‘Tropic Thunder’: We get it. Do they?
Monday, September 08, 2008 The Oregonian
http://www.oregonlive.com/commentary/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1220657121285620.xml&coll=7
“Tropic Thunder,” a sendup of the Hollywood action-film industry, opened in August. The movie, produced and directed by Ben Stiller, uses the word “retard” to describe people with intellectual disabilities. One particular scene is extremely offensive because in addition to using the “R-word” it coins the phrase “never go full retard.” The film has spawned protests by folks in the disability community, many of whom have been accused of censorship, political correctness and of missing the point of the satire.
Here’s what I’d like to say to the film industry.
We do get the point: “Tropic Thunder” is a satiric assault on the film industry and was not intended to be an attack on people with intellectual disabilities. We know what satire is. That’s not the issue. The real question is, do you get our point? Do you get that the word “retard” is offensive to a significant portion of the population and causes real harm to real people?
What I have not heard from the film industry is some recognition of the trade-off involved. What I have not heard from any of the principals in this film is any acknowledgement of the harm done. This represents a profound ignorance about the environment in which intellectually disabled people must live.
I’d like to hear this from Ben Stiller: “I get it. I get that words can hurt. I get that the use of the word ‘retard’ will cause pain and anguish for real people. I get that ‘Tropic Thunder’ may give rise to taunts on the playground, that the phrase ‘never go full retard’ may show up on T-shirts that will be worn in public. I get that that will hurt. But I think that the artistic purpose of using the ‘retard’ riff in the film more than balances the harm done.”
I’m not trying to censor anyone. I strongly believe in our right to free speech. Stiller and company have the right to make their movie, including dialogue that may be objectionable to me. I also have the right to criticize it, to raise my objections to that dialogue, to urge people not to see the film. Through that criticism I’m not trying to censor Stiller. I am, however, trying to change the social climate. I’m working to make use of the “R-word” as unacceptable as use of the “N-word.”
It changes the social climate by using such words. Well, I wish to change the social climate by sanctioning their use of it. That’s not censorship; it’s simply a nonviolent clash in the marketplace of language and ideas.
As a special educator, I have been promoting inclusion, equal rights and respect for persons with intellectual disabilities for 35 years. I’ve written letters to the editor, spoken out publicly and worked to educate others about these issues. My complaints about “Tropic Thunder” stem not from political correctness, but from direct knowledge of the harm that’s been inflicted and continues to be inflicted on real people.
Do any of you in the film industry understand the reality of that harm?
Paula J. Stanovich is a professor of special education at Portland State University.