Director Ron Howard has told the Los Angeles Times that he will not remove a controversial joke using the word “gay” from his forthcoming Vince Read the full post.
Oct 30
2010
12:15 AM ET
Ron Howard says 'gay' joke will stay in 'The Dilemma'; GLAAD criticizes decision
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im gay and i think its the right decision to leave it in. now i also hate the use of gay to describe something lame and think its not funny and just low brow. however if you believe in freedom then you cant pick and choose the freedom. also in the movie the character that says it may be portraying the type of person that would say that so i understand the context. i mean its offensive to murder someone but if its about a serial killer then there is gonna be a murder scene
“im gay and i think its the right decision to leave it in. now i also hate the use of gay to describe something lame and think its not funny and just low brow.”
<—-You're a hypocrite.
Non-issue. ASKING Howard to edit to conform to community standards removes any of the nattering about ‘freedom’ or ‘censorship’. Howard, like anyone that puts themselves out there, will take his lumps for the things he says and does, and in this case, deservedly so.
So what Ron is saying is that the audience won’t understand that Vaughn’s character is an *sshole unless he calls cars “gay”
If GLAAD wants to police movies, why don’t they stop that new Christina Aguillera musical from coming out.
SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS!
The trailer opens with the phrase “Electric cars are gay” in an attempt at humor, but it’s hardly a joke for audiences growing increasingly frustrated by use of the word “gay” as a pejorative. Vince Vaughn’s character goes on to clarify that he doesn’t mean, “homosexual, gay, but, you know, my parents are chaperoning the dance, gay.”
Making gay people the butt of a joke–even when the joke says they’re not–feeds into damaging bias against gay people. “Dilemma’s” use of the word “gay” as an insult contributes to a social environment in which gay people are ridiculed, discriminated against–or even worse. Most troubling are the impacts to gay youth who endure bullying with such epithets: movies like “The Dilemma” that use anti-gay humor give a green light to negative words and hurtful acts that contribute to gay children’s low self-esteem, perceived lack of safety and even–as we have seen in recent series of bullying-related suicides and anti-gay attacks–violence.
Rather than ignoring current events, Universal Pictures should be especially sensitive to the power of words and the message they send young people about their self-worth.
“When ‘gay’ is used as a pejorative in such a public way for millions to see and laugh with, it legitimizes and propels the many taunts that gay people endure,” said GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios. “Amidst a rash of bullying related suicides and anti-gay hate crimes, we need to tell Universal and America that our community is tired of being used as a punch line.”
Let’s find a new word for homosexuals. The word gay already existed before it was used to describe homosexuals, so why do you have exclusive rights?
You’re a fool. Straight people labelled gay people as gay. Got a problem with that, take it up with your kind. Don’t blame the gays!
And as I pointed out to you many times before (apparently you’re brain-damaged in multiple ways) that heterosexual people applied the word ‘gay’ to people of dubious moral character (like homosexuals) back around 1650. After 400 years of common usage, you’re screwed, Rusty.
Not too long ago the word Gay was used to express happy, carefree. Now, it’s a negative slur, a 4 letter cuss word that can cause a riot in the streets. For crying out loud can we get over this. I’m not “Gay” but have a couple of friends who are as well as a family member. Do I care? no. Do I use the word Gay? No. Perhaps I don’t understand or perhaps I don’t care to understand. Perhaps we should campaign to remove all derogatory words from the dictionary or make ignorance a crime. Stupidity and ignorance are Human traits that will never go away. Live in a bubble or learn to live with the fact that there are people out there that are just plain stupid.
People need to CHILL OUT. There is something offensive in every movie. I’m a woman, and if 95% of the language in raps songs and movies like Way of the Gun can stay in, then so can one innocent little joke. Most people understand that connotation of “gay” when used like that has nothing to do with homosexuality, the same way when someone says “oh he’s a mean old ba$tard” they don’t mean the old-school meaning about having unmarried parents.
The beginning of Way of the Gun is one of the greatest things ever made. I mean, I hate that movie, it’s awful, but the opening scene, brilliant.
You’ve missed the point. Using “gay” in that sense equates homosexuality with something bad or stupid. THAT is the issue. And leaving that line in The Dilemma perpetuates that connotation.
those who grew up in a conservative community know what it felt like being gay.
