GLAAD responds to Ron Howard's gay joke defense

If you've been reading this blog in recent weeks, you know that there's been a lot of heated debate over whether it is perfectly appropriate or patently offensive for Vince Vaughn, the star of Ron Howard's upcoming fim "The Dilemma," to joke that an electric car is "gay." Universal Pictures, who bankrolled the picture, pulled the joke from its trailer after getting criticized in many quarters, starting with CNN's Anderson Cooper. But Howard made news again a week ago by writing to me to say that the joke will stay in the film.

Howard defended the joke, reminding people that just because a character in a film says or does something inappropriate doesn't necessarily mean that the filmmaker agrees with it. I've been in Howard's corner on this issue, believing that if we start making value judgments approving one joke over another, we're on a slippery slope to the arid wasteland of political correctness, especially since there have been gay jokes in "The Office" that didn't arouse any of the indignation directed at "The Dilemma."

But there's another side to the story. I've been speaking to the people at GLAAD, which works to prevent defamation of gays and lesbians in the media. GLAAD has been outspoken in its opposition to the joke, believing that it plays on exactly the kind of stereotyping that gives license to bullies. GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios took me up on an invitation to make his case for why the joke should be removed from the film, along with why some gay jokes, like the ones in "The Office," should be viewed through a different lens than the humor in "The Dilemma."

I think Barrios has a compelling point of view that is worth hearing. Here's what he has to say: 

 

When is a word more than just a word?  I’m sure it seemed innocuous enough to the writers of "The Dilemma" when they had the film’s main protagonist (played by Vince Vaughn) say “electric cars are gay” then qualify that he doesn’t mean “homosexual, gay, but, you know, my parents are chaperoning the dance, gay.” To people who don’t hear their identity used as a synonym for “undesirable” or “worthy of ridicule” on a daily basis, I’m sure it seems as though groups like GLAAD, concerned moviegoers, and public figures like Anderson Cooper are making a mountain out of a molehill. It’s just a joke, right? And Vaughn’s character even said he didn’t mean US.

But he did. After all, why has the word “gay” come to mean “something to be made fun of”? It’s because people who are gay or are perceived to be gay … have been historically ridiculed. Sure, it may seem like just a word, and for most people, that’s what it is. But for people who have spent their entire lives hearing their identities used as an insult, it takes on an entirely different meaning.

GLAAD is not a censor.  We’re here to educate.  It’s not “censorship” when someone tells you that your behavior is causing harm and you decide to stop doing it. From grade school straight through to the workplace, gay people are constantly bombarded with this kind of speech.  These words are usually not meant to hurt, but they establish a climate in which we are seen as inferior.  Is it an accident that gay people experience lower self-esteem, higher levels of depression and a lamentably large number of us make the sad choice never to come out of the closet and live their lives openly?

So when is a gay-related joke OK? Ron Howard claimed in his statement last week that “our film is taking additional heat as an emblem for many movies and TV shows that preceded it that have even more provocative characterizations and language.” In this very column last month, "The Dilemma" was compared to some gay-related humor on NBC’s "The Office." Here’s the difference.

"The Office" used a gay context to find humor in the ignorance of what was being said, rather than making a joke at the expense of all gay people.  In the episode,  boss Michael Scott and underling Dwight are interrogating openly gay coworker Oscar while trying to track down the source of Michael’s cold sore, which he briefly (and obviously incorrectly) thinks he may have gotten from Oscar.  Dwight begins by saying “I’m going to need a list of every man you’ve ever had sex with; I’m talking train stations, men’s rooms...” Michael continues the list, saying “Flower shops, fireworks celebrations...” and so on.

Anyone who has seen this show would understand that the joke is on Michael and Dwight, particularly as their list of locations grows more preposterous.  The humor comes from the fact that Michael and Dwight’s notions about gay people quickly reveal their own ignorance, bizarre imaginations and distinct social awkwardness.  In no way is the audience meant to identify with Michael and Dwight. The audience is meant to find their behavior absurd. Viewers identify and sympathize with Oscar in this scene, as he finds himself on the receiving end of Dwight and Michael’s idiocy, as he and every other employee in this fictional setting do on a weekly basis.

Ignorance should be a punch line. Identity should not. Humor can be a tricky thing to analyze and can be easily (and lazily) defended against criticism by saying “it’s just a joke.” Vaughn himself, when defending this line in his film, said “Comedy and joking about our differences breaks tension and brings us together.” And while Vaughn is wrong about the joke in his movie accomplishing this end, "The Office" is a perfect example of humor getting it right.

"The Dilemma" is hardly the first movie to use the word “gay” in this way, but it has come along at a watershed moment in our culture.  Hearing one’s very identity regularly used as a synonym for “inadequate” or “undesirable” on a daily basis does more than just hurt feelings.  Recent events have made it abundantly and tragically clear the effect that anti-gay language and attitudes can have on young people who are gay or are perceived to be gay  AND on the bullies who target them.

