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This was written by Eric Johnson, the son of a family a friend. It was published in the Grand Forks Herald on Friday, Sept. 19, 2008.

Avoid 'Tropic Thunder' a cruel comedy

The new movie “Tropic Thunder” is a sad reminder that among all disadvantaged groups in America, the developmentally disabled are unique in the particular brand of prejudice and ridicule they must endure. Even before its release, the comedy drew fire for its treatment of the mentally disabled. I rushed out to see it, as it piqued my interest on several levels. I’m an occasional stand-up comic, a full-time law professor teaching and writing about media law, and my brother is severely retarded.

Ben Stiller stars in the DreamWorks picture as a struggling actor, the high point of whose career is taking on the role of a man with mental retardation. Stiller’s portrayal of the mentally disabled man is an over-the-top caricature played up for laughs — which it got plenty of when I saw the film.

Meanwhile, co-star Robert Downey Jr.’s character makes copious use of the word “retard.” In a line apparently designed to take root as a popular catch-phrase and T-shirt slogan, Downey’s character warns Stiller’s, “Never go full retard.”

I hope most people will recognize the film for what it is: heartless and cruel. DreamWorks and the film’s actors have tried to take the moral high-ground by arguing that the film is an equal-opportunity offender. But that’s not true. For instance, while much of the film’s subject matter plays off of African-American stereotypes, it does so with the foil of a black character, played by Brandon T. Jackson, who points out the bigotry and provides a discourse about it. No such perspective is offered on behalf of the developmentally disabled, who are lampooned with impunity.

Furthermore, while a spectrum of racial and religious minorities fill the ranks of Hollywood shot-callers, the developmentally disabled do not. And, in frankness, they
never will. That’s the nature of this disability and its peculiar curse. So while racial barbs and religious slurs might, in the context of a big Hollywood collaboration, qualify as some form of collective self-mockery, there can be no such excuse when the developmentally disabled are made laughingstocks.

Downey, for his part, defended the film on the basis of the First Amendment. “You know, if I want to protest something because it offends me, that’s my right as an American,” he said at the movie’s premiere. “And it’s also any artist’s right to say and do whatever they want to do.” Co-star Jack Black offered a similar defense. “Obviously, that’s what America is all about,” he said. “If you’ve got something to say, you are free to say it.” We all cherish the First Amendment. Playing the free-speech card in this circumstance, however, is a dishonest way of trying to deflect criticism. The question is not constitutionality; it is civility. The taunts in the film are not illegal, nor should they be, but they are hateful and sickening. Ideals of artistic freedom cannot relieve even the best-paid bullies from moral responsibility for what they say and do. The fact is that even among the various species of hate speech, ridicule of those with retardation is unique in its brutishness. Unlike racial minorities, religious adherents or the physically disabled, those with developmental disabilities cannot well defend themselves with wit and well-crafted retorts. That’s why the arguments of Downey and Black — that everyone has the right to say whatever they want — are especially hollow.

Stiller, the film’s director, star, co-producer, and, along with a collaborator, author of the story and screenplay, took a different tack in dealing with the criticism. “I feel if people see the movie, I’m confident that they’ll get where we’re coming from in the film,” Stiller said. Having seen it myself, I think it’s fair to say that where Stiller comes from is a shallow reserve of material and talent upon which to draw. Stiller’s creation of a developmentally disabled character for “Tropic Thunder” was neither difficult nor clever. In fact, Stiller’s performance is indistinguishable from the antics of the lout we all remember from middle school who never missed an opportunity to point and laugh at the kids getting off the “short bus.”

Here’s hoping moviegoers will think twice before patronizing and praising such sad and dehumanizing fare.

Johnson is an assistant professor at the UND School of Law