Tropic Thunder Analysis
Popular media in our society exposes what we have collectively decided is passable behavior. If it can be published in Hollywood without the backlash of its audience, then it’s socially exceptable. In the case of such movies as Tropic Thunder, as observed by author Patricia E Bauer, while those unaffected by the movie’s harsh language may not care, it shouldn’t be so easy to dismiss those that were. The apathy in regards to the mentally disabled is a testament to a past of fear and lack of understanding towards them. Though the taboo behind the word is recognizable to us at this point, to many it’s still ok to use as long as they “didn’t mean it like that”. Bauer doesn’t have an issue with the word in its intended form. It’s the twisted use
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The reason being that it comes with too big of a price and would be useless as a permanent solution. Bauer discusses the aftermath of Rahm Emanuel’s use of the R-word being that government fought to remove the term “mental retardation” from government agencies and state codes.They used this to contrast the origins of the word’s use, to convey dignity and respect. Their argument being that no matter how many times we purge words with negative connotations and replace them, taboos would just materialize once more, as can be seen in the replacement of the word idiot. Bauer also said that if a word is too stigmatized people develop what she calls a “word fetish”. This phenomena is backed by the writings of Harvard law professor Randall Kennedy, making it credible information. The example provided to back both claims was the case of David Howard nearly being fired for using the word “niggardly”. Overall Bauer’s evidence for this claim support her arguments well. She makes it clear that restrictions on speech create needless taboos and government restriction. Her overall claim, which is that the easiest way to fight the derogatory meaning of the word retard is to reclaim it, had little support except for parallels between similar words. such as the N-word and queer. Her argument as a whole utilized outside sources fairly well to make her essay seem credible and effective. The negative effect of overly stigmatized words on both the offended and the offenders is clear enough to be
The reason being that it comes with too big of a price and would be useless as a permanent solution. Bauer discusses the aftermath of Rahm Emanuel’s use of the R-word being that government fought to remove the term “mental retardation” from government agencies and state codes.They used this to contrast the origins of the word’s use, to convey dignity and respect. Their argument being that no matter how many times we purge words with negative connotations and replace them, taboos would just materialize once more, as can be seen in the replacement of the word idiot. Bauer also said that if a word is too stigmatized people develop what she calls a “word fetish”. This phenomena is backed by the writings of Harvard law professor Randall Kennedy, making it credible information. The example provided to back both claims was the case of David Howard nearly being fired for using the word “niggardly”. Overall Bauer’s evidence for this claim support her arguments well. She makes it clear that restrictions on speech create needless taboos and government restriction. Her overall claim, which is that the easiest way to fight the derogatory meaning of the word retard is to reclaim it, had little support except for parallels between similar words. such as the N-word and queer. Her argument as a whole utilized outside sources fairly well to make her essay seem credible and effective. The negative effect of overly stigmatized words on both the offended and the offenders is clear enough to be