Should Robert Downey Jr. Have Gotten A Pass for Doing Tropic Thunder?
- Thread starter xxxbishopxxx
- Start date
This is the dumbest argument in this thread. 99% of Hollywood white writers and directors are racist and we still see their movies. So?The same "woke" people who ask this asinine question are the same people who were 1st in line to see these films starring RDJ.
And clearly, the success of these films prove that audiences (of ALL races) have long since moved passed any bullshit "perceived" issues with RDJ in Tropic Thunder.
It's amazing.
12 years later, and these silly, fake ass "woke" people are still asking this stupid fucking question....
Take RDJ as Tony Stark/Ironman out of ANY of those films, do you think they'd be nearly as successful?
- No. They wouldn't be.
You made a point about 50 years of comic book history.
- Absolutely correct.
But please let's not act like RDJ's performance in this little film DIDN'T set the all the modern MCU's success in motion:
Which came out the same year Tropic Thunder did and served to enhance people's enjoyment of RDJ's performance in that film and to solidify proof of his comeback as an actor....
Bottomline:
Audiences (of ALL colors) loved Tropic Thunder and RDJ's performance in it.
It's only problematic if you WANT it to be.
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Not sure if you are attacking me or talking in general. However, I will address you statement.The same "woke" people who ask this asinine question are the same people who were 1st in line to see these films starring RDJ.
And clearly, the success of these films prove that audiences (of ALL races) have long since moved passed any bullshit "perceived" issues with RDJ in Tropic Thunder.
It's amazing.
12 years later, and these silly, fake ass "woke" people are still asking this stupid fucking question....
As stated before, Downey himself brought it up in a recent interview. Downey himself said he was worried about the potential backlash from the movie and was relieved when people attacked Ben Stiller for making fun of retarded people (which he wasn't..he was making fun of the actors who take those roles). Downey is okay with it now. Had you read the article you would have known this.
I also posted it because, as stated before, Eddie Murphy has been doing a lot retrospective interviews as of late and has been apologizing left and right for his gay jokes back in the day. So I thought the contrast between the two thought processes about past work was interesting.
To your bigger point, I just asked a question. In this particular post I never said I agreed or disagreed with it. However, as many times as I have quoted my favorite line, "never go full retard" throughout my years on BGOL, it should be obvious as to where I actually stand.
The title of the post was pretty clear. Stop wasting your time responding to dumbass posts. I'm sure you got better things to do at 2 in the morning.
Yes they wouldTake RDJ as Tony Stark/Ironman out of ANY of those films, do you think they'd be nearly as successful?
- No. They wouldn't be.
You made a point about 50 years of comic book history.
- Absolutely correct.
But please let's not act like RDJ's performance in this little film DIDN'T set the all the modern MCU's success in motion:
Which came out the same year Tropic Thunder did and served to enhance people's enjoyment of RDJ's performance in that film and to solidify proof of his comeback as an actor....
Bottomline:
Audiences (of ALL colors) loved Tropic Thunder and RDJ's performance in it.
It's only problematic if you WANT it to be.
Keep dreaming, bub....
Ok, bub!!!!
Attack you?
Not sure if you are attacking me or talking in general. However, I will address you statement.
As stated before, Downey himself brought it up in a recent interview. Downey himself said he was worried about the potential backlash from the movie and was relieved when people attacked Ben Stiller for making fun of retarded people (which he wasn't..he was making fun of the actors who take those roles). Downey is okay with it now. Had you read the article you would have known this.
I also posted it because, as stated before, Eddie Murphy has been doing a lot retrospective interviews as of late and has been apologizing left and right for his gay jokes back in the day. So I thought the contrast between the two thought processes about past work was interesting.
To your bigger point, I just asked a question. In this particular post I never said I agreed or disagreed with it. However, as many times as I have quoted my favorite line, "never go full retard" throughout my years on BGOL, it should be obvious as to where I actually stand.
The title of the post was pretty clear. Stop wasting your time responding to dumbass posts. I'm sure you got better things to do at 2 in the morning.
- Never.
I'm sorry if you felt in any way that I was. This was not my intention...
Having said this, I'll briefly address your points specifically.
- In the RDJ's interview he said he was worried about any potential backlash from his character in Tropic Thunder. Clearly, his fears were laid to rest 12 years ago due to the success of the film and audience/public enjoyment, embracing and understanding of the character he played.
- Eddie Murphy apologizing for making "offensive" jokes decades ago is NOT in the same category as RDJ's performance in TT. In the age of "MeToo", it's called doing damage control.
- Finally...
The question of RDJ's performance in Tropic Thunder has already long since been answered.
