Maureen McCormick Boycotts 'Tropic Thunder' For Poking Fun At The Disabled - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Brian Damage · 08-22-2008, 03:06 PM

Former Brady Bunch pin-up Maureen McCormick has pledged to boycott Ben Stiller's war comedy Tropic Thunder as part of a protest about the film's use of the word retard.

The actress has joined activists who are protesting the movie's controversial scenes, which poke fun at the disabled. The protesters were out in force at the film's Hollywood premiere earlier this month.

In a blog post, McCormick writes, "I haven't seen the movie and I won't go see the movie because of what I've heard, but I want to add my two cents to the opinions on whether it's offensive to the mentally challenged.

"I know Ben Stiller has said that he's making fun of actors, not people with disabilities. Still, the movie is geared toward a younger crowd and I fear a lot of those teenagers and college students will leave the theater thinking 'r**ard' is (an) okay word to use. It's not. It's taken years to get people to stop using that word."

Disability advocacy groups are calling for a boycott of the film, which is the current box office favourite, after taking offense to a scene in the film, in which Stiller and Robert Downey Jr.'s characters discuss how to play a special needs person.

McCormick, who has a mentally handicapped brother, is a supporter of Best Buddies - an organization designed to enhance the lives of those with intellectual disabilities.

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)

Zoneboy · 08-22-2008, 03:12 PM

Good for her! That has got to be my least favorite word in the entire english language.

catlover79 · 08-22-2008, 04:07 PM

Good for Maureen!

Hey, does anyone know how things turned out with her father? I remember she was on Dr. Phil (I think in May 2007) and I never heard anything else about it.

sixfingers · 08-22-2008, 10:38 PM

She admits to not having actually seen it, so I'm not sure she's really entitled to an opinion. If she hasn't seen it, how could she know if it is offensive?

The word retard is short for "retarded" which literally means slow. It was a euphemism, and , like many euphemisms, it lost its euphemistic power and is now considered an insult.

Already the word special is losing its power and you can't tell someone they're special without fear of them taking it the wrong way.

I don't favor using derogatory terms to describe handicaps, but I grow tired of this mentality of euphemistically describing a handicap instead just saying it like it is. Some people are mentally deficient, that's a fact of life. If we would say it like it is we wouldn't have to keep coming up with a new term every 5 to 10 years.

koalabears · 08-27-2008, 09:36 AM

I can see why Maureen might be offended, but Tropic Thunder seems to push the envelope especially with Robert Downey Jr. trying to look & act black in the movie! I'll probably still watch though!

Tweety · 09-12-2008, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sixfingers

She admits to not having actually seen it, so I'm not sure she's really entitled to an opinion. If she hasn't seen it, how could she know if it is offensive?...

It's sometimes possible to determine just from previews or coming attractions (or commercials) that a movie is distasteful enough to make someone not want to see it. In the same way, some movies look good in the coming attractions, but are not really that good when viewed with all the other things that happened besides what was shown in the previews.

By your reasoning, the only way she could ever criticize a movie is if she actually pays to go in and see it...and so until she does that, she is, in your words, "not entitled to an opinion".

I don't have to actually go in a theater and sit through some two hour piece o' crap that Michael Moore puts together to know that it's going to be offensive, because just about everything he does is offensive...imo.

Point is, she IS entitled to an opinion, whether she's seen the movie or not. What you or I or anyone else does with that opinion (in terms of taking or ignoring its advice) is up to the individual.

desilu #1 · 09-18-2008, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sixfingers

She admits to not having actually seen it, so I'm not sure she's really entitled to an opinion. If she hasn't seen it, how could she know if it is offensive?

The word retard is short for "retarded" which literally means slow. It was a euphemism, and , like many euphemisms, it lost its euphemistic power and is now considered an insult.

Already the word special is losing its power and you can't tell someone they're special without fear of them taking it the wrong way.

I don't favor using derogatory terms to describe handicaps, but I grow tired of this mentality of euphemistically describing a handicap instead just saying it like it is. Some people are mentally deficient, that's a fact of life. If we would say it like it is we wouldn't have to keep coming up with a new term every 5 to 10 years.

She IS entitled to her opinion, It's her AMERICAN RIGHT! Just as you are.

JamesG · 10-14-2008, 11:00 PM

She is entitled to her opinion but I don't have to listen to it. I would listen to the word of someone who has seen the movie over someone who didn't.

sixfingers · 03-29-2010, 03:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desilu #1

She IS entitled to her opinion, It's her AMERICAN RIGHT! Just as you are.

She's entitled to an opinion, but not to having her opinion taken seriously.

It's like the people who thought Anna Nicole should have gotten a lot of money on the assumption that a lot of money was left to her in the will. Had they done some research they'd realize that there was no will leaving her anything.

janet42 · 03-30-2010, 04:16 AM

When I was younger, it took me longer to learn at school, I was called retarded a lot by other kids. THAT WORD HURTS! It wasn't until 7th grade when I was able to transfer to a catholic school did that type of teasing stopped and I was able to catch up with my other classmates. I graduated with my classmates and have a great job for the past 10 years, and I also worked at another job for 11 1/2 years.

sixfingers · 03-30-2010, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by janet42

When I was younger, it took me longer to learn at school, I was called retarded a lot by other kids. THAT WORD HURTS! It wasn't until 7th grade when I was able to transfer to a catholic school did that type of teasing stopped and I was able to catch up with my other classmates. I graduated with my classmates and have a great job for the past 10 years, and I also worked at another job for 11 1/2 years.

