Boycott Tropic Thunder

In case you can't make it out, the caption on the poster says "Once upon a time... there was a retard"

My heart hurts. I can't believe anyone would find this movie funny. Here is a Petition I signed. I hope all my friends and family that read my blog will stand with me and sign this petition and help raise awareness. Sticks and stones will break my bones but words and names hurt way more!

The petition

"Tropic Thunder"is a big-budget, R-rated summer comedy made by DreamWorks/Paramoun t and directed and co-written by Ben Stiller, who also stars. The movie plot centers around a group of pampered actors who are lost in the jungle while making a war movie. Stiller's character, Tugg Speedman, is presented as a fading action hero who earlier failed in his bid for Oscar glory while portraying Simple Jack, a character with an intellectual disability. Speedman's portrayal of Simple Jack is featured as a movie within the movie.

A national coalition of disability advocacy groups has objected to the frequent use of the word "retard" in "Tropic Thunder" and its promotional materials. Early promotion of the film described Simple Jack as a "retard" and an elaborate DreamWorks marketing website that was taken down this week in response to complaints carried the tagline "Once upon a time ...There was a retard."

One scene that has been much discussed on the internet is the one in which Robert Downey Jr.'s character advises Stiller's character to "Never go full retard"

The term "retard" has been characterized by disability rights advocates as hate speech that heaps insult and possible harm on a group that has a long history of being stigmatized and vulnerable. They compare it with racial, ethnic and sexual epithets and stereotypes that have historically been used by majority groups to target and humiliate minority groups.

Studio executives have said the film is a comic satire intended to josh actors and the entertainment industry, not people with disabilities. They say the film plays broadly for laughs, offers equal offense to all groups, and is intended only as entertainment without a deeper subtext.

Stiller's performance as Simple Jack is visible in the film from beginning to end, and provides a critical plot point needed to advance the film to its conclusion. The plot involving Simple Jack, and Stiller's portrayal of the character, occupy close to 30 minutes of screen time. In character, Stiller speaks in a stilted, stuttering, adenoidal fashion, and wears overalls, bad false teeth and a classic institutional bowl haircut.



Number of repetitions of the word "retard" or its variations: At least 16 in the "full retard" scene alone, not counting the uses of words like idiot,âmoron,imbecile, stupid,dumb and the dumbest M*****F***** that ever lived.All are used to describe the character of Simple Jack, who is described in an introductory segment as a "mentally impaired farm hand who can talk to animals."

In a filmedtelevision report on Speedman's portrayal of Simple Jack, Stiller stutters in a stereotypical fashion through lines like "I've got a G-G-G-G-G-good brain" and "You M-m-m-m-m make me happy." The television interviewer (Access Hollywood's Maria Menounos) responds in a mocking tone, saying, "Can Speedman M-m-m-m-make audiences happy?"


In a conversation with his agent, played by Mathew McConaughey, Stiller's Speedman talks about his plans to adopt a child. "At least you get to choose yours," says the agent, looking sadly at a photograph of himself with a slack-faced teenaged boy who appears to have an intellectual disability. "I'm stuck with mine." (The teenaged boy turns up with his father on an airplane later in the movie, staring vacantly out the window.)



The "full retard" scene between Stiller's Speedman and Robert Downey Jr.'s Kirk Lazarus is more extensive than the clip distributed on the internet. Among the lines not included in the Internet version:

Stiller: You know, it was an intense experience, you know? I just did the work. I watched a lot of retarded people, spent time with them,observed them, watched all the retarded stuff they did ; In a weird way, I had to free myself up to believe that it was okay to be stupid or dumb.

(Exchange with Downey Jr.) To be a moron. to be moronical. To be a moron. To be an imbecile. To be the dumbest M**** F***** that ever lived; Stupid ass Jack.

Stiller is made to re-enact Simple Jack to entertain his captors, and dons a coconut wig, improvised overalls and borrowed dentures to act the part. When he doesn't perform the way they like, they hit him and say "more stupid."

The link to sign the petition is HERE