The Arc of New Jersey Calls For Boycott of
Summer's Biggest Movie Release
August 12, 2008 - North Brunswick, NJ – The Arc of New Jersey today lashed out at Paramount Pictures, Dreamworks Entertainment and the writers, actors and directors of summer blockbuster Tropic Thunder calling
the movie offensive and denigrating to people with intellectual disabilities. The Arc is calling for the offensive scenes to be edited out, promotional trailers pulled and an apology to be given.
"In their
effort to create edge-of-the-line humor for maximum audience interest, Dreamworks and Paramount Pictures have definitely crossed the line into offensiveness" stated Thomas Baffuto, Executive Director of The Arc of
New Jersey. "They insist that the movie is making fun of the "stop at nothing" attitude of actors and the entire film-making industry. What they fail to see is that the parody of a person with an intellectual
disability and use of words such as "retard" and "imbecile" is insulting and perpetuates stereotypes and encourages a culture of denigration and intolerance against people with disabilities."
The movie,
slated for release August 13th, stars Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black as fading actors who will stop at nothing to regain their former fame. An ongoing theme of the movie is Ben Stiller's character Tug
Speedboat who has previously played a role as a person with intellectual disabilities, Simple Jack, hoping the role would win him an Oscar. The movie is filled with denigrating references to people with intellectual
disabilities, the use of the words "retard" and "moron", and visual images which parody the look, speech and behavior of people with disabilities.
"In this day and age it is inconceivable how someone could
think that denigrating parodies of people with intellectual disabilities and constant use of the word "retard" could be funny" stated Bruce Bird, President of The Arc of New Jersey. "This language fosters
discrimination and an atmosphere of hate and intolerance. We can not let it go unchallenged."
The Arc of New Jersey is calling on the public to boycott the movie and to make their feelings known to Paramount
Pictures, Dreamworks Entertainment, and the actors and writers of the film by letters and emails.
The Arc of New Jersey is the State's leading advocacy and service organization for children and adults with
intellectual and other developmental disabilities and their families.
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