The word "retarded" simply means "slow", the fact that you were insulted by it shows the utter futility of euphemisms.

Steve Carras · 04-28-2010, 11:00 PM

Ironically, Tropic Thunder was from the same studio that did the Bradys, Paramount!! [Through Dreamworks, maybe, but still the same studio since the Viacom buyout.]

08-22-2008, 03:12 PM	#2
Zoneboy Moderator Forum Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 13, 2003 Location: Carthage, NC Posts: 22,536	Good for her! That has got to be my least favorite word in the entire english language. __________________ *"It's the way things are. A big tree falls and a new one grows right out of the same ground. Old animals die and young ones take their places. Even people step aside when it's time."* (R.G. Armstrong as the Contractor in The Twilight Zone episode "Nothing in the Dark")

08-22-2008, 04:07 PM	#3
catlover79 Moderator Forum Legend God Bless Val Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 67,630	Good for Maureen! Hey, does anyone know how things turned out with her father? I remember she was on Dr. Phil (I think in May 2007) and I never heard anything else about it. __________________ "Jesus loves you and He approves this message." "I'm alive. I'm feeling good. I'm trying to live every moment as much as I can." - Valerie Harper, March 2013

04-28-2010, 11:00 PM	#12
Steve Carras Forum Regular Sandra Bullock RULES! Join Date: Jun 30, 2002 Location: Whittier, CA Posts: 635	Ironically, Tropic Thunder was from the same studio that did the Bradys, Paramount!! [Through Dreamworks, maybe, but still the same studio since the Viacom buyout.] __________________ STEVE J.CARRAS "How about baby blue? To match your baby blue eyes?" -Frank Nelson on "The Flintstones" (1961) http://sjcarrasblog.blogspot.com-ORIGINAL GUMBY SERIES SITE http://toonsnoot.blogspot.com New-TOON SNOOT-Random posting on American animation trivial stuff from 1920s to early 70s. ON FACEBOOK HERE AT: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001249396142

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

08-22-2008, 03:06 PM	#1
Brian Damage Moderator Forum Legend I'm Rich Bitch Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 62,155	Maureen McCormick Boycotts 'Tropic Thunder' For Poking Fun At The Disabled Former Brady Bunch pin-up Maureen McCormick has pledged to boycott Ben Stiller's war comedy Tropic Thunder as part of a protest about the film's use of the word retard. The actress has joined activists who are protesting the movie's controversial scenes, which poke fun at the disabled. The protesters were out in force at the film's Hollywood premiere earlier this month. In a blog post, McCormick writes, "I haven't seen the movie and I won't go see the movie because of what I've heard, but I want to add my two cents to the opinions on whether it's offensive to the mentally challenged. "I know Ben Stiller has said that he's making fun of actors, not people with disabilities. Still, the movie is geared toward a younger crowd and I fear a lot of those teenagers and college students will leave the theater thinking 'rard' is (an) okay word to use. It's not. It's taken years to get people to stop using that word." Disability advocacy groups are calling for a boycott of the film, which is the current box office favourite, after taking offense to a scene in the film, in which Stiller and Robert Downey Jr.'s characters discuss how to play a special needs person. McCormick, who has a mentally handicapped brother, is a supporter of Best Buddies - an organization designed to enhance the lives of those with intellectual disabilities. (This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network) __________________ The Key to the Kingdom of Heaven: John 3:3 Money Doesn't Buy Happiness...But I'd Rather Cry in My Private Jet**

08-22-2008, 10:38 PM	#4
sixfingers Senior Member John Alan Elson Join Date: Feb 22, 2008 Location: Sacramento Posts: 1,395	She admits to not having actually seen it, so I'm not sure she's really entitled to an opinion. If she hasn't seen it, how could she know if it is offensive? The word retard is short for "retarded" which literally means slow. It was a euphemism, and , like many euphemisms, it lost its euphemistic power and is now considered an insult. Already the word special is losing its power and you can't tell someone they're special without fear of them taking it the wrong way. I don't favor using derogatory terms to describe handicaps, but I grow tired of this mentality of euphemistically describing a handicap instead just saying it like it is. Some people are mentally deficient, that's a fact of life. If we would say it like it is we wouldn't have to keep coming up with a new term every 5 to 10 years.

08-27-2008, 09:36 AM	#5
koalabears Frequent Poster Member Join Date: Dec 14, 2005 Posts: 31	I can see why Maureen might be offended, but Tropic Thunder seems to push the envelope especially with Robert Downey Jr. trying to look & act black in the movie! I'll probably still watch though!

10-14-2008, 11:00 PM	#8
JamesG Moderator Forum Veteran Freakshow Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 22,320	She is entitled to her opinion but I don't have to listen to it. I would listen to the word of someone who has seen the movie over someone who didn't.

03-30-2010, 04:16 AM	#10
janet42 Senior Member Member Join Date: Feb 21, 2007 Location: Indiana Posts: 1,403	When I was younger, it took me longer to learn at school, I was called retarded a lot by other kids. THAT WORD HURTS! It wasn't until 7th grade when I was able to transfer to a catholic school did that type of teasing stopped and I was able to catch up with my other classmates. I graduated with my classmates and have a great job for the past 10 years, and I also worked at another job for 11 1/2 years.