(Photo from Hartford Courant)

Lots more about the continuing “Tropic Thunder” controversy. We’ll be following it throughout the day. Let’s start here.

Stiller defends “Thunder” on the CBS Early Show. With video. Stiller says the movie is a comedy, and that people should view it in context and lighten up. (Note: Robert Downey Jr. also appeared on ABC Good Morning America, but didn’t discuss the controversy over the word “retard.” He says the filmmakers made a conscious effort to avoid offending people with racial humor involving his character, which he played in blackface.)

I appeared yesterday on The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet, a national Fox network program, along with David Tolleson, executive director of the National Down Syndrome Congress; Eddie Barbanell, one of the stars of “The Ringer,” and Gitesh Pandya of Boxofficeguru.com. David, Eddie and I talked about why the disability community views the word ‘retard’ as hurtful. Gitesh said that protests add to the film’s appeal at the box office. Eddie’s comments definitely provided the high point of the segment. With video.

Eddie also appeared with Tim Shriver on Fox & Friends. (With video.) An excerpt from Shriver’s remarks:

We’re not questioning Ben Stiller’s intent. We’re questioning and challenging the content. We don’t know what he was thinking when he was writing. We didn’t have people on the set. Nobody invited people with intellectual disabilities to screen the film in the early days. Nobody asked us to see whether this movie crossed the line. They did ask other groups. They did not ask for the voice of people with special needs.

Film critics stand firm against ‘Tropic Thunder’ protests by advocates for the disabled in the Los Angeles Times. In a wrapup of reviews from 11 media outlets, John Horn notes: “Quite a few film critics appear to be agreeing with the studios and the filmmaker, not the protesters.” Includes excerpts from reviews in Salon.com, the San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post, New York Times, Baltimore Sun, Los Angeles Times, MTV and elsewhere.

Disabilities just aren’t funny, an op-ed by Jim Flanigan in the Albany [NY] Times Union. The executive director of the Rensselaer Arc says the movie is a “turkey” and urges people to stay home. An excerpt:

The people responsible for “Tropic Thunder” claim that they were equally offensive to many groups. The movie does make fun of actors, egotistical producers, farts, agents, war movies filled with explosions and drug dealers, all of which could be considered fair game. By adding people with disabilities to this mix, Stiller, Dream Works and Paramount are sending a not too subtle message to their young audience that they, too, are fair game.

Funny or offensive? Blackface, ‘retard’ jokes may shoot down ‘Tropic Thunder‘ — Q&A with Slate.com reviewer Dana Stevens on washingtonpost.com

Also:

Protesters speak out against ‘Tropic Thunder’ film – Hartford Courant blog

‘R-Word’ sets off protests — Chicago Tribune

Letters:

• The R-word isn’t funny — Let’s give it a rest –in the Tallahassee Democrat
• Slurs are unacceptable — in the New Orleans Times-Picayune

A thought-provoking piece by Ann-Marie Rosland, MD, in the Journal of the American Medical Association (subscription or $15 purchase required):

Dr. Rosland tells the story of her “aunt Jean,” who was not offered chemotherapy when she was diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer. Instead, the oncologist proposed only that she be kept as comfortable as possible.

Dr. Rosland thinks the oncologist may have made some biased decisions about her aunt’s care based on Jean’s unusual physical appearance. Jean is a very tiny woman who has a rare genetic disorder; she also has a very full life, a job and many friends, none of which was obvious to the doctors.

The episode made Dr. Rosland realize that attitudinal barriers can prevent people with disabilities from getting the health care they need.

(more…)

By Laura Landro in the Wall Street Journal (registration required):

As the ranks of cancer survivors grow to more than 10 million in the U.S., so does concern that medical providers aren’t doing enough to link patients and families to resources they need to face the physical and psychological effects of cancer — from fatigue and memory loss to depression, anxiety, sexual dysfunction and pain.

Now, leading cancer-advocacy groups, major cancer centers, insurance companies and oncology medical societies are stepping up efforts to help, with new programs to provide so-called psychosocial services that aid patients, families and health-care providers in managing the myriad psychological and social aspects of cancer.

The new push follows a report from the Institute of Medicine that found health-care providers often fail to provide needed support to patients.

“Cancer Care for the Whole Patient,” a report from IOM that provides information about free patient support programs around the country, is available free at www.IOM.edu.

From the Ottowa Citizen:Self-advocate Stephen Shore, speaking at an autism conference, says society should value people with autism for their gifts and abilities. He said it is unproductive for parents to deny their children’s diagnosis. (more…)

‘Thanks to medication and therapy, Elyn Saks has the upper hand on schizophrenia.’

From a front-page feature in the Los Angeles Times.

USC law professor Elyn Saks has decided it’s time to go public with her personal experiences as a person with mental illness. The result: a memoir called “The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness.”

Here’s an excerpt from the Times story:

[Saks] has defied the prediction of a doctor who once said she would never lead an independent life. She has even flourished, thanks to a strict regimen of medication and talk therapy.

Now she wants to dash the myths surrounding an illness that affects 3 million Americans: Schizophrenics aren’t all emotionally out of touch, shouting and swiping at gremlins, shut away in hospitals. Like her, some lead productive lives with good friends, loving spouses and precious emotional triumphs.

As a lawyer, Saks has pursued the issue of mental illness, researching complex civil issues such as involuntary commitment and the insanity defense. She objects to attitudes among doctors that people with mental illness are “less valuable, defective.”

Publisher’s Weekly has a brief review here.

USA Today columnist Robert Lipsyte argues it’s time for patients to create a cohesive group — he calls it a union — to advocate on their behalf. He laments the fact that sick people and their caregivers have traditionally been fragmented not only by age, race, gender, class and money but also by their diseases. (The same, of course, is true for people with disabilities.)

Perhaps most important of all, a Patients Union would give all patients a forum to remind each other that as tax-paying citizens and customers, we have a right to demand service, to get information and to be part of the decision-making process. And that no one has a right to punish you for being sick or make you feel grateful for basic medical attention.

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, columnist Laura Landro explores efforts by hospitals to create patient and family advisory councils.

After years of confining outreach efforts to the occasional focus group on decor or food service, hospitals are striking far-reaching new partnerships with patients and their families, creating advisory councils whose members help plan new facilities, set hiring standards and interview job candidates.

…The new councils are giving patients an increasingly powerful voice at a time when hospitals are scrambling to increase customer satisfaction, better respond to complaints and avoid costly malpractice litigation.

Hospitals also have a strong financial incentive to bring patients and families into the equation: Starting later this year, Medicare will require hospitals to publish customer-satisfaction data on the Medicare Web site to receive full reimbursement for their services.

Registration required.