Have You Ever Boycotted a Movie?

August 11, 2008

According to the New York Times, the upcoming Ben Stiller comedy Tropic Thunder will be boycotted by "a coalition of disabilities groups" who object to what they say is "the movie’s open ridicule of the intellectually disabled."
The article continues:

A particular sore point has been the film's repeated use of the term "retard" in referring to a character, Simple Jack, who is played by Mr. Stiller in a subplot about an actor who chases an Oscar by portraying a mindless dolt. Mr. Shriver said that he had also begun to ask members of Congress for a resolution condemning what he called the movie’s “hate speech."

Have you ever refused to see a movie because you objected to the content?

Photo courtesy of Paramount

65 Comments

angelfromlsu 4 years 39 weeks

I wonder if there are any boycotts on books (other than the Catholic church)... I probably doubt it

islandmother 4 years 39 weeks

I have boycotted many movies. I boycott anything by Woody Allen - for obvious reasons. Currently I'm boycotting Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. It bothers me to no end that a percentage of the money I spend on a movie ticket pays for their mansion in France. I also prefer to donate to my own charities, rather than pay them to give a percentage to their charities. I will boycott Tropic Thunder - not because I find it offensive, but because it offends the most vulnerable members of our society. I also boycott Sacha Baron Cohen.

tralalala 4 years 40 weeks

angelfromlsu, I know a lot of people who worked on Hancock, and trust me, Will Smith is a Scientologist haha. That being said, I think it's really stupid to boycott a film because of someone's religious beliefs. There are so many reasons to boycott Tom Cruise, don't do it over that. Also, if you're going to boycott him and Will Smith, you're also going to have to boycott the Simpsons (Nancy Cartwright donates more to the church than either of them), Grease/Hairspray, Juliette Lewis, King of Queens, even Jerry Seinfeld is loosely associated with the church (he donates, and goes in for occasional audits, he's not a hardcore member though). So yeah, Scientologists are scary, but if you start boycotting movies because Scientologists are in them, you're going to run out of movies pretty quickly.

angelfromlsu 4 years 40 weeks

I started googling the Will Smith scientologist thing and I'm still not completely sure. I'm very interested in world religions and I've read a lot of Scientology books as well as studied the Bible and learned Hebrew, etc. From what I understand, Will Smith has a similar interest. I guess I need more proof. (By the way, I've always been secret about getting the Scientology books b/c I'm scared they'll show up to give me a "free" auditing)

Great Sommelier 4 years 40 weeks

angelfromlsu: Google Hanoi Jane

Lily Inferno 4 years 40 weeks

Actually Angelfromlsu, Will Smith is infact a Scientologist. He has been known to pass out pamphlets about the "religion" when hes on the set of whatever movie hes making at the time.

Tami715 4 years 40 weeks

All this guy is doing with his little boycott is giving the film more publicity and I'm sure it'll make way more money than if he'd just let it go. I think boycotting films is a little ridiculous. If you don't like the subject matter or actors, then don't see it.

angelfromlsu 4 years 40 weeks

What's wrong with Jane Fonda movies? And I don't think Will Smith is a scientologist.

Lily Inferno 4 years 40 weeks

Sooo...where are the angry ppl protesting over RDJ playing a white guy pretending to be a black guy? And I have to ask..was there a problem like this when The Ringer came out? I would have found that way more offensive. Its a movie ppl, get over it.

acyl 4 years 40 weeks

WTF, going to CONGRESS about this?? Please, those people need better things to do. I saw the previews of TT and I thought it looked hilarious. Don't know if I'll see it in theaters, but I'll def see it. Honestly, some people are SO sensitive.

sunnyshine 4 years 40 weeks

@Advah -- then you're missing out. ;) His cameo in Tropic Thunder is one of the funniest things I've seen in a LONG time... he truly injects comedy back into Hollywood. Well, this whole movie does, really, but he's a big part of that. And Valkyrie's going to be one of the best movies of 2009, I'm wagering.

