Despite Protests, Ron Howard Refuses to Remove Gay Joke from New Movie

In recent news, award-winning film director Ron Howard has declared that he will not be removing a gay joke from his upcoming movie, "The Dilemma," despite the critisism it's receiving from gay pressure groups. Describing the movie as "a comedy for grown-ups, not kids," Howard stands strong in his decision to keep the joke, claiming that it is "meant to demonstrate an aspect of [our] lead character's personality." Opponents still feel this is potentially damaging and wrong. Where do we draw the line, when art imitates life?

In Howard's movie, "The Dilemma," the lead character (played by Vince Vaughn) speaks out against electric cars, declaring "Electric cars are gay. I mean, not homosexual gay, but my-parents-are-chaperoning-the-dance gay." According to Contact Music, this issue was raised by news anchor Anderson Cooper, who had previewed the film's trailer on his show. Shortly after it aired, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) was urging others to band together and demand that the scene be pulled from the movie. Ron Howard even explained to the Los Angeles Times that Vaughn's character has a mouth that sometimes gets him in trouble.

While it's easy to see where one might find such a thing offensive, we also must ask ourselves if we are not being hypersensitive by attacking a single character-defining scene in a movie. Granted, it's understandable to worry that such language and humor would be inappropriate for a children's movie, is it out of place in a film that's geared towards adults? Is this a deliberate effort to poke fun of gays or, rather, is this a defining moment in the character's development - perhaps pointing out his ignorance or his own bigotry?

It's important to defend our rights, regardless of the color of our skin, our sexual preferences, our spiritual beliefs or our financial standing, but it's also important to realize when we are stepping over the line and nit-picking about things that really aren't worth getting up in arms about. When we start doing that, picking at every little possibility of an indiscretion, we begin to discredit the important things and we muffle our own voices.

The bottom line is that art imitates life - and sometimes we don't approve of things that happen or the way people act in life. If you disapprove, show your disapproval and don't go to see the movie but, if you really want something to protest about, leave the movie characters alone and turn your attentions to the people who act inappropriately in real life. Turn your anger and your outrage into something positive, and figure out a way to put all of your energy into further raising public awareness - you'll be heard much more clearly then.

Sources:

Contact Music: http://www.contactmusic.com - Breaking News

Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation - http://www.glaad.org