It's unfortunate that you don't give audiences enough credit in their UNDERSTANDING of what he was doing in that movie. Not only in their enjoyment of it but in their ability to actually "get it" as well...
Why I have to be dumb or fake if I don't give it a pass tho...
Naw bro your just WOKE!!
Why do you assume I didn't get it? Like I said I enjoyed the movie and didn't have a problem with it, but I can understand why some people wouldn't. The fact that you got so many varied responses, in this thread, mean not everyone enjoyed (or by your words understood) the joke he was trying to tell.Attack you?
- Never.
I'm sorry if you felt in any way that I was. This was not my intention...
Having said this, I'll briefly address your points specifically.
- In the RDJ's interview he said he was worried about any potential backlash from his character in Tropic Thunder. Clearly, his fears were laid to rest 12 years ago due to the success of the film and audience/public enjoyment, embracing and understanding of the character he played.
- Eddie Murphy apologizing for making "offensive" jokes decades ago is NOT in the same category as RDJ's performance in TT. In the age of "MeToo", it's called doing damage control.
- Finally...
The question of RDJ's performance in Tropic Thunder has already long since been answered.
It's unfortunate that you don't give audiences enough credit in their UNDERSTANDING of what he was doing in that movie. Not only in their enjoyment of it but in their ability to actually "get it" as well...
In spite of all his post Tropic Thunder success, he felt the need to bring it up. I'm guessing people still bring it up to him or someone felt the need to ask him about his personal feelings on it ten years later in the era of "woke" culture.
Eddie has also survived his past (everything from gay jokes to giving trannies rides home). He has made a lot of box-office and critical hits since. By your logic, he didn't really need to address the gay jokes, because those jokes were told decades ago and it's obvious people have moved on. Yet, again HE is bringing up his past and feeling the need to address it or at least respond to questions about it.
Like it or not some people are as equally offended by RDJ as others probably are by Eddie Murphy's old jokes.
The only difference between my thought process and yours, I am not judging anyone who was offended. However, it doesn't mean I agree with their criticism.
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I'm glad Downey brought up White Chicks. Movie came out prior to that, not after as he stated. It's probably the reason Stiller thought this was cool to do.
Never seen the flick. But got cats in this thread who seen it and said it was cool, I don't consider those cats coons and ain't about to start over a fucking movie. I guess it's like whites not giving a fuck about white chicks.
Never seen the flick. But got cats in this thread who seen it and said it was cool, I don't consider those cats coons and ain't about to start over a fucking movie. I guess it's like whites not giving a fuck about white chicks.
Every now and then I have heard white people use White Chicks as an example of a double standard when it comes to complaining about why they can't do blackface.I'm glad Downey brought up White Chicks. Movie came out prior to that, not after as he stated. It's probably the reason Stiller thought this was cool to do.
Never seen the flick. But got cats in this thread who seen it and said it was cool, I don't consider those cats coons and ain't about to start over a fucking movie. I guess it's like whites not giving a fuck about white chicks.
Don't shoot the messenger...lol.
Downy brought it up in the Rogan interview.
The thing with white folks is this. Are they really offended or do they want a greenlight to offend?
and does ppl are dumb or pratice willful ignorance
these the same ppl that say all lives matter to change the subject
I thought it was funny.
That's part of the message of the film. In the movie Kirt Lazarus (sp?) - RDJ's character - has a SURGERY to darken the pigment of his skin! That's sooo damn over the top and pretentious. Also, there was a black character in the movie that checked RDJ several times on playing a black actor. That tension was actually in the movie. The movie itself was saying that this is not "ok".
I think this is two different things. In Delirious, my man wasn't just making jokes, he throwing out "faggot" on the stage. Just freely. I saw it for the first time a few years ago and the shit made me cringe. I was just on some "you can't say shit like that in public" shit. Context be damned with that. I find it just as uncomfortable when Quentin Tarantino busted out ****** in his scene in Pulp Fiction. Tropic Thunder was different.
Dude, what major roles are about Jews? You want some black Jews in Schendler's list? They hire straight actors all the time to play gay on TV. Only one of the gay dudes on Modern Family is gay. Just about every time you see a black actor on the screen, it was basically meant for a white actor.
because there is no PASS to give if you understand what they were doing
yes, THAT makes you dumb
here, let me DUMB it down for you and the rest of you DUMMIES
the KKK hood is just as offensive too right?
ok, Don Johnson played a character that was a secret KKK member in Watchmen
this character had a secret closet with a hood in it
should Don Johnson apologize for wearing a KKK hood in Watchmen?
this is how DUMB yall sound right now
Not to sound stupid by why now worry about a movie that came out in 2008 when there are present day issues we need to focus on. We all have known for years how racist Hollywood has been and will always be. It should have been a big issue back in 2008 but it really wasn't now years later and millions in the bank I doubt RDJ would lose sleep over it.
