Disabilities Groups Plan to Boycott Tropic Thunder

The upcoming film, Tropic Thunder, starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey, Jr., has generally received good praise as a stark Hollywood comedy. But according to the New York Times, a number of disabilities groups are putting on a boycott to the film, as early as Monday, because of the movie's open ridicule of the intellectually disabled.

"Not only might it happen, it will happen," Timothy P. Shriver, chairman of the Special Olympics, said of the expected push for a boycott. Shriver will join other groups and representatives to picket the movie premiere, Wednesday, in L.A.'s Westwood district.

One of the issues in the film is the repeated use of the term "retard," which refers to Ben Stiller's character, an actor who goes after an Oscar by portraying a "mindless dolt."

In addition to Stiller's character, he also described some other potentially offensive references, such as Robert Downey, Jr.'s character, a white actor who changes his skin color to play a black soldier. "The most disappointing thing, the most incredible thing, is that nobody caught it," said Mr. Shriver, who, as a co-producer of the DreamWorks film, Amistad, is no stranger to the studio.

According to a statement released Sunday, the film is just a spoof of Hollywood and the movie industry. Chip Sullivan, a spokesman for DreamWorks, said that the movie "is an R-rated comedy that satirizes Hollywood and its excesses, and makes its point by featuring inappropriate and over-the-top characters in ridiculous situations."

He added the film was not meant to harm people with disabilities, and that in fact, DreamWorks has plans to work closely with disabilities groups in the future. However, he insisted: "No changes or cuts to the film will be made."

When Shriver says that nobody caught it, he might've been right. According to the Times, Tropic Thunder has been shown in more than 250 promotional screenings around the country since April, but major complaints have only been made recently. Some marketing materials caught the attention of advocates for the disabled, such as the Web site's promotional slogan, "Once upon a time there was a retard." It has since been taken down.

Over the weekend, coalitions between various groups have gotten bigger. This includes the Arc of the United States, the National Down Syndrome Congress, and the American Association of People with Disabilities, among others, providing groundwork for protests to begin Monday.

"I came out feeling like I had been assaulted," said David C. Tolleson, executive director of the Down Syndrome group, who saw the movie on Friday.

One of the most successful movie boycotts was of The Last Temptation of Christ, released in 1988. Religious groups considered the film's portrayal of Jesus blasphemous, and they boycotted companies owned by MCA, whose Universal unit produced the film.

More recent objectification includes Napoleon Dynamite, a comedy released in 2004 by Fox Searchlight Pictures and Paramount's MTV Films unit, and its continual use of the word, "retarded."

"But there's really been nothing near this magnitude," said Peter V. Berns, executive director of the Arc of the United States.

After speaking with various reps of DreamWorks, Shriver continued to receive the impression that they were planning no mitigating measures. The groups previously refrained from directly asking viewers to join the boycott, but after receiving the responses, Shriver is convinced that his and other groups need to be more aggressive on behalf of the disabled.

"The movement needs to enter the public eye, and not just be talking among ourselves," Shriver said.