Aug.12.2008 Retards do not enjoy your Hollywood film
If there’s one special interest group I’d hope would have a sense of humor about themselves it’d be the retarded. They took a break from eating crayons and disappointing their parents to demand a poorly-spelled boycott of the the new film Tropic Thunder (primarily based around Ben Stiller’s character’s portrayal of a retard in the faux film Simple Jack). Note: Christine Taylor, pictured below, is not retarded.
An estimated 200 demonstrators, some in wheelchairs, picketed Monday night’s premiere of Tropic Thunder to protest the movie’s use of the word “retard” and what they consider its offensive portrayal of people with intellectual disabilities. By the time the movie started the crowd was down to about 50 people.
Carrying placards that read “Tropic Thunder Colossal Blunder” ,”Ban the Movie, Ban the Word”, “The R Word is Hate Speech” and “DreamWorks Mean Works”, referring to the studio that released the film, the Los Angeles premiere drew a collection of people representing several national and state groups.
“It’s supposed to be a parody, but it’s really a mockery of the word ‘retarded’,” said Myra Davola, of ARC (Advocacy, Respect and Commitment to people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities) of California. “It’s setting us back. It’s purposeful and hateful to people that have disabilities.”
“What does the film mean for young people?” said Victor Pineda, a youth advisor for the National Council on Disabilities,based in Washington DC. “It means we can be afraid of things we don’t know and use words without thinking and without repercussions…We’re not against humor. We love humor. But let’s understand the humor that we’re using.”
Yeah, that’s a pretty good point. The retard organizations should be able to understand the humor that they’re using. And the financial systems. And the way a car works. And the sound a cow makes. And how to go a day without drooling on themselves and yelling the same word over and over again. But they don’t understand any of those things. So when you choose to be retarded, you should probably get that these are the concessions you have to make.
More attractive women at the premiere of Tropic Thunder, including Cyborg Katie Holmes with Tom Cruise, below. From L to R, Katie Holmes/Tom Cruise, Rashida Jones, Maria Menounos, Alisha Silverstone.
UPDATE: Just saw this on MTV.com and it made me laugh out loud:
“Movies about the mentally retarded is something we talked about for a long time. My grandfather was adopted by a mentally retarded man, a man who shouldn’t have been allowed to adopt a kid,” [Tropic Thunder co-writer Etan] Cohen revealed. “When he saw ‘Forrest Gump,’ you never saw a guy angrier than him. It was not such a picnic to be raised by that guy.”
If that is true or a joke, it’s awesome either way.
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