Tropic Thunder protest: are people overreacting?
I have to admit, I flinched when I first saw the preview for the film Tropic Thunder, namely the part where Robert Downey Jr. is in blackface for the movie-within-a-movie. Once I saw that it was a joke (albeit a risky and potentially offensive one) and that other characters in the film even shunned the character for his transformation, I made peace with it. Of course I wasn’t shocked to learn that there were people wanting to protest the film—but then learned it wasn’t for this offense, but rather Ben Stiller’s character who is an actor who failed to get an Oscar nod for portraying a “retard” in the film “Simple Jack.” Clearly poking fun at the mentally challenged is wrong, but the people behind the movie say the concept is being misinterpreted. “Some people have taken this as making fun of handicapped people, but we’re really trying to make fun of the actors who use this material as fodder for acclaim,” says co-writer Etan Cohen. “The last thing you want is for people to think you’re
