Yesterday, The New York Times reported that Timothy Shriver, Chairman of the Special Olympics, is calling for a boycott of the upcoming movie Tropic Thunder, opening this Friday. Apparently, Ben Stiller plays an actor who makes a film called “Simple Jack,” about a mentally disabled boy, in an attempt to win an Oscar and, in this context, the word “retard” is used several times. However, this is only a sub-plot—an appendage to a movie who’s main focus is to skewer the excesses of Hollywood and degrade the cult of celebrity.
Now, I am not going to say that these guys should just “cool it,” or “can’t they take a joke?” Admittedly, “retard” is offensive to the mentally handicapped community. But what most boycott groups often forget is the context within which these things are spoken. The word “retard” is not used in this movie to degrade the mentally challenged; it is used to degrade those people who use that language. There is a supreme difference between glorifying offensive language and writing a character who uses offensive language to illustrate the fact that that character is an idiot. In fact, DreamWorks spokesman Chip Sullivan has said of the controversy that “‘Tropic Thunder' is an R-rated comedy that satirizes Hollywood and its excesses and makes its point by featuring inappropriate and over-the-top characters in ridiculous situations. The film is in no way meant to disparage or harm the image of individuals with disabilities”(The New York Times).
Satire is about offending people with extreme negative stereotypes in order to get people to think about the way that those stereotypes actually affect them. It makes fun of those people who are offensive, rude, and stupid, by showing them for what they really are. If anything, I would think that the writers, actors, and directors of this movie are trying to illustrate the idiocy and bigotry of those who actively use offensive language without regard to those whom it actually affects.
For heaven’s sake, Robert Downey, Jr., dons blackface to illustrate the excesses of self-absorbed actors. Do you think the character he plays is supposed to be a positive role model of cultural sensitivity? No. Because this is a satirical comedy, I would suggest that the use of offensive language and images is not aimed at degrading the subjects themselves (be they disabled or African-American), but rather aimed at mocking the peddlers and sellers of such ignorant stereotypes.
Am I wrong? Leave a comment and let me know.
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