Would it change hearts and minds if Howard had made the decision to pull this line from the film? Would bullies suddenly realize the harm their behavior was causing and stop tormenting their victims? Would spontaneous hugging break out in the hallways of America’s schools? Of course not. But it would create a tiny space in our culture -– a window in which people could draw their own conclusions about what it means to be gay, without being told it’s something negative.

Both Goldstein and Howard asked if “comedy will be neutered” if Vince Vaughn’s character didn’t use the word “gay” to mean something to be made fun of. The answer is no. Acceptance of ridiculing gay people under the guise of “humor” would be neutered.  And honestly, comedy might be better off if writers found more creative ways to make us laugh. Maybe a pie in the face?

Photo: Vince Vaughn at a Chicago Bears game at Soldier Field in Chicago. 

Credit: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Comments

[joepen12000]

Really! First, it's a joke. Second, since when do homosexual people own the word gay? Gee, wasn't that a word long before it became synonymous with homosexuality? If I say I'm feeling gay today, does that mean I'm a homosexual? Does it mean I'm feeling undesirable? Give me a break! And gay people? Get over it! It's a friggin' joke!

[Katherine]

My son and his friends play Halo together on a regular basis. Often I hear them calling each other gay, or saying something in the video game is gay, etc. I cannot express how frustrating this is. I have to go into the playroom and ask them not to use that word as it is offensive and can hurt someone's feelings. (Little do they know that one of the kids playing Halo with them IS gay!) I feel so sorry that kid having to sit there and pretend that it doesn't hurt. I remind them that I have gay friends and ask the kids if they'd ever call one of my friends gay to their face. Of course they wouldn't, but they tell me it is used all over school as an adjective to describe all sorts of things. Education begins in the home, and no parent should tolerate their kid using this word in a pejorative way.

[Michael Dale Kimmel]

Beautifully put Mr. Goldstein. Bravo! You've made my day.

[C.D. Stratton]

So, is film (the entertainment industry) to be a reflection of society or is it to be the vanguard of social engineering - like the military in race relation and sexual orientation (DADT)?

[Erwin]

It appears GLAAD is trying to restrict the word "gay" to homosexuals and to preclude its use to describe something fun, cheery or pleasant. Historically the term has been used in both contexts. And what about the daily reruns of Will & Grace? Has a hue and cry gone up about the homosexual characteriations in that program? And where is the organization for straight white guys like myself when 'one’s very identity (is) regularly used as a synonym for “inadequate” or “undesirable”?'

I don't care for racist or gender perjoratives but organizations like GLAAD should be striving for a wider acceptance of all lifestyles and pass on the little ignorances like this movie trailer.

[Paul]

I stopped reading this "gay" article about halfway through. So we know that there are kids in grades school that are gay? Really? Before the hormones start pumping huh? Don't think so. Gays have been ridiculed because:
1. Men want to act like women (more like drama queens actually)
2. Women want to act like men
3. Of the act of homosexuality itself which is gross to say the least
That is pretty much it. So I'm supposed to say that being gay is "cool" just so they won't get bullied? Sorry...not gunna happen. Do I believe in "bullying"? Depends on your definition. Picking on someone (verbally and physically) because they are different has been a human trait since the beginning and it will never change. NEVER. Me personally, I try not to judge but don't tell me I have to accept something as normal when it is...well...gay.

[ScottS]

Great response from Jarrett Barrios. Another factor in this is that "gay" is now the only minority group that it is still socially acceptable to riducle. If you took Vaugh's line of dialogue and instead of "gay" inserted a derogatory word for African-Americans, Jews, Asians, etc. there would be an uproar -- one that Universal, Ron Howard and Vince Vaughn would never attempt to defend by citing concerns of censorship and/or of stifling comedy.

[Daniel Schreiber]

The idea that the entertainment industry should decide on an aspirational, ideal world where characters only say and do things that support that world's beliefs is not consistent with making good art.

By creating the dialog where Mr. Vaughn's character uses the slur, the filmmakers were telling us about Mr. Vaughn's character, not about what they consider to be appropriate for teenagers, or anyone else, to say themselves.

If the artist(s) that made the movie think it's appropriate or belongs in the movie, I say: "The joke stays in the picture."

[Ironica]

The tl;dr summary: it can be appropriate to include people using "gay" as a derogatory term in humor when it's used to show the person is ignorant, insensitive, or uncreative. It's not appropriate for a character that one is supposed to identify with and find funny in a straightforward context to use the term in this way.

Is this really so hard to understand? I mean, I remember bawling out my senior-year boyfriend for calling a teacher he didn't like "gay" 20 years ago... is it really taking everyone else so long to figure out what's wrong with this?

[Sara]

Get over it. This is much to do about absolutely nothing.