Tropic Thunder
Summary
TheTropic Thunderblackface was a memorable mo from the movie , but did n’t receive a major backlash or cause any substantial controversy for Robert Downey Jr. or the pic . The 2008 moving picture was a off clowning that satirise Hollywood in some pointed and screaming way . One of the subjects addressed was the tendency of " method player " to take their role incredibly seriously and go to great length to achieve authenticity with their sometimes spoiled behavior only earning them more praise for their inscription .
Robert Downey Jr. play Kirk Lazarus , a fabricated five - time Oscar - winning Australian method actor who is chuck as African - American Staff Sargent Lincoln Osiris . Lazarus undergoes a controversial " pigmentation change " procedure to darken his peel and , being method acting , he ’s in the habit of never breaking reference until after he ’s done videodisk commentary . The move was a bold pick for the doer followingRobert Downey Jr ’s replication role inIron human race . However , Downey Jr. did n’t suffer any career setbacks for theTropic Thunderblackface , and there are clean reasons why .
Tropic Thunderis available to stream on Paramount+ .
Tropic Thunder 2 has been rumored for over a decade , but the original hurl is talking about it more and more , and it could be close to developing .
The RDJ Tropic Thunder Blackface Was In-Universe (This Matters)
The Blackface Is A Commentary On The Problematic Use Of Black Actors In Hollywood
Tropic Thunderis making a firm statement against how Black characters are both portrayed and overlooked in mainstream action flick …
Robert Downey Jr. is n’t play a opprobrious role inTropic Thunder — he ’s act a white actor who decide to portray a smutty American in thefictional warfare picture show . Kirk Lazarus is distinctly portray as blank at the start of the moving-picture show , and the note matters . TheTropic Thunderblackface was a word picture of a fictional white actor using blackface and rightly being called out for it , rather than a return to the repugnant genuine use of blackface from eras fail .
throw the fantastically racist chronicle of blackface in cinema , it ’s understandable that — without context — shots of Robert Downey Jr. inTropic Thunderwould prompt a response . However , it ’s clear on look at thatTropic Thunderis making a firm statement against how disgraceful characters are both portrayed and look out over in mainstream action movies of the era . Robert Downey Jr. was even nominated for an Oscar for the roleand has preserve to fight it since , and the lack of controversy is due to the movie ’s satiric plan of attack .
The brilliance ofTropic Thunderis that nothing is sacred . This include holding up a mirror to the lengths some actors , just like the fictional Kirk Lazarus , will go to land that career - defining use — and the honourable considerations some will readily put to the side in withdraw it .
Chino does n’t let Kirk off the hook for the blackface Lazarus Don , and even claim that he ’s making the moving-picture show to offer some"real representation . "
Tropic Thundermocks everything " incorrect " with Hollywood : ware placement , drug use and dependence , knotty production , megalomaniacal producer that are more interested in making money than tell apart stories , and the ludicrousness of Hollywood using serious subjects as money - take fodder .
Written and directed by Ben Stiller, Tropic Thunder follows a group of bumbling actors attempting to make a Vietnam War film, who find themselves dropped into a real-life warzone when they are abandoned in the middle of the jungle they are shooting the film in. Stiller also stars in the film, with an ensemble cast that includes Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., and Jay Baruchel.
TheTropic Thunderblackface is no different , as it is shown as part of the same absurdness of Hollywood , nor does it go unaddressed in the storey . Alongside Ben Stiller and Downey Jr. is Brandon T. Jackson in the role of Alpa Chino , a rapper attempting to break into acting . Chino does n’t allow Kirk off the hook for the blackface Lazarus father , and even arrogate that he ’s making the movie to provide some"real representation . "
How RDJ’S Blackface Managed To Not Be Controversial
The Movie Trusted The Audience To Understand The Real Joke
Kirk ’s method acting playacting ends up encounter a pivotal role inTropic Thunder ’s movie climax . After Tugg is snatch by the diacetylmorphine - develop flare Dragon crowd and forced to do his problematic filmSimple Jackevery night , Tugg has a crisis of individuality . Kirk recognise it , having experienced it himself . In an attempt to help oneself Tugg as himself rather than as his character , Kirk finally throw away his masquerade party . It ’s a screaming and rather summary way of life to also mock the sometimes inexplicable things method actors do .
Tropic Thunderis sample to make audience express joy with its usurious comedy , but its other goal was to provide some societal commentary on the dreary underbelly of Hollywood . By leaning into how ridiculous it is , andmaking the subject of the jest whitewashing and Hollywood as a whole rather than Black people , theTropic Thunderblackface was able to forefend causing any existent controversy .
Tropic Thunderwas ahead of its time here , since terms like " whitewash " only reached excrescence in the last X , even though the practice has been around since the former years of Hollywood and continues to be controversial .
Tropic Thunder was a screaming comedy that was somewhat out front of its time in some ways but parts of it did n’t age well .
How Jamie Foxx Brought Back The RDJ Blackface Discussion In 2022
Can Downey Jr. Pull Off The Same Joke Twice?
