Posted by BStu at cache-1.sbo.ma.webcache.rcn.net on August 18, 2001 at 18:33:12:
In Reply to: IMPORTANT-BOYCOTTING 'Bubble Boy' and Others.... posted by Bruce The Shark on August 18, 2001 at 05:31:11:
Couple of things...
: The point is, I have seen the protests of many groups now that are getting more and more active in trying to literally 'wipe out' movies, specifically comedies, when ANYONE, or any group, MIGHT get offended.
Most of the people doing the protesting are less concerned with getting a movie canned than with bringing attention to their cause. I'm not saying this as a bad thing, either. This is a time when a lot of negative attention will be paid to their cause, and sometimes the only way to get the media to notice that someone is rightfully offended is by calling for the company to shelve the film. Boycotts have generally proved to be of little interest to the media. Trust me, if you the person getting demeaned for 90 minutes for cheap gags, you'd be outraged, too. Hollywood is ever in search of some group its okay to take cheap shots at, and they aren't going to find it.
: Where were these people when the Bubble Boy episode of 'Seinfeld' aired?
: Busy, apparently.
Probably just not getting reported on. Also, it bares mention that the Bubble Boy episode of Seinfeld didn't have a months long build up and multi-million dollar marketing campaign.
: Stigmata? REALLY damn offensive to any Catholic...
: Not a peep(Looked like a 'Big' release..kinda...)
: Dogma?
: Say hello to protests....
Trust me, the folks who protest Dogma protested Stigmata and every other movie or tv show or play or painting or song or thought about Catholism (or Christianity in general!) which didn't run along the lines of "Going My Way". They probably put extra pressure with Dogma partly because they were touchy about it being a comedy and because Disney had a history to caving to their demands. Just look at what they did to "Nothing Sacred". And that had actual priests on the creative team! (admitedly, they were Jesuits)
: Number one, if people are going to protest films, music, etc....do it fair..across the board..NOT selectivly.
Don't assume they don't. The media is VERY selective about what they report on.
: Number Two...Take a joke.
Easy to say when you're not the but of the joke. Its easy for anyone without this disease to say "Bubble Boy" is just a well-meaning comedy that actually humanizes these people. At the same time, those who live with this condition can very easily see it as an explotative and demeaning excerise which simply used them as a convient (and hopefully) quiet target. We do have free speech in this country. That means people get to speak up when they are offended just as much as it means people get to offend. Many so-called crusaders for "free speech" seem to forget that when they launch into self-righteous diatribes about not getting to make fun of sick children. Free speech goes both ways. I don't believe in censorship, but the major movie companies already do a LOT of policing of what subjects come up in the movies they make, so its hardly invalid for someone to suggest they could have used more discretion here. Its not unprecedented which will only reinforce their concern that their cause is being taken likely. All the more reason to stand up and be noticed.