Disability rights groups organizing over ‘Tropic Thunder’
August 2nd, 2008
Update here: Rights groups prepare for boycotts, protest
A national coalition of disability rights organizations has formally requested a meeting with executives at DreamWorks/Paramount to express concerns about negative portrayals of people with intellectual disabilities in “Tropic Thunder,” an R-rated raunchfest that is set to open August 13.
(Earlier posts here and here.)
Ben Stiller plays two characters in the big-budget comedy: a fading action hero (above left with Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black), and “Simple Jack,” a kind-hearted dolt with bad teeth whose onscreen presence prompts frequent use of words like “retard,” “moron” and “imbecile.”
At a hastily convened conference call yesterday, advocates voiced dissatisfaction over studio promotional materials that feature the slogan “Once upon a time … There was a retard,” as well as worries that the Simple Jack character reinforces hurtful stereotypes. The ad-hoc coalition also requested an advance screening of the film.
Among the organizations represented were the American Association of People with Disabilities, The Arc of the United States, Special Olympics, the National Down Syndrome Congress, United Cerebral Palsy, the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, TASH, and the Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts.
While the group was optimistic that the meeting and screening would take place next week, it also discussed possible organized efforts to attract negative attention to the film.
In a New York Times article this morning that references this website, studio executives brushed aside questions about the way the film portrays people with disabilities. Here’s a comment from Stacey Snider, chief executive of the DreamWorks unit:
Ms. Snider acknowledged the risks inherent in the film. It is the first from DreamWorks, she said, to use a so-called red band trailer, which attempts to limit access to online viewers 17 or older. (Visitors to tropicthunder.com can view it only after clicking on “Restricted” and entering name, ZIP code and birth date.)
But the film’s humor, she said, comes at the expense of its own heroes, a corps of knucklehead actors, rather than of the handicapped or anyone else. “The star-studdedness of it, and the absolute playability of it, trumps it all,” Ms. Snider said.
And from the film’s star, director and lead writer Ben Stiller, there was this:
“It’s hard for me to tell people how to react,” he said. “The whole point of the movie is about actors, and the length actors will go to to advance their careers.”
For disability rights organizations, the stakes are high. “Tropic Thunder” is among the summer’s biggest films, with major stars, a production budget of about $90 million and a promotional budget of tens of millions more.
Whatever messages are embedded in the movie will soon be seen by millions of people, and could help to define how people with apparent disabilities are viewed by the public. Current figures from the U.S. Census Bureau put the number of Americans with cognitive disabilities at 14.3 million, or 6 percent of the population 15 and older.
There will doubtless be statements from studio executives who say the film is an equal opportunity offender. It pokes fun at racial stereotypes, with Robert Downey Jr. dressing in blackface and citing the theme song of “The Jeffersons.” Jack Black does fart jokes. Everybody’s offended, right?
Let’s answer that with some questions. People of different races surely were involved in the making of this film, and were able to express opinions about which references were humorous and which might have gone too far. So were people with different sexual orientations.
How many people with cognitive disabilities were involved in the making of this film? Were any people with cognitive disabilities involved in focus groups for this film? How many are employed by Dreamworks, or by parent company Paramount?
See Dave Hingsburger’s essay on one girl’s reaction to the word “retard”:
http://davehingsburger.blogspot.com/2008/05/that-word-this-girl.html
See also: Update: Meeting set between studio, rights coalition
(Paramount Pictures image from the New York Times)
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August 11th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
You need to get off the “PC” high horse.
Comedy is comedy.
I’d love to go to the premiere and roll past you idiots, morons and yes “RETARDS” who try to be a voice for us with disabilities, to watch a PARODY MOVIE.
Chris “Crazy Legs” Fonseca — Comedian
August 11th, 2008 at 11:21 am
I have a physical disability that started at 32 years of age Now at 40 the disability is really a two sided coin. I know what it was like without a disability. Having the disability now has made me so much stronger at understanding the way people judge others.
I have ataxia which if someone sees me walk into a 7/11 now at 8AM they would think I am drunk by my gait and the loss of balance. Sometimes I will just fall down.
Before my being on the other end of the stick I am on now I would also have the same thought as others. I consider the ability to have a enlightened understanding not to judge that way now worthy of having the disability b/c if not I may still see the way I would have before my situation.
We are all different with different imperfections but I always feel when or if people do harm others with words or whatever way it is b/c of their own insecurity so in my view they are really the lost ones. That is just my opinion, and bless everyone who does every day have some seious disability they must face.
August 8th, 2008 at 4:59 am
Up until now I have been a fan of Ben Stiller but my husband and I will no longer watch anything with any of these actors in. Where’s the humor in being nasty? I am going to personally file a complaint with as many bodies as possible. Sometimes Hollywood makes me sick!
August 7th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
Hollywood has sunk to an absolute low. This is dispicable! As the father of a beautiful eight year old boy with cognitive difficulties, my blood boils whenever I hear that the “R” word, or when I think of him being made fun of. I hope this movie is a bomb. I will personally boycott any and all DreamWorks productions, along with anyone else involved with this tragedy of injustice.
August 6th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Outrageous!! So sad that Hollywood decided to make and release a movie at the expense of people with disabilities. I would have hoped that those involved in making movies would be a little more enlightened.
