Brett Ratner, known for directing X-Men and Tower Heist was originally slotted for the position as the producer of the 2012 Academy Awards. In November 2011, while screening his film Tower Heist, a member of the audience asked him what the rehearsals were like for the film. Ratner replied, "Rehearsal? What's that? Rehearsal's for f*gs. Rehearsal. Not much. A lot of prep, preparation, complex action sequences, visual effects."
GLAAD quickly condemned the statement and following meetings with GLAAD and community outrage, Ratner abruptly resigned as the producer of the 2012 Oscars. GLAAD went on to say, "Hollywood has the power and responsibility to grow acceptance of all communities," said GLAAD Acting President Mike Thompson. "We look forward to working with Ratner and the industry in promoting positive, culture-changing images of our community and sending a message that such slurs, used to belittle gay and lesbian youth and adults every day, have no place in mainstream popular culture or the industry that creates it."
Ratner released a statement saying, “I apologize for any offense my remarks caused. It was a dumb and outdated way of expressing myself. Everyone who knows me knows that I don’t have a prejudiced bone in my body. But as a storyteller I should have been much more thoughtful about the power of language and my choice of words."
Academy President, Tom Sherak responded with this statement, "He did the right thing for the Academy and for himself. Words have meaning, and they have consequences. Brett is a good person, but his comments were unacceptable. We all hope this will be an opportunity to raise awareness about the harm that is caused by reckless and insensitive remarks, regardless of the intent."
Here is where I start to have some issues with the Academy. Sometimes people slip up and say words. They say words that they didn't mean to say. Mean words. Words that as Tom Sherak says, 'have meaning...and...consequences." In this case, Ratner used the f*g word. It was not a rehearsed moment. He answered a question and used a cruel word in his response. Do I think the f*g word is disgusting-- completely. I think that like the R-word, it is cruel, demeaning and never used in a kind or gentle manner.
But what about when such hateful and cruel words are in films? Words that hurt millions of people who suffer from some kind of disability. Words that have been purposefully placed in a movie and that are kept in a movie. Words that have been rehearsed. Words that someone wrote, someone directed and someone said.
What I have a major problem reconciling is the purposeful use of such slurs in movies. My issue is this. Movies first have to be written. Sometimes they are a book in their first form, like The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings. Then there is a screenplay. Then there is a director. Then there are actors. All along the way, each cog in this machine reviews, reads, analyzes and finalizes the words of the screenplay that are then used to create the movie. Finally, even after all of these people have finalized a movie, it still has to go in front of the Motion Picture Association of America to assign the film a rating.
This year the 84the Academy Awards have bestowed a number of nominations on not one, but two movies that have purposefully used a disability slur. Not a gay slur like Brett Ratner used, but a disability slur. Yep-- the R-word. Retarded.
The Descendants (which I scathingly reviewed here) earned 5 Oscar nominations (including one for Writing/Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture). Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close earned 2 Oscar nominations (including one for Best Picture).
Here is a summary of the scene in The Descendants-- (as a disclaimer-- I tried to memorize the scene as best I could and am also including this segment from the novel) as I first described it back in November:
I really enjoy George Clooney. It's actually a touching and powerful movie. I was shocked when in the middle of it, George Clooney's character, Matt King says to Nick Krause's character, Sid something to the effect of (I'm paraphrasing because I can't remember word for word) "You are so retarded."
I looked at my husband. He looked at me. He knows how I feel about this. Would I be able to make it through this movie?
That's when the character Sid replies, "That's not nice. I have a retarded brother."
Matt looks shocked.
I was shocked. My husband and I looked at each other again. Could this be a teaching point? A lesson in the middle of this movie? No such luck.
Sid goes on to say, "I'm just kidding. I don't have a retarded brother. Sometimes when old people and retarded people are slow I just want to make them hurry up......"
Here are the actual lines from the book The Descendants:
"Stop it," I yell. "Stop touching each other."
"Whoa," Sid says. "Maybe that's why your wife cheated on you if you're so against touching."
I snap my head around to face him. "Do you get hit a lot?"
He shrugs, "I've had my share."
