Wednesday, August 13, 2008

"Why 'Tropic Thunder' Shouldn't Be Seen"

Good op-ed by Timothy Shriver, chairman of Special Olympics and co-producer of "Amistad." I still plan to see "Tropic Thunder" since I'm fans of Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., and Nick Nolte.

Why 'Tropic Thunder' shouldn't be seen

I am so proud of everyone who turned out to Monday's premiere of the film "Tropic Thunder" to protest its unfortunate and humiliating portrayal of people with intellectual disabilities.

Prior to the premiere, I joined a large coalition of individuals and organizations to engage in discussions with DreamWorks Studios CEO Stacey Snider and others from the studio to express our concern over the film's "Simple Jack" subplot and the slogans, "Once upon a time there was a retard," and "Never go full retard."

Members of the Coalition of National Disability Organizations -- disabled advocates and family members of people with intellectual disabilities -- have seen the movie and reported shock and disgust. Their reactions have resonated with many of us who take their cause and their voice with the utmost seriousness... (full op-ed)


CNN has provided a counter viewpoint to Timothy Shirver by Neil Miller, "Critics of 'Tropic Thunder' are missing the point"

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