kh61582 4 years 40 weeks

I boycott any and all movies that seem to have an anti American/liberal leaning. Hollywood will always be liberal but I don't have to spend my hard earned money to watch that crap. If I'm in the mood for that I'll just turn on CNN

Advah 4 years 40 weeks

Glad I'm not the only one - I boycott anything Tom Cruise related. I refuse to give my money to that guy (and he's a bad actor anyway :P ).

californiagirlx7 4 years 40 weeks

Great Sommelier - I think some people boycotted Passion of the Christ because they thought it was Anti-Semitic. I personally liked the movie...

janneth 4 years 40 weeks

I boycotted Woody Allen movies for a few years after he married his daughter (ok, stepdaughter).

californiagirlx7 4 years 40 weeks

Well I got flagged for use of the "r-word" but all I said was that I think it depends on what context the r-word is used. If it is purposefully used to make fun of mentally handicapped people, then of course it is not appropriate. But if it is used to denote someone who is acting in an idiotic manner, then I don't think it's a big problem. I hate how everything has to be "PC" nowadays. I personally have never boycotted a movie over an issue like this. Usually I skip movie if I hate the actor, or if the movie doesn't interest me. I also refuse to see certain sequels if they replace one of the lead actors with another person and expect us not to notice (i.e. the newest Mummy film).

californiagirlx7 4 years 40 weeks

No, I don't think I have ever boycotted a movie. I don't think the use of the term "retarded" is bad unless you are purposefully making fun of mentally handicapped people. Sometimes, retarded is used to call someone out for being stupid or idiotic, it is not mean to offend someone with real mental issues.

kikidawn 4 years 40 weeks

I don't like to watch movies that objectify women. My guy doesn't watch any Tom Cruise movies. He's a psychology major and finds what Tom Cruise said to be offensive.

designergirl 4 years 40 weeks

I boycott all movies with subject matter that is an insult to intellect and ones with terrible portrayals of women. I don't want to give most movies my money because Hollywood keeps on make asinine sequels and generally awful formulaic crap.

crystalm07 4 years 40 weeks

I wouldn't say boycott, but I didn't think World Trade Center needed to be made into a movie quite yet and refused to watch it...People shouldn't be profiting from a work of fiction based loosely on such tragedy. As far as tropic thunder I don't really get their point...its a comedy and meant to be just that, not taken seriously. If models said they were gonna boycott zoolander cause it depicted them as "less intelligent" I doubt anyone would listen.

Great Sommelier 4 years 40 weeks

What is offensive about the Passion?

Allyace 4 years 40 weeks

I understand boycotting a film if it is truly offensive but this movie is more about satire. So, I don't think it is appropriate to boycott this one. I will say that the previews do look pretty funny. I've never boycotted anything myself but there are lots of movies that I just haven't seen for one reason or another.

tralalala 4 years 40 weeks

I boycotted Passion of the Christ because Christian propoganda is obnoxious. Also, all George Lucas films because the guy's a douchebag.

sunnyshine 4 years 40 weeks

There's a big difference between boycotting a movie and choosing not to see one because you don't think it's your type of film. I've done that with plenty of movies. I've never boycotted one, though. I think filmmakers are entitled to freedom of speech just as much as anyone else, and to see such a furor over Tropic Thunder of all movies is, to be honest, a little bit surprising. I caught the film at an advanced screening and, while the humor is a bit raunchy (not gonna lie) it's hardly as offensive as these groups make it out to be. Not only does the film cover so many different groups and potentially touchy subjects, the point is that it's making fun at the industry that uses these groups and subjects for gain. It's a satire, guys, bottom line. And I, as a film junkie, loved it from the faux trailers at the beginning to the hilarious dance at the end (won't spoil it with any more details than that...)

piper23 4 years 40 weeks

I've never boycotted a movie. Most of the actors I like are in no way aligned with me politically or spritually but that doesn't keep me from watching their movies. I can't wait to see Tropic Thunder, looks hilarious!

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65 Comments

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