If You Want to Make God Laugh

[bryan farley]

... tell him your plans

 

Comedian and actor Woody Allen is credited with the quote, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans." Allen probably created the joke after hearing the popular Yiddish proverb

 

Man Plans

God Laughs

 

I remembered the Woody Allen version during the recent planned Seizure Boy boycott controversy. Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller star in a movie Tower Heist. In the movie's trailer, Eddie Murphy's character calls Ben Stiller's character a seizure boy. After the trailer was released, actor Greg Grunberg tweeted to his 1.4 million followers, "TERRIBLY OFFENSIVE TRAILER for #TowerHeist - Making fun @ people w/ seizures is NOT FUNNY & WRONG! "Seizure Boy!" REALLY? #Boycott RT."

 

After Brett Ratner allegedly apologized for the trailer and asked that the studio change the marketing, Grunberg called off his boycott via Twitter, "greggrunberg THANKS @BrettRatner for ur SINCERE APOLOGY to the Epilepsy Community! I'm lifting my personal boycott of ur hilarious film #TowerHeist RT."

Did someone hack Grunberg's twitter account?

 

Grunberg is a sincere advocate. Grunberg shows up to events and supports his son who has epilepsy. Grunberg has encouraged people around the world to "talk about it," which is why the recent tweets from his Twitter account seemed out of character. It appeared that Grunberg (or someone who was using his account) was trying to make God smile. 

 

Act 1. Tweet about #Boycott

Act 2. Retract #Boycott

Act 3. Wait for God to laugh

 

Since I am not an expert on comedy or God, I am probably wrong, but I have been trying to follow Grunberg's leadership, and I do not know if I can take him seriously. 

 

Was Greg Grunberg joking when he called for a boycott? 

 

Who boycotts Eddie Murphy movies in 2011? This must be a joke, right? If this were the 1980's I would understand. In the 1980's Murphy was popular and offensive. I probably should have boycotted Murphy in the 1980's too, but I enjoyed his stand up routines, even with his homophobic jokes, ("I have nightmares about gay people," Delirious, 1983) and disinformation about the spread of AIDS (RAW, 1987). But that was the 1980's. In the age of Diastat, nobody makes any "anal-probing" jokes. 

 

Was Grunberg joking when he reversed the boycott?

 

Before I had time to become offended by the trailer, Grunberg removed his boycott after Ratner almost apologized. Nothing has really changed. The seizure boy trailer is still on the Tower Heist website. Universal has not agreed to change anything about the movie or the trailer.

 

However, one thing has changed since the boycott. Eddie Murphy has been chosen to host the Academy Awards. With boycotts like these, who needs heroes?

 

Who produces this year's Academy Awards? There are two producers and one is Bret Ratner. Ratner chose Murphy. A boycot would have inconvenienced the Academy, Ratner and Murphy. According to the L. A. Times, Ratner was quoted as saying that Murphy's being the host was "beshert" which is a Yiddish word for "meant to be."  Ratner could have said,

 

"Man Plans

God Laughs"

 

I sympathize with Grunberg. Talking About epilepsy is not easy, especially when an entire industry might find his complaints annoying. Boycotting Norbit (that was a forgettable Eddie Murphy movie) is easy. What would happen to Grunberg's career if he disrupted the Academy Awards? He might not be able to work again in the industry.

 

So if Grunberg wants to retract his boycott, I understand too well. Every time I post a blog, I measure how I will inevitably offend people and how my words will affect my future. I just hope Grunberg understands that there is a difference between a real boycott and a boycott where someone Talked About It.

 

bf

[bryan farley]

@Dawn,

 

Thank you for posting. I still have not seen it, and I am not sure if I will. (I saw the trailer though.) 

 

Terry brings up a great point in the next comment about creating a better response network. At the least, we could warn each other that we might not enjoy certain parts of the movie. Maybe we could have a movie review site. 

[Dawn Burke]

I just saw this movie.  I am PISSED OFF!!  I did not know that this tasteless humor was in it!!  Hollywood is filled with hypocrites.  So much for their being "politically correct."

[TT]

Yes, but it was not because of the epilepsy comments in the "Towerheist" script.

Reuters reports that they are pulling out after a gay slur made by producer Ratner. Then Murphy, who was going to be working for Ratner, the producer of the Academy awards, decided to make a clean break to allow the Academy to choose another producer & host with none of the baggage from Ratner's remarks.

When it comes to political activism the Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transexual community is a model of fury, efficiency, rapid response and collective action.  More power to them.  If the epilepsy community wants to get active, I think LGBT network of activism is a good model to copy.

Grunberg was right to speak his mind, but if he wants action it has to be collective and long-term and that's what the LGBT community understands. 

 

Regards,

 

Terry Tracy

 

[bryan farley]

Wow!

 

Just heard that Ratner and Murphy are out of the Academy Awards. Murphy will not be hosting this year now.

 

bf

[Jamie W]

Bryan,

 

I am so glad to contribute to our community. Thoughts don't mean much until they are shared. Thank you for providing the space for us to do so. 

 

I am not sure what "a collective fit of righteous epilepsy" means either...seems like the author was trying to use his literary skills but failed (at least in this article). I see what he's trying to get at, but it still doesn't make sense. 

[bryan farley]

While researching for my next blog post, I found another poor attempt at epilepsy humor.  This example is more common than the Seizure Boy joke. In this link, I do not even know what the writer means.

http://www.ology.com/politics/progressive-group-runs-ads-against%E2...

 

What does "a collective fit of righteous epilepsy" mean? If I called the quote offensive, I would be giving it too much credit. Mostly, I just think it is stupid. When I see my community used like this, I usually want to say,

 

Please do us a favor and at least try to be creative when picking on us? If you want us to take a joke, PLEASE BE FUNNY! Please!

[bryan farