Humor Disabled to Boycott ‘Thunder’
Michael Cieply reports in the New York Times that several groups representing people with disabilities are expected to announce a boycott of the new comedy Tropic Thunder as early as Monday. At issue is the frequent use of the word “retard” in the film, a Hollywood satire about the filming of a war picture.
Special Olympics chairman Timothy P. Shriver says he intends to be in Los Angeles to picket the film when it premieres Wednesday evening.
In the film, Ben Stiller plays Tugg Speedman, an actor who had hoped to find Oscar glory in a movie called Simple Jack, leading one character to remark: “Everybody knows you never do a full retard.”
DreamWorks already took down the mock web page for Simple Jack that featured the tagline: “Once upon a time…there was a retard.”
Racial activists have been surpisingly quiet over the fact that Robert Downey Jr. plays a white man who has an operation to become a black man for his role in the war film.
LiC believes the world would be a better place if people were nicer to each other, but we don’t support boycotts by niche groups hoping to assert their will over art or entertainment. Being mean to people is not against the law and damnit it’s frequently funny.
Filed under: News, Opinion
Tags: Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr, Simple Jack, Tropic Thunder
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Jeebus, this is gettin’ damn reedeculus.
It’s really an easy answer: Hollywood has every right to be insensitive and cruel against every group they wish to ridicule, and every offended group of people has a right to express their disgust just as freely and visibly. ‘Tis a beautiful thing.
I love freedom.
How can so many people be so dense? It’s SATIRE people!
Ditto, Dorothy. Free speech isn’t a one-way street. And the Constitution protects individual’s right to speak, but not from the potential consequences of that speech.
If this film is done right, it will be a satire on the whole Hollywood system, not simply a trotting out of the same old stereotypes. If that’s the case, I suspect this protest will die down quickly and quietly.
Mean people suck, Craig.
Sometimes literally.
But not very well, I’m sure…
“Humor disabled.”
Ahaha. It’s widespread, Craig.
Although the “black face” issue hasn’t completely exploded yet, it is there under the surface. I’ve already seen disgusted remarks about it on the Internets, by people who clearly don’t get the concept that the film is making fun of method actors who go to the extreme, not any race, religion or creed of people. And though I’ve kept myself virtually spoiler-free of this movie, the “Simple Jack” part of this film is clearly making fun of the Oscars and how they’ll nominate anyone who plays a disabled person.
In my vast experience of life I’ve found that there will always be someone who will get offended about anything. People need to get over it. Unless the intention is truly mean-spirited why get one’s panties in a bunch?
I support everyone’s right to be pissed off about and protest whatever they want, but I also reserve the right to be irritated with people who make a big deal out of words. You can’t legislate niceness.
Hey, I’m an avid supporter of free speech. It’s just that people really need to lighten up a little bit, too.