Good for Ron Howard! There’s a difference between making a gay joke, and bullying. There’s a difference between making a black joke and being a racist.
If we all want to be treated as equals, then we all have to accept that we’re open targets for comedy provided it’s not done in a hateful way (and from what I’ve seen from the trailer, it’s on a car that’s being targeted). It’s like South Park says, “Either everything is OK to be made fun of, or nothing is.”
Well said!
You truly are ignorant. You’ve missed the point entirely.
You are insane.
Amanda is a homophobe.
Yeah, the problem is knowing where the line is drawn and how the joking is done. The line in the movie is very clearly homophobic. And I’m with Flip on the Amanda thing, and I’ll add mean and nasty.
True, true. Very true. I’d also like to point something out, since people have mentioned Easy A. There were gay stereotypes in that film and other teen movies as well. Will Gluck and the screenwriter weren’t trying to be offensive; just to showcase what high school life is like. Movies are intended to tell stories, not to offend people.
I am 100% for gay, lesbian and transgendered rights, but this is ridiculous. Ron Howard is completely correct, you can’t censor a film. This isn’t Ron Howard using the term gay in a derogatory manner, this is a FICTIONAL CHARACTER using it. One could make a point that it’s meant for you, the audience to determine that Vince Vaughn’s CHARACTER is not necessarily the most likable person ever. There are so many other places where this fight needs to happen, where the stakes are much higher. GLAAD is blowing this way out of proportion.
It’s not a fictional character using it, it’s the writers. GLAAD’s not blowing anything out of proportion—they’re standing up for gay rights and trying to combat ignorance and the perpetuation of anti-gay language and ideology.
You certainly can ask a filmmaker to edit their own work based on community standards – after all, the MPAA (that rates movies) DOES IT ALL THE TIME. The jabbering about ‘censorship’ that the ‘phobes are using is just a lie; no one has the power to ‘censor’ the film (aside from the movie studio). Asking people to censor themselves in light of offensive or societally offensive material is RESPONSIBLE and MORAL.
Gay doesn’t just mean a gay person or people it also means “happy” or it use to…. What happen to people just going and watching movies and not picking at them to start a fight about something that isn’t there. The word GAY has several different meanings so there. I for one will be seeing this movie…
“Gay” doesn’t mean “happy” anymore just as “queer” doesn’t mean “weird”. Words take on new meaning over time. The use of “gay” in this film is meant as a pejorative against gay people.
I’m gay. And this discussion is so gay.
And all well-meaning gays and gay lovers: I love you too. But please dont tell people who feel it is ok to make a gay joke once in a while, that they are responsible for child suicide. That is just stupid.
Your gay card is revoked. You’re suffering from a bad case of internalized homophobia.
lol people can be such idiots …wow gays are tooooo sensitive…shut up queers and go do what you do best….complain and moan
‘Phobe.
Vince Vaughn and his movies suck anyway. No good reason to see this one.
I am a gay man and I agree completely with Mr. Howard on this matter. In a trailer, the line reads as random and offensive but if it is placed in the mouth of a mean-spirited character I think it obviously speaks more to negative attributes of this character than the film’s writer or director. To say you can never use disparaging language is to say you cannot create portraits of contempt in which disparaging language is satirizes or exposed as vulgar. For example, making a film about a racist character would indeed (and has in the past) included many racial slurs. It’s a part of truthfully representing a certain type of person.
You’re a very bad gay man and part of the problem, not the solution. You’re suffering from internalized homophobia and that makes you just as bad as, if not worse than, the straight homophobes.
Get off your high horse! You sure like to puff yourself up to pretend to be important! How about gaining self-confidence from accomplishments, and not self-righeousness!
Amanda is an ignorant homophobe. Please ignore her and don’t feed the troll!
LOL! Amanda is a troll – she is cutting and pasting this same response all over this thread.
So you only believe in a free society as long as its something you dont find offensive? Art is not about telling us how to think its a depiction. Like i said if you watch a serial killer movie about a serial killer is it offensive to have him commit murder ? Your narrow minded and you want censorship, your a bit of a facist my friend
THANK YOU. THIS IS ONE OF THE SMARTEST COMMENTS I’VE READ ON THIS SITE.
Um, I’m a stupid idiot and a bit offended at some of these comments. Narf!