The scene implies that "full retard" means being too disabled and thus not palatable to an able-bodied audience. For Kirk, this performance is similar to Sean Penn in the 2001 feature, I Am Sam. He stammers and is seemingly unable to make conversation. Jack in the fictional film within a film, is presented as non-aesthetically pleasing, with protruding teeth and a bowl haircut. ![]() What separates Forrest Gump and Rain Man's Raymond from Tropic Thunder's Jack is Forrest and Raymond are just disabled enough to be pitiable, but not so much as to make the audience uncomfortable. ![]() Movies about disability, whether physical or mental, are mired in outdated stereotypes, either being angelic or magical beings, or act as representatives of carpe diem, a constant reminder to enjoy life in the event you're struck down with the curse of disability. He mentions Dustin Hoffman and Tom Hanks' Academy Award-winning performances in Rain Man and Forrest Gump, respectively, as examples of characters who might be mentally affected, but aren't, as defined by the feature, "retarded." The film's satire in the moment is evident Kirk Lazarus, an Australian white man deconstructs how far is too far in the portrayal of a marginalized group while wearing blackface and talking in an affected accent. Tropic Thunder courted controversy over this same scene back in 2008, with boycotts planned and disabled advocates decrying the film's use of the word more than the actual content of the scene itself. For Tropic Thunder, focusing on the use of the R-word says more about a predominately able-bodied audience who, in a decade, has missed what it's truly saying about Hollywood and disability. Yet when this subject is brought up it fails to take into account filmic context, becoming akin to a small child upset that they can't use a dirty word in public. ![]() When it comes to what's funny, discussions about good taste and dated aspects always happen.
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