Variety: ‘Tropic Thunder’ promo pulled after complaints
August 6th, 2008From Variety:
DreamWorks has withdrawn www.simplejackmovie.com, an elaborate marketing website aimed at promoting Ben Stiller’s ‘Tropic Thunder,’ in what the newspaper described as a “preemptive” response to criticism from disability rights advocates.
A consortium of groups including the Special Olympics and the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles first contacted the studio Friday and set up a meeting with studio executives to express concerns about the film. The meeting is scheduled for this afternoon.
The site, which was aimed at teenage boys and garnered fewer than 35,000 hits, featured a poster with Stiller and the tagline “Once upon a time … there was a retard.”
… “We heard their concerns, and we understand that taken out of context, the site appeared to be insensitive to people with disabilities,” DreamWorks spokesman Chip Sullivan said.
Want to send a message to studio executives and disability rights advocates? Click here.
See also:
- Dreamworks: Simple Jack ‘Retard’ movie offended people so we took site down — Businesssheet.com
- Ben Stiller, Paramount learn that you never go full retard — FilmSchoolRejects blog
- ‘Tropic Thunder’ abandoning ‘Simple Jack’? — New York Magazine
- Tropic Thunder braces for retard backlash — Defamer.com
- Stiller movie in disablity row — Contactmovie.com
- DreamWorks goes no retard, yanks Simple Jack site disabilities — Popgrind.com
And here’s an excerpt from cinemablend.com, headlined Save Tropic Thunder:
Apparently “retard” is now worse than the N word, which seems to show up in every other film without the slightest complaint. That’s right, a word used to describe mentally handicapped people who for the most part don’t know or care anyway, is now worse than a word which was for hundreds of years a symbol of slavery, oppression, and hatred.
It started with some rumbling in comments sections and on message boards around the internet, now disability organizations are apparently starting to demand changes to the movie in order to water it down, lest it hurt the feelings of retards (yep, I said it), and they’re starting to scare off DreamWorks pictures.
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August 7th, 2008 at 7:49 am
I think this response is inane and in the same category of complaints that religious people foist off on movies like “The Last Temptation of Christ” and “Life of Brian” back in the day. The key is that no one complaining has seen the movie yet, only the marketing of it.
I have seen Stiller movies before and as Tropic Thunder looks to be a parody/satire about the state of movie making, pompous actors, etc. then I would see the “Simple Jack” bit to poke fun at Hollywood’s love of the disability storyline. Look, if an actor plays someone with a disability, accurate or not, they get nominated for an Academy Award. It is the sentimental favorite. Look at Rain Man, Awakenings, My Left Foot, etc. These were arguably good movies but the point is, make a sentimental movie about disabilities and you get the acclaim you want, even if maybe not deserved.
He had a similar “movie-within-a-movie” bit in “Cable Guy” where Stiller played ongoing news clips of an investigation and trial of twins accused of killing their parents (Stiller played the twins). He was clearly poking fun at America’s love of ridiculous news stories throughout the process (it was a movie about TV, after all).
I am sure Dreamworks will give in and lighten up any ads relating to this and will probably donate money to some disability related cause. Great. All this does is put people with disabilities (or more likely their advocates) into a category best reserved for fanatics who fail to grasp satire and moe importantly the protection of free speech, even when ridiculous.
Was there as much hubbub when “The Ringer” was released a couple of years ago? Wait, no, there wasn’t because it was actually endorsed by the Special Olympics. Sheesh.
August 6th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
The term “retard” has been used to denigrate people for years. Perhaps you would like to do some research on a place in Staten Island called Willowbrook.
People with developmental disabilities are not “retards”. They are human beings who deserve respect, not abuse.
And yes, I can teach my children what is right but I can’t teach your children what is right. I can only object when movies like this make light of how people like my son have been treated through this country’s history.
August 6th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
I am amazed that you people have nothing better to do than police the internet for absurd, vulgar, and crass humor. Why even dignify it?
We’re turning into a world of supersensitive ninnies. Enough of this nonsense. Now it’s the R-word. Slow used to be offensive, now its retarded. Five years from now it will be intellectually challenged that gets axed by the thought police, then it will be something else. Just take care of your kids, love them, treat them with respect, and teach them what’s right. Let them figure something out for themselves!