August 20, 2008
The Retards in Tropic Thunder Are Under Fire
Calling someone a retard in a big budget Hollywood movie might be funny but was is more retarded is that people want to protest and get the movie shut down because they used the phrase ‘retarded’ in the movie to describe (trust me you just gotta see it) another character.
Tropic Thunder Retards
Now, as we recently learned thanks to the New Yorker, satire is tough, and while I’ll always go to bat for free speech and the right to mock, that cartoon’s disastrous failure at humor and troubling whiff of racial stereotyping made it offensive, no matter how many times David Remnick went on TV to plead that the New Yorker is just doing what Stephen Colbert does. You wish, Remmy.
Without seeing Tropic Thunder, it’s impossible to know whether the satire succeeded, although it’s interesting that Downey Jr.’s part has caused nary a ripple of controversy. Could this whole thing just be due to Robert Downey Jr. being a much better actor than Ben Stiller?
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Leonard Rettler
08/20/2008 at 11:02 pm
Thats a GREAT point about Downy and being a black man. “Why do we find this funny?” Is a good question to ask. IT’s not like KLAUS PIERRE was doing that part – but if he did the part of the “retard” it would LOL. People should see something before they complain, not HATE what they don’t know.
Clint Lenard
09/10/2008 at 3:09 pm
This was one of the best comedy’s I’ve ever seen in my life…and I only watch comedy’s, to be honest.
I can see people sticking up for others, but I’m sure they could see that the word was thrown out much like people use the term “fag”, “bitch”, etc, right? Sorry for the use of those words — but I’m just trying to make a point.
Most people who use those terms don’t really mean it the way that they were originally intended for… like people using racial terms as well.
Either way, it wouldn’t stop me from watching it for a third time!
Step Brothers was great too.