PS I see this making it to almost 10 pages with useless arguments
PS I see this making it to almost 10 pages with useless arguments
Melvin Van Peeples produce, wrote, and directed a film in 1970 called “Watermelon Man.”
This film was about a white man (play by Godfrey Cambridge) that was a racist and a bigot that harassed Black people with snark comments on his way to work everyday. One day he wakes up from his sleep to go to the bathroom and for no apparent reason he is now a black man.
fbwat.ch
This was a daring and controversial comedy, but the message was powerful.
When I first saw Tropic Thunder, it didn’t come off like I originally thought it was going to be. I was entertained the same way I was with the Watermelon Man even though the messages were very different.
Good comedic writers find a way to make it work for majority of audiences. They are not going to get everyone, and that’s ok.
Studying Black film history has taught me a lot on how Black culture has viewed our representation on screen for over a century now. There are only a handful of films that majority of us agreed on the representation.
So RDJ had context in Tropic Thunder; so did Imitations of Life, Pinky, Lost Boundaries, and many other tragic mulatto movies that were played strictly by white women. They all had messages. White Chicks had no message in it whatsoever. That was a huge dig at white women and white women loved it for the most part.
Context doesn’t necessarily mean one should get a pass. As previously mentioned, Pinky (1949) had a strong message, but when I presentated that film to my audience they were infuriated that a white woman was chosen to portray a black woman on film. Regardless of the context, people couldn’t get past that aspect. Plus is wasn’t a comedy.
Dave Chappell’s as Clayton Bigsby was another contextual skit that was masked with comedy. And it was brilliant.
I guess my point is that context, regardless of how context is presented, doesn’t mean one should get a pass. However, I understand that some things can be presented in a way that it can captivate you. Comedies have a tendency to relieve any potential ill feelings a person may have. If Tropic Thunder was a drama it wouldnt have been funny at all and it would have been a major issue.
I don’t think he should get a pass because white folks doesn’t know how to straddle the line too well. But I will give him props on the execution of the message the film was trying to convey.
This film was about a white man (play by Godfrey Cambridge) that was a racist and a bigot that harassed Black people with snark comments on his way to work everyday. One day he wakes up from his sleep to go to the bathroom and for no apparent reason he is now a black man.
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fbwat.ch
This was a daring and controversial comedy, but the message was powerful.
When I first saw Tropic Thunder, it didn’t come off like I originally thought it was going to be. I was entertained the same way I was with the Watermelon Man even though the messages were very different.
Good comedic writers find a way to make it work for majority of audiences. They are not going to get everyone, and that’s ok.
Studying Black film history has taught me a lot on how Black culture has viewed our representation on screen for over a century now. There are only a handful of films that majority of us agreed on the representation.
So RDJ had context in Tropic Thunder; so did Imitations of Life, Pinky, Lost Boundaries, and many other tragic mulatto movies that were played strictly by white women. They all had messages. White Chicks had no message in it whatsoever. That was a huge dig at white women and white women loved it for the most part.
Context doesn’t necessarily mean one should get a pass. As previously mentioned, Pinky (1949) had a strong message, but when I presentated that film to my audience they were infuriated that a white woman was chosen to portray a black woman on film. Regardless of the context, people couldn’t get past that aspect. Plus is wasn’t a comedy.
Dave Chappell’s as Clayton Bigsby was another contextual skit that was masked with comedy. And it was brilliant.
I guess my point is that context, regardless of how context is presented, doesn’t mean one should get a pass. However, I understand that some things can be presented in a way that it can captivate you. Comedies have a tendency to relieve any potential ill feelings a person may have. If Tropic Thunder was a drama it wouldnt have been funny at all and it would have been a major issue.
I don’t think he should get a pass because white folks doesn’t know how to straddle the line too well. But I will give him props on the execution of the message the film was trying to convey.
And for those that have never seen Watermelon Man (1970) please make it a point to check it out.
You might have hit them with a curve ball with that one.
Fun fact Tom cruise was 1 of the people who they had in mind mr mission impossible... So if he decided to take the role it still would've been a mega hit being that it was Tom cruise... Tony Starks would've juss been running moreTake RDJ as Tony Stark/Ironman out of ANY of those films, do you think they'd be nearly as successful?
- No. They wouldn't be.
You made a point about 50 years of comic book history.
- Absolutely correct.