I face my daughter, "You know you're dating a complete retard. You know that, don't you?"
"My brother's retarded, man." Sid says. "Don't use it in a derogatory way."
"Oh." I don't say anything more hoping he'll interpret my silence as an apology.
"Psych," he says and now kicks the back of my seat. "I don't have a retarded brother!" His little trick is giving him a great amount of amusement. "Speaking of the retarded," he says, "do you ever feel bad for wishing a retarded person or an old person or a disabled person would hurry up? Sometimes I wait for them to cross the street and I'm like, 'Come on already!' but then I feel bad.
In Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close there is a point where the young boy who plays the main character, Oskar Schell, explains that he has been tested for and possibly has Asperger's. For this reason alone I really didn't expect to hear the R-word used in this Oscar nominated film. In the scene it is used in, Oskar Schell, played by Thomas Horn, is arriving back at the New York City apartment he lives in with his parents. He goes to use the stairs and Stan the Doorman, played by John Goodman says (as best as I can remember), "The elevator works, genius." To which, Oskar replies, "I know, retard."
Really? Again? This is literally the fifth movie in the past six months that I have seen in the movie theater that uses the R-word. The Change Up, Larry Crowne and Friends With Benefits also all use the R-word in them. Where is the Academy now? Why isn't the Academy president Tom Sherak using those same words he used when Brett Ratner said the word f*g? Why isn't Tom Sherak saying, "Words have meaning, and they have consequences. . .We all hope this will be an opportunity to raise awareness about the harm that is caused by reckless and insensitive remarks, regardless of the intent"?
And as Brett Ratner said, "But as a storyteller I should have been much more thoughtful about the power of language and my choice of words."
Where is the opportunity to raise awareness about the harmful and hurtful effects of using disability slurs against innocent individuals who happen to have some kind of disability? I guess as far as the Academy of Motion Pictures is concerned, disability slurs don't have consequences only gay slurs do.
What if that scene in The Descendants used the f*g word (a word that I also think is deplorable and hateful) instead of "retard"? What if the scene that was in the movie was this:
"Stop it," I yell. "Stop touching each other."
"Whoa," Sid says. "Maybe that's why your wife cheated on you if you're so against touching."
I snap my head around to face him. "Do you get hit a lot?"
He shrugs, "I've had my share."
I face my daughter, "You know you're dating a complete f*g. You know that, don't you?"
"My brother's a f*g, man." Sid says. "Don't use it in a derogatory way."
"Oh." I don't say anything more hoping he'll interpret my silence as an apology.
"Psych," he says and now kicks the back of my seat. "I don't have a fa**ot brother!" His little trick is giving him a great amount of amusement. "Speaking of f*gs," he says, "do you ever feel bad for wishing a f*g or an old person or a disabled person would hurry up? Sometimes I wait for them to cross the street and I'm like, 'Come on already!' but then I feel bad.
I wonder how the Academy would feel about that. Would the movie have still received 5 nominations including one for Writing and one for Best Picture?
And what if the scene in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close went like this:
"The elevator works, genius." To which, Oskar replies, "I know, f*g."
It just makes me wonder. The Academy has gone to an extreme length to publicly show that it does not support the use of a gay slur. Why can't they recognize that disability slurs are just as hurtful?
You may ask--why does it even matter. It matters because every single movie we go to I sit with baited breath and wonder if there will be a disability slur. Will someone in the movie call someone else a "retard" or use some version of that word? I worry for the other people in the theater. We were at a movie a couple of weeks ago and behind us was a family. In that family was a woman who was about in her mid-50's who had Down syndrome. I spent the entire movie worrying that the R-word would be in it and that she would hear it. The movie, Contraband ended up not using the R-word in it and it was a fast-paced and enjoyable thriller and I was able to finally exhale when we walked out.
I've said this before, but as an attorney I completely understand the right to free speech. As Tim Shriver so eloquently appealed to Stephen Colbert and his viewers, "You're allowed to be humiliating, degrading and hurtful. I'm allowed to petition you to at least recognize what you say and be aware of the option you have to stop."