It is heartbreaking knowing that many individuals and families will be affected by this total lack of sensitivity.
Linda
August 6th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
In this day and age I would think that DreamWorks of all people and the so called “stars” of this movie would have better sense and taste than to do a movie with this storyline in it. But of course, if any one of those “stars” had a child with any type of disability that would not have been the subject of the movie or they wouldn’t have even considered doing the movie.
And I’m also sure that Ben Stiller could have come up with a different plotline to follow about “the lengths actors will go to to advance their careers” without involving any disability, just goes to prove how small their brains are and how low their sense of humor and sensibility truly is! Shame on you all!
Oh, and the ‘R’ Rating? That will only make the kids under 17 want to see it all the more.
August 6th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
I understand that the movies out today are just not making it and the actors, well, can’t act to say the least. So is this what we have come to, making fun of innocent people to get a laugh. It’s pathetic to see so-called “trained actors” making ridiculous movies that make no sense just to put a buck in their pocket. It’s sad, very sad!
August 6th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
I am very upset to see this kind of movie being so hurtful to special needs people. I have a son with Down syndrome and everyone who meets him loves his wonderful personality. He is a joy to know. I resent the name retarded and would think you have more sensitivity than to use this to make money$$$$ What about the many actors & actresses that are in rehab for drugs and alcohol, are they not handicapped? Get a life in this day and age. That way of thinking is outdated and inclusion is where it’s at.
August 6th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
My husband and I are expecting a child with Down syndrome next month. It simply breaks my heart to hear that a movie released in 2008 could negatively portray those with intellectual disabilities. What a disappointment.
August 6th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
As the parent of a child with Down syndrome, we work very hard to have our child fully included and accepted in society. I believe we are doing a good job. However, I do feel a movie such as this has the power to set us back a good 10 years. The use of the “R word” is not and never should be considered funny under any circumstances and for a movie to perpetuate it is, in my opinion, simply unacceptable.
I will not see this movie nor will I see any other Ben Stiller movies in the future and I will encourage others to do the same.
August 5th, 2008 at 9:17 am
This movie is an outrage! What is Dreamworks and the other studio’s problem with people with disabilities? You cannot watch a movie or a show with hearing the “R” word. And it makes me sick and sad.
To think that the people in charge there feel that is is ok to pick on and to taunt and be cruel to someone who is different …
I am going to boycott this film and anything else that Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr are in. These “stars” should refuse to make movies that promote cruel behavior towards people who have disabilties. I would also like to see the press get involved so that we all have a bigger voice and to tell Hollywood we are not going to take it anymore. We are tired of our kids being Hollywood’s punching bags. I can tell you for a fact that I will not see this movie and every chance I get I will tell others not to see it.
August 4th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
What’s in a name? When I was a little girl, I remember leaning out a second story widow with a girlfriend, noticed my Uncle Joe gardening in our Brooklyn backyard, and proceeded to chant, “Uncle Joe’s a cripple…Uncle Joe’s a cripple,” in the sing-song way that 5-year-old girls employ.
We thought we were being so cleaver and funny, until my normally jolly Italian grandmother, who had never before scolded me, tapped me on the shoulder. Grandma was furious, and let me know how unkind we girls were.
Being five, and not having attained the age of reason, I truly didn’t realize that we were being cruel. Nevertheless, the memory stayed with me: the look in Uncle Joe’s eyes, the anger in my grandmother’s eyes, and the elusive sadness I felt. It would seem that most grown-ups would recognize the insult and pain of derogatory labels. Perhaps DreamWorks should produce a serious film that celebrates and honors people with other than average abilities.
August 3rd, 2008 at 1:20 pm
As a 52-year-old person with a severe disability, I have struggled my entire life working toward acceptance. This movie sets back every person’s efforts toward acceptance. Why is it that in 2008 it is still okay to make fun and laugh at people that are differently abled? This movie will harm not only persons with disabilities but every person in our country. The harm this movie will do cannot be expressed in a few lines.
Maria
August 3rd, 2008 at 2:37 am
In that long list of organizations who are going to attend, I wonder if there will be a single person with a disability there. I wonder if it will be a bunch of suited professionals who have never been called this name talking about this. This is where a protest of people with disabilities would probably make a bigger impact. A self advocate group outside the movie’s opening with picket signs that say “Simply Pissed Off!” or some such would be media worthy and give those who experience the name the power of fighting back — without representatives.
August 2nd, 2008 at 11:48 am
One more question for studio executives to add to Ms. Bauer’s list. If the movie really is an equal opportunity offender (which they will surely say, right?), why does “Simple Jack” have its own website? Are any of the other equal-opportunity-offendees singled out in this manner?
August 2nd, 2008 at 10:40 am
My understanding is that when “The Ringer” was made a couple of years ago, officials from the Special Olympics (and I think maybe also the National Down Syndrome Society) were involved, from the beginning, to ensure that the final product was respectful and not damaging to the human dignity of those with cognitive disabilities. It was important to the actors, producers, etc. that such be the case.
I guess it just wasn’t important to those involved with this film. It’s a shame … it really is possible to be funny without being hurtful and harmful. “The Ringer” featured Johnny Knoxville and was targeted at the same audience as this film.