But please let's not act like RDJ's performance in this little film DIDN'T set the all the modern MCU's success in motion:
Which came out the same year Tropic Thunder did and served to enhance people's enjoyment of RDJ's performance in that film and to solidify proof of his comeback as an actor....
Bottomline:
Audiences (of ALL colors) loved Tropic Thunder and RDJ's performance in it.
It's only problematic if you WANT it to be.
Tom cruise was Mr box office... If he takes that role it's still a bit period
I watched Tropic Thunder and laughed at the character RDJ played. That said, I wouldn't put it on my must see list because it does cross a line. If we don't have boundaries we will soon get to a point where anything goes because it can be academically and contextually justified. The thing is, over time peoples' perception of context changes. I know this was just a movie meant to entertain and amuse. However, we are now asked to take so many historical insults and outright atrocities in context, to which I call BS.
Bottom line, I don't think this movie will age well. Look at what happened to American Beauty with its pedo imagery. In spite of its box office success and critical acclaim the #MeToo movement came for it and destroyed it. Others, perhaps #ADOS, will come for Tropic Thunder and we'll see.
Bottom line, I don't think this movie will age well. Look at what happened to American Beauty with its pedo imagery. In spite of its box office success and critical acclaim the #MeToo movement came for it and destroyed it. Others, perhaps #ADOS, will come for Tropic Thunder and we'll see.
Melvin Van Peeples produce, wrote, and directed a film in 1970 called “Watermelon Man.”
This film was about a white man (play by Godfrey Cambridge) that was a racist and a bigot that harassed Black people with snark comments on his way to work everyday. One day he wakes up from his sleep to go to the bathroom and for no apparent reason he is now a black man.
Discover Popular Videos | Facebook
Facebook Watch is the place to enjoy videos and shows together. Find the latest trending videos, discover original shows and checkout what's going on with your favorite creators.
This was a daring and controversial comedy, but the message was powerful.
When I first saw Tropic Thunder, it didn’t come off like I originally thought it was going to be. I was entertained the same way I was with the Watermelon Man even though the messages were very different.
Good comedic writers find a way to make it work for majority of audiences. They are not going to get everyone, and that’s ok.
Studying Black film history has taught me a lot on how Black culture has viewed our representation on screen for over a century now. There are only a handful of films that majority of us agreed on the representation.
So RDJ had context in Tropic Thunder; so did Imitations of Life, Pinky, Lost Boundaries, and many other tragic mulatto movies that were played strictly by white women. They all had messages. White Chicks had no message in it whatsoever. That was a huge dig at white women and white women loved it for the most part.
Context doesn’t necessarily mean one should get a pass. As previously mentioned, Pinky (1949) had a strong message, but when I presentated that film to my audience they were infuriated that a white woman was chosen to portray a black woman on film. Regardless of the context, people couldn’t get past that aspect. Plus is wasn’t a comedy.
Dave Chappell’s as Clayton Bigsby was another contextual skit that was masked with comedy. And it was brilliant.
I guess my point is that context, regardless of how context is presented, doesn’t mean one should get a pass. However, I understand that some things can be presented in a way that it can captivate you. Comedies have a tendency to relieve any potential ill feelings a person may have. If Tropic Thunder was a drama it wouldnt have been funny at all and it would have been a major issue.
I don’t think he should get a pass because white folks doesn’t know how to straddle the line too well. But I will give him props on the execution of the message the film was trying to convey.
Great post!! I would have given TH a pass it one of the writers where black. I just don’t see Benstiller seating down a writing a black face character with something deeper in mind.
*devils advocate*
do the Wayans bros need a pass?
Different set of circumstances. You can’t play devil’s advocate. People of color have been satires punching bag for centuries.
I can't agree with any aspects of being dumb.
Yeah, but Cruise didn’t take the role and Downey Jr. did.
- RDJ is Iron man.
- Tom Cruise is not.
Both men were in Tropic Thunder and both men's performances were well received by audiences as a result....
Everything you said is correct. However, in both cases people gave them a pass a long time go. Eddie's gay jokes didn't stop him from getting back on SNL or getting both a Netflix movie (critical hit) and a Netflix comedy special (upcoming). We all know how Downey's career turned out. I brought up Eddie because he seemed to take a proactive approach to apologize, when, as far as I can tell, no one was looking for an apology.
By the way thank you for bringing up QT. QT has always said fuck you and your apology about why he uses the N-word in his movies. Yet he has always had critical and commercial success with his movies, in spite of the controversy. He also never has a problem with getting his casting choices for his films either.
indeed. the movie is making fun of the whit... aw nevermind. mufuqqas are comfortable not being able to critically think through anything more complex than whether "ebony" or "black" is the best search term to use on Pornhub.