Special Olympics boycotts Tropic Thunder
Ben Stiller’s written, produced, directed film Tropic Thunder has opened yesterday and caused a wave of criticism from Special Olympics people for “depicting a negative portrayal of those with mental handicaps.”
“We are asking people not to go to the movie and hope to bring a consciousness to people about using derogatory words about this population,” Peter Wheeler, a spokesman for the Special Olympics said. He urged people to boycott the film due to “the destructive effect of this film.”
Tropic Thunder, starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Jr, is a comedy about movie stars acting in a jungle combat film about Vietnam War who find themselves caught up in a real guerilla war.
“It’s sort of edgy territory, but we felt that as long as the focus was on the actors who were trying to do something to be taken seriously that’s going too far or wrong, that was where the humor would come from. [The joke is on] actors reaching for roles in terms of hopefully winning awards,” Stiller said.
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August 16th, 2008 at 12:17 am
Wow I didn’t even hear about this movie yet. If I download it, is that the same as boycotting it? ;)