For his part , Ben Stiller does n’t regretTropic Thunderto this Clarence Day , and keep on to vocally guard the movie . However , Stiller is n’t universally agreed with in Hollywood on this . To some , Robert Downey Jr. ’s routine as a method actor uncoerced to don blackface for a motion picture was not only satisfactory but an outright strike . Jamie Foxx reach out to RDJ afterTropic Thunderabout play a Mexican man in his directorial project , All - Star Weekend . According to Foxx ,
“ I called Robert , I said , ‘ I need you to act a Mexican . I said , ‘ Sh*t , you take on the bootleg dude [ in ‘ Tropic Thunder ’ ] and you kill that diddley . ’ We get to be able to do fictitious character . ”(viaIndieWire )
Much likeTropic Thunder , the goal ofAll - Star Weekendwas to engender outrageous drollery that would also poke fun at Hollywood ’s and society ’s norms . However , due to the on-going prevalence of cancel culture and heightened sensitiveness , Foxx has opted to keep the project shelved for now until " the great unwashed go back to express mirth again . " The outcome of Robert Downey Jr. ’s casting as a Mexican man is up in the air , then , but his shockingly non - controversial part inTropic Thunderremains a topic of disputation to this day .
Ben Stiller ’s Tropic Thunder specifically lampoon war films , but it has nods to all form of Hollywood classic , from Forrest Gump to Freaky Friday .
Blackface Isn’t The Only Tropic Thunder Controversy
Is The Simple Jack Joke Satire Or Offensive?
Robert Downey Jr.s now - infamous " You never go full r****d"line has been a source of meme , but also has unfortunately been brandished against the otherwise abled
WhileTropic Thunderhasn’t been pulled from distribution because of Robert Downey Jr. ’s blackface , it ’s reasonable to say that it was n’t universally accept as appropriate . As reviewer like Jamie Foxx rise , the debate around blackface andTropic Thunder ’s usage of it is unbelievably nuanced , no matter of the intent .
However , blackface is n’t the only controversy surroundingTropic Thunder , as Black Americans are n’t the only marginalized group utilized by Ben Stiller ’s moving picture to critique the moving picture diligence of the 00s . WhenTropic Thunderwas released , multiple protagonism groups for people with disabilities called for a boycott and even removal of the movie from theaters ( viaNPR ) .
One of the key moment for Ben Stiller ’s character inTropic Thunder , the washed - out histrion Tugg Speedman , is when he ’s captured and pressure to re - enact one of his former roles — anexaggerated Forrest Gump - like characternamed Simple Jack from a fancied movie of the same name .
The exercise of the R - word has near - unthinkable by 2020s standards , but it was all too coarse in media in the 00s and even the 2010s .
Not only is Stiller ’s depiction of Tugg Speedman portraying Simple Jack seen by many as grossly offensive , but another shot in the movie also contain a line that , to this 24-hour interval , is seen by many live with disabilities as a source of overturn . Robert Downey Jr.s now - notorious " You never go full r****d"line has been a reference of meme , but also has alas been brandished against the differently abled , especially in schooltime preferences .
The purpose of the gas constant - word has near - unthinkable by 2020s standards , but it was all too vernacular in medium in the 00s and even the 2010s . What makes thisTropic Thundercontroversy particularly disheartening is that vox populi around this word within the groups affected has n’t changed — even whenTropic Thunderwas released in 2008 , it was generally understand just how humbling and hurtful the slur was to those with impairment .
So offensive is the character of Simple Jack that snowboarder Shaun White issued a public apologia for plume as theTropic Thundercharacter in 2018 , over a 10 by and by ( viaCBS).While this problematic ingredient ofTropic Thunderisn’t as widely hash out or dissected asTropic Thunder ’s blackface , it ’s yet another layer of ahighly controversial satiric movie that walks the narrowest line of merchandise between poignant and offensivethat ’s perhaps ever been seen on screen .
From Team America to Seven Psychopaths , there are many hilarious movies like Tropic Thunder that lampoon Hollywood with explosive action .
Being Self-Aware Isn’t Always Justification
It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’s Use Of Blackface Was Met With Harsher Responses
Despite theTropic Thunderblackface issue getting small to no recoil , ego - cognisance does n’t always vindicate choice like this . The picture show sure enough would n’t work in today ’s mood , and it ’s surprising that it was able to slide back in 2008 . Another cinematic product attempt to habituate blackface for comedic core in 2010.It ’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiais known for being an irreverent comedy about a cluster of narcissists who own a Browning automatic rifle , and the TV series has been panned for being racist on more than one juncture .
Aside from Dee ’s highly racist characterizations when she ’s " perform " , the show liberate 2 separateLethal Weapon - theme episodes , in which the mob tries to make " Lethal Weapon 5 and 6 " on a home video tv camera . The first installment sees Mac in blackface trying to toy Murtaugh , andit ’s even remark on as offensive in the episode , to which Mac responds"I intend it was in poor sense of taste that you were doing Murtaugh in whitened facial expression . "
The gang attempt to createLethal Weaponyet again three season later , but this episode determine both Mac and Dee in blackface , as he reprises his role as Murtaugh , and she plays Rianne , his daughter . The sequence are supposed to poke play at just how silly and out of touch the work party is , but streaming services obviously did n’t experience the same astheseIt ’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiaepisodes were pull from Hulu .
It ’s strange that the blackface inTropic Thunderdidn’t get the same level of pushback when both were in effect making the same critical review of blackface with near - identical methods . Either path , it examine that being ego - aware is n’t always justification for offensive material .
save and directed by Ben Stiller , Tropic Thunder follows a group of bumbling actor attempting to make a Vietnam War film , who regain themselves dropped into a real - life warzone when they are give up in the middle of the jungle they are shoot the film in . Stiller also star in the film , with an ensemble cast that includes Jack Black , Robert Downey Jr. , and Jay Baruchel .
