"An Open Letter to Ben Stiller from Disability Rights Groups"

[Hannah]

Still more Tropic Thunder outrage. The head of The Arc—the world's largest grassroots organization supporting people with intellectual and developmental abilities—is calling on Ben Stiller to have a sit down and meet with people with disabilities and their families, to help him understand why his movie offended them. They're also demanding that Stiller, Paramount and DreamWorks issue an official apology.

So, funny little trivia I found out. The Arc was originally an acronym. When it started, the organization operated under the name The Association of Retarded Children. Since expanding its function beyond children, they stopped calling themselves that.

More than 780 chapters of The Arc across the United States will be at movie theaters throughout the weekend handing out flyers condemning the word "retard" and urging people to stay away from the movie. Arya's hot tip of the day: if you don't want to be bothered by flyers, go see the movie at malls. Most malls don't allow distribution of leaflets and protests inside the premises, as it would be considered trespassing, so they can only campaign on the parking lot.

http://justpressplay.net/component/c...omment_id=1108


Has anyone seen this yet? The letter is on there too, I'm just lazy.

The sheer ignorance of these people is astounding.

[GK Punk]

Wait, I haven't seen the movie. What's offensive in it?

[Hannah]

I haven't seen it either (I want to) but from what I understand, Stiller's character is satirizing the way disabled people are portrayed in the media. Like, making fun of the actors who play them, but not the disabled themselves. Ack. I'm not good with words.

[GK Punk]

So basically, these people are throwing a fit over nothing?

There's a shock.

[Spitfire]

Absolutely nothing, all they did was a parody of "I Am Sam". The commentary of that part of the film is making fun of actors that make movies about being disabled in order to cash in on the emotional response. I bet you anything 90% of the people mad aren't disabled themselves and never saw the film. Bored soccer moms. That or their so insanely stupid they can't see that. In my opinion he's agreeing with them in that movies about such subject matters are offensive. I'd be more offended that some jack ass was making a film about my disability to cash in on it them someone whose making fun of them for doing so.

Also I don't see why multiple disability groups are made the only thing he makes fun of is someone with down syndrome.

The only other thing I could see them being mad about it...

Spoiler:

There's a character who pretends to have no hands but it turns out he's not disabled after all.

[Jester]

*shrugs* I'm wondering if it's just the use of the word "Retard." I still think that we should use "Mentally handicapped" for people who by all accounts are and "retarded" for people who aren't mentally handicapped, but who retard normal thinking and do something very stupid.

Originally Posted by Hannah's siggy

In the head and not the chest;
Headshots are the very best!

Is that from Fido?

Originally Posted by Spitfire@theMovies

Absolutely nothing, all they did was a parody of "I Am Sam". The commentary of that part of the film is making fun of actors that make movies about being disabled in order to cash in on the emotional response. I bet you anything 90% of the people mad aren't disabled themselves and never saw the film. Bored soccer moms.

Kinda like the white school teacher here who found the NGR license plates offensive, but the 2 black guys interviewed by the local news just thought it was a 3 letter sequence...

[Hannah]

Originally Posted by Jester

*shrugs* I'm wondering if it's just the use of the word "Retard." I still think that we should use "Mentally handicapped" for people who by all accounts are and "retarded" for people who aren't mentally handicapped, but who retard normal thinking and do something very stupid.

That wouldn't exactly make sense in the context of the movie, though.

And yar, Fido!

[Jester]

I just meant in general, really. Kinda like Randal in Clerks 2, to try and take the word "retarded" back.

[Drtooth]

Originally Posted by Jester

*shrugs* I'm wondering if it's just the use of the word "Retard." I still think that we should use "Mentally handicapped" for people who by all accounts are and "retarded" for people who aren't mentally handicapped, but who retard normal thinking and do something very stupid.

I think that's the problem... Listen to the way people talk. They use "retarded" in the same way people use the word "gay." You know, a slightly offensive way to say "stupid" or "uncool." If these groups have a problem directly with the lingo, they should go after the word itself, not some movie that uses it in the script to sound realistic.

Anyone read Outland comics? There was a great one where Opus and a group of Penguins protest the movie Batman Returns for the negative portrail of penguins. Opus's closing line "America! A great place to get your knickers in a twist."

People.... do you only target movies because you're too lazy to try to get any actual factual social change? Are you so weak willed you'll go after a movie, and not after a company exploiting people? get a life... look at the REAL mess the world is in, and get the guts to do something about that.