Going "Full-Jew" in "Tropic Thunder?"

My colleague John Horn has a good story in our paper today about how the nation's film critics have come to the defense of "Tropic Thunder," Ben Stiller's new Hollywood satire, which has been under attack from various advocacy groups of its frequent use of the word "retard." Tim Shriver, head of the Special Olympics, has advocated a boycott of the picture. Stiller, among others, has said the film's mocking use of the word is poking fun at self-important actors, not the mentally disabled.

I have no dog in this fight. I wasn't awestruck by the satire in "Tropic Thunder," but nor was I offended. In general, satire should be defended, whether it provokes the ire of conservatives, liberals or any other thin-skinned interest groups. But it is important, if you're going to defend satire, to be sure that you're willing to defend it all the way. If you're a liberal, it's easy to stick up for most of today's satirists, because most satirists are, by nature, liberal and contrarian, so it's not your ox being gored.

What would happen, for example, if Ben Stiller were making fun of Jews instead of the disabled? Just as an exercise in the art of tolerance, let's change just one word in a couple of the excerpts that John Horn ran from the current "Tropic Thunder" reviews. Here goes:

1) "'Tropic Thunder' is drawing fire from special interest groups for its frequent use of the word 'Jew,' but discerning audiences will know where the humor is targeted. And they'll be laughing too hard to take offense." Christian Toto, whatwouldtotowatch.com

2) Comedy needs the right to be offensive, and Stiller at least has the courage of his convictions. When he uses the word 'Jew,' it's deliberate, not casual." Stepahanie Zacharek, Salon.com.

Do you feel differently about the unbridled freedom of satire now? Or not? It's intriguing to note that "Thunder" has a white actor in black face playing an African-American, yet no one has really made a fuss about that. In fact, only one critic that I read -- the New York Times' Manohla Dargis -- got around to criticizing the film for insulting Jews, describing Tom Cruise's portrayal of a noxious studio executive as a "grotesque" stereotype, "heavily and heavy-handedly coded as Jewish" from "his swollen fingers to the heavy gold dollar-sign nestled on his yeti-furred chest."

I raise these questions not to criticize the movie, but to remind us -- you as a moviegoer as well as me as a writer -- that there's always a thin line between inspiration and offensiveness. If you're a satirist, it's one thing to cross that line, another thing not to bother giving thought about whether you've made it clear enough whom you are really making fun of.

The model of a great satire, if you've never seen it, is Alexander Payne's debut film, "Citizen Ruth," which manages to make fun of everyone across the political spectrum. It stars Laura Dern as a drug-sniffing loser who finds herself in the middle of a hilarious tug of war between prissy pro-lifers and sanctimonious pro-choicers after she gets pregnant and is ordered by a judge to have an abortion. Everyone gets their ox gored, but Payne manages to be caustic without being cruel. It's an art that's not as easy as it looks.

Photo of Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black in "Tropic Thunder" by Merie Weismiller Wallace/DreamWorks.

Comments

[Tom]

I'm not especially offended by his use of the word "retard." I'm offended by the stupidity of his humor. He's a not-quite-adolescent school boy, always has been, and what he finds amusing, I generally find trite and sophmoric. But, apparently it makes him a buck - but not from me.

[Noonan]

Gee...have you seen South Park lately? There is a nice satire that makes fun of Jews, Retards, African Americans, Gays, you name it....Been there done that...Good satire is supposed to make fun of people. Duh.

[Paul]

Actually, satire as an art form -- with roots in works like Gulliver's Travels and Tristram Shandy -- is defined as a form of humor that targets people in positions or power or influence. Simply making fun of someone isn't satire. Satire is presenting something or someone in a humorous way for the specific purpose of revealing some powerful person's or institution's foibles. In that sense, in my opinion, this movie use of the word "retard" can hardly be seen as a form of satire, given that mentally retarded folks are in many respects the least powerful group of people in our society.

[AG Hawthorne]

Thank you for substituting the word "Jew" for "retard." Thoughts become words, words become actions.

This is not comedy. Carol Burnett was comedy. Johnny Caron was comedy. George Carlin was genius. Lucille Ball was the queen of comedy of all brands of what is funny.

This type of "comedy" is a diluted and distorted version of satire designed, I believe, for an ever increasing intellectually dull and emotionally lazy audience. The purpose is to make money, period.

[Jeremy]

I haven't seen the movie and don't care tremendously either way, but there's a flaw in the analogy: as much as some people try to use it as such, the word 'Jew' isn't generally seen as a slur. The word 'retard' often is. I don't feel offended when I say 'I am a Jew,' but I can't remember the last time I heard someone say 'I'm a retard' without meaning 'I'm an idiot.'

I think it's fine to have the word in the film - and I think it's fine to make fun of Jews - but your argument here is a little off.

[ST POOCH]

BEN STILLER ------->Movie the "Tropic Thunder"
Director:Ben Stiller
Writers :Ben Stiller (screenplay) &Justin Theroux (screenplay) ...etc

Well, the name BEN STILLER ->>>> a.k.a $ BENJAMIN STILLER $
Name "BEN" has too many uses from Old to Modern Hebrew laungages.
Here is good magic spell for your all of your Jewish friend to break ice in every parties occasions...
tell them "You are Eze benzona!! " as loud as you can.
Tell all your Jewish friends! Share with it! You'll be accepted as a familly.

[mike morgan]

What's your point, retard?

[new_york_loner]

Give us a break.

Nobody in the entertainment business dares to criticize Jews, with the possible exception of Mel Brooks. The entertainment industry is dominated by people who just happen to be Jewish. It's OK to brag about that fact in the Jewish media, but any Gentile who mentions it is pounced upon as an anti-Semite, Holocaust denier etc.

Oy!

[John Hubers]

Good satire is a matter of timing. "Jew" as a satirical moniker would have been highly offensive in the aftermath of WW II when the consequences of denigrating a minority community became horrifyingly apparent. It's only because the worst forms of antisemitism have been largely eliminated in American society that such satire can be used without fearing the consequences. Mentally challenged people, however, are still fighting the battle to be treated with respect in our society. It has been and is, for them, a hard fought battle whose results are fragile enough to give legitimacy to their protests.

Of course, I doubt whether Ben Stiller cares what I or anyone else has to say about this, as he's laughing all the way to the bank. But I do hope that others who have access to this kind of culture-shaping power will, in the future, think twice about using damaging stereotypes to squeeze frat-boy humor out of someone else's flesh.

[Nils]

Come back Mel Brooks , Blazing Saddles and History of the World Pt 2. Its called humour people but it would appear that all the PC in the world will prevent us from using any words at all anyway Then again most teenagers today just grunt already , so maybe PC has finally arrived !