Not Again - George Clooney and the R-Word

We saw the movie The Descendants last week and here we go again.  Another Hollywood movie and movie star using the R word as a punch line.  And the thing is-- the scene with the R word in it was so unnecessary.  It did not add a single thing to the plot, to the characters, to the movie.  I wish that the Down syndrome community had a single voice that would come down like a ton of bricks like GLAAD does when someone uses a derogatory slur for gay.  Most recently Brett Ratner was removed as a producer of the 2012 Academy Awards for using the F word (fag) while promoting his movie Tower Heist.  Where is that kind of reaction from the Down syndrome community when a movie uses the R word (retarded) as a punch line?  Where is our unity and our organization?

I really wanted to see The Descendants.  I really enjoy George Clooney.  It's actually a touching and powerful movie.  I was shocked when in the middle of it, George Clooney's character, Matt King says to Nick Krause's character, Sid something to the effect of (I'm paraphrasing because I can't remember word for word) "You are so retarded."

I looked at my husband.  He looked at me.  He knows how I feel about this.  Would I be able to make it through this movie?

That's when the character Sid replies, "That's not nice.  I have a retarded brother."

Matt looks shocked.  

I was shocked.  My husband and I looked at each other again.  Could this be a teaching point? A lesson in the middle of this movie?  No such luck.

Sid goes on to say, "I'm just kidding.  I don't have a retarded brother.  Sometimes when old people and retarded people are slow I just want to make them hurry up......"

Really?  Seriously?  This is entertainment?  What was the point of this scene?  Did George Clooney really feel like this encounter added to the depth of his character?

It just pisses me off.  Using people who have intellectual disabilities as a punch line.  Disability slurs as a means of entertainment?  I don't get it.  I really don't.  I will never get it.

Where is our version of GLAAD?  Who speaks up for those who can't speak up for themselves?

In the past 12 months I have seen movies where someone used the R-word as a derogatory slur starring Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks (Larry Crowne), Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis (Friends With Benefits) and Justin Bateman and Ryan Reynolds (The Change Up).  Now I add George Clooney to that list and it sucks.  I like a lot of the work these actors and actresses have done, but no longer do I respect any of them.


Update:


Here are the actual lines from the book "The Descendants":

"Stop it," I yell.  "Stop touching each other."
"Whoa," Sid says.  "Maybe that's why your wife cheated on you if you're so against touching."
I snap my head around to face him.  "Do you get hit a lot?"
He shrugs, "I've had my share."
I face my daughter, "You know you're dating a complete retard.  You know that, don't you?"
"My brother's retarded, man." Sid says.  "Don't use it in a derogatory way."
"Oh."  I don't say anything more hoping he'll interpret my silence as an apology.
"Psych," he says and now kicks the back of my seat.  "I don't have a retarded brother!"  His little trick is giving him a great amount of amusement.  "Speaking of the retarded," he says, "do you ever feel bad for wishing a retarded person or an old person or a disabled person would hurry up? Sometimes I wait for them to cross the street and I'm like, 'Come on already!' but then I feel bad.