1. Welcome! Please take a few seconds to create your free account to post threads, make some friends, remove a few ads while surfing and much more. ClutchFans has been bringing fans together to talk Houston Sports since 1996. Join us!

[Movie News] Blind People Angry, May not go see "Blindness"

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by moestavern19, Oct 6, 2008.

Tags:
Page 1 of 2
  1. moestavern19

    moestavern19 Member

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 1999
    Messages:
    39,003
    Likes Received:
    3,638
    Advocates Protest "Blindness"
    by Jonathan Crow | October 2, 2008


    Hollywood has trouble with portraying disabilities. Even when they try to do the right thing, they still manage to tick people off. That was the case for this summer's blockbuster comedy Tropic Thunder and it's happening again with this week's release Blindness.

    In "Tropic Thunder," Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.) tells fellow actor Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller) to "never go full r****d." The scene is hilarious, satirizing Hollywood stars' tendency to play disabled in pursuit of Oscar gold. Think Tom Hanks in "Forrest Gump" and Sean Penn in "I Am Sam." The film's satire, however wasn't appreciated by disability advocates who slammed the use of the R-word as "offensive and demeaning...it fuels social stigma against vulnerable people."

    Fast forward a couple months and a similar controversy is playing out with Miramax's latest release. "Blindness," based on a book by Nobel Prize-winning author Jose Saramago and directed by Academy Award nominee Fernando Meirelles, depicts a city in the thrall of a virus that suddenly robs its citizens of their sight. Soon society collapses and stricken descend into a brutal Hobbesian new order. When the book came out, it was praised for its use of blindness as a metaphor. But as the movie is about to be released, it has been lambasted by Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind.

    "The National Federation of the Blind condemns and deplores this film, which will do substantial harm to the blind of America and the world. Blind people in this film are portrayed as incompetent, filthy, vicious, and depraved. They are unable to do even the simplest things like dressing, bathing, and finding the bathroom. The truth is that blind people regularly do all of the same things that sighted people do."

    Miramax responded, "We are saddened to learn that the National Federation of the Blind plans to protest the film 'Blindness,'" and that director Meirelles "worked diligently to preserve the intent and resonance of the acclaimed book."

    So, is the NFB justified in its criticism of the movie or are they missing the point? You can watch the first five minutes of the film below to decide for yourself.

    <object width="400" height="327" id="uvp_fop"><param name="movie" value="http://l.yimg.com/cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/fop/embedflv/swf/fop.swf"></param><param name="flashVars" value="id=10003101&rd=eyc-off&ympsc=&postpanelEnable=1&prepanelEnable=1&infopanelEnable=1&carouselEnable=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed height="327" width="400" id="uvp_fop" allowscriptaccess="always" src="http://l.yimg.com/cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/fop/embedflv/swf/fop.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="id=10003101&rd=eyc-off&ympsc=&prepanelEnable=1&infopanelEnable=1"></embed></object>
     
    #1 moestavern19, Oct 6, 2008
  2. Major Malcontent

    Major Malcontent Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Dec 18, 2000
    Messages:
    3,177
    Likes Received:
    211
    I've seen the movie. It's relentlessly bleak and not one of my all time favorites.

    About the only thing that I think a blind person could get miffed about would be the fact the one character who is born blind is a bit of a villain.

    Otherwise the blind are the entire range of humanity. Cause pretty much everyone in the movie is blind.

    In fact the only sighted people in the movie besides Julianne Moore are depicted as heartless uncaring guards. Maybe the sighted should protest.
     
    #2 Major Malcontent, Oct 6, 2008
  3. finalsbound

    finalsbound Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2000
    Messages:
    12,328
    Likes Received:
    901
    Last week we talked about this book in my fiction class. The use of blindness as a metaphor is brilliant. I don't understand how that quote from the NFB makes any sense. Blind people in the film are portrayed as psychotic because it's a disease that begins spreading across a city...just like what would happen in any other epidemic-type movie where people have to be quarantined. Blind people regularly do all the things sighted people do, but you can't deny that hysteria would ensue if hundreds of people suddenly went blind mid-life.

    This guy is either ignorant or grasping for straws.
     
    #3 finalsbound, Oct 6, 2008
  4. TMac640

    TMac640 Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jan 10, 2005
    Messages:
    5,484
    Likes Received:
    1
    One of the more insightful films this year.
     
    #4 TMac640, Oct 6, 2008
  5. KingCheetah

    KingCheetah Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2002
    Messages:
    56,659
    Likes Received:
    48,754
    This movie is extremely offensive.
     
    #5 KingCheetah, Oct 6, 2008
  6. Preston27

    Preston27 Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2002
    Messages:
    2,706
    Likes Received:
    42
    Love the thread title moes.
     
    #6 Preston27, Oct 6, 2008
  7. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 1999
    Messages:
    34,312
    Likes Received:
    13,834
    Sounds like a cool story idea.

