ray brushes off Winston's faith, until Winston points out that the stuff they've been seeing recently is an awful lot like stuff predicted in the book of Revelations.
When Winston asks,
WINSTON: Ray, has it ever occurred to you that maybe the reason we've been so busy lately is because the dead have been rising from the grave?
Science guy Ray doesn't have any come kind of comeback, and Winston's wisdom suddenly seems spot on.
Winston's Timeline