While TomKat was smiling and posing, Jack Black was shining, and Robert Downey Jr. was sporting new facial hair at the Tropic Thunder premiere in Los Angeles last night, angry groups representing the intellectually challenged picketed the surrounding area. Protestors from the Special Olympics and other groups representing the disabled handed out flyers with the headline “Ban the Movie, Ban the Word” across the top, calling for people to boycott Tropic Thunder, which contains a vignette called Simple Jack … Once Upon A Time There Was A Retard. Scandalist picked up one of the flyers while attending the premiere last night. Read the entire message after the jump.
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3 Responses to “Tropic Thunder Premiere Picketed”
that’s ~##_)$_~_**`))@^+@ ed
I’m sorry but this is an over-reaction. Tons of other shows and movies have used the word ‘retard’ in a demeaning way, but this seems to be the only one attracting attention. What are they going to do next, petition to ban the word from the English language? It’s America, it’s a free country, freedom of speech.
Thank you, protesters. Once again, the eager-to-be-offended have willfully ignored the context of a word and reacted to the word itself. Watch the movie first, make sure you understand its intention, then decide. I would argue, by the way, that the use of this alleged “hate speech” in Tropic Thunder is not demeaning “retards,” but rather the Oscar-fellating morons in Hollywood that think emotionally exploitative disability-porn like Radio, I Am Sam, et al., is worthy of notice, much less awards.