    As for advocates for people with disabilities, I think they are concerned about the thousands of stupid people who will not appreciate the film's true intent and rather only gather a surface meaning. It reminds me of Obama's objection to the New Yorker cover. Their concerns are probably well-founded.
     
    #7 JuanValdez, Oct 7, 2008
  8. meggoleggo

    meggoleggo Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2003
    Messages:
    4,402
    Likes Received:
    48
    Ditto - got a good chuckle out of me.

    Ironically, I've got more blind friends than I can count on one hand... Most of them are going to see it.
     
    #8 meggoleggo, Oct 7, 2008
  9. RunninRaven

    RunninRaven Contributing Member
    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2000
    Messages:
    15,069
    Likes Received:
    2,753
    Their blind outrage outrages me so much I'm going to go at least a month without reading a book in braille. Those handicapped sons of b****es.
     
    #9 RunninRaven, Oct 7, 2008
  10. subtomic

    subtomic Contributing Member
    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2000
    Messages:
    4,049
    Likes Received:
    2,417
    It's not like the blind people were going to "see" the movie anyways.

    Ba-doom-bump-crash
     
    #10 subtomic, Oct 7, 2008
  11. Yonkers

    Yonkers Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2002
    Messages:
    8,433
    Likes Received:
    480
    'Ah, I see' said the blind man.
     
    #11 Yonkers, Oct 7, 2008
  12. manbearpig

    manbearpig Member

    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2007
    Messages:
    471
    Likes Received:
    10
    Are you serious? Sounds pretty hard to understand a movie when you cant see it.
     
    #12 manbearpig, Oct 7, 2008
  13. Royals Ego

    Royals Ego Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2007
    Messages:
    4,744
    Likes Received:
    154
    I'm sure there are degrees of blindness
     
    #13 Royals Ego, Oct 7, 2008
  14. Franchise3

    Franchise3 Member

    Joined:
    Apr 9, 2000
    Messages:
    3,138
    Likes Received:
    30
    I'd say it is virtually impossible to have a handicapped person in a movie without some special interest group getting angry about something. You can substitute the phrase "handicapped person" with pretty much any other hot button political correctness issue. People acting offended because they think they should be offended, whether or not they actually are.
     
    #14 Franchise3, Oct 7, 2008
  15. professorjay

    professorjay Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2006
    Messages:
    9,676
    Likes Received:
    388
    This would actually be complimentary to blind people. I think it would show how helpless we would be if we were suddenly blind, and have a greater appreciation for what blind people have to deal with, and how well they do it, on a daily basis.

    But I imagine some blind people may protest this anyways and just download a bootleg mp3 of it.
     
    #15 professorjay, Oct 7, 2008
  16. mtbrays

    mtbrays Contributing Member
    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Jul 4, 2007
    Messages:
    7,781
    Likes Received:
    6,615
    ⠠⠞⠓⠊⠎ ⠍⠕⠧⠊⠑ ⠊⠎ ⠑⠭⠞⠗⠑⠍⠑⠇⠽ ⠕⠋⠋⠑⠝⠎⠊⠧⠑.
     
    #16 mtbrays, Oct 7, 2008
  17. swilkins

    swilkins Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Mar 5, 2003
    Messages:
    7,115
    Likes Received:
    11
    People can be so sensitive.
     
    #17 swilkins, Oct 7, 2008
  18. Cannonball

    Cannonball Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2006
    Messages:
    21,654
    Likes Received:
    1,913
    True. Some people just see really fuzzy images and can only make out shapes. I knew a latin percussionist who was this way. He had a huge screen and a projector in his house so he could still watch TV. Some people lose their peripheral vision but can see in the center and some people lose vision in the center and can only see around the edges. I used to play with a drummer who was like the latter.
     
    #18 Cannonball, Oct 7, 2008
  19. smoothie

    smoothie Jabari Jungle

    Joined:
    Mar 1, 2001
    Messages:
    20,716
    Likes Received:
    6,945
    they're missing the point. blind people can live clean, healthy, functioning lives on their own. in this movie, people suddenly go blind. there is no training, no time for practice. sighted people cannot do all of the same things blind people can do if you take away their vision suddenly and without preparation.
     
    #19 smoothie, Oct 7, 2008
  20. hjg877

    hjg877 Member

    Joined:
    Dec 23, 2002
    Messages:
    897
    Likes Received:
    26
    The greatest thing about this thread is we can freely say things like "**** blind people" without fear of repercussion.
     
    #20 hjg877, Oct 7, 2008
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)
Page 1 of 2

Share This Page

Toggle Width
Style
ClutchFans Original

  • About ClutchFans

    Since 1996, ClutchFans has been loud and proud covering the Houston Rockets, helping set an industry standard for team fan sites. The forums have been a home for Houston sports fans as well as basketball fanatics around the globe.

  • Rockets Content

  • Support ClutchFans!

    If you find that ClutchFans is a valuable resource for you, please consider becoming a Supporting Member. Supporting Members can upload photos and attachments directly to their posts, customize their user title and more. Gold Supporters see zero ads!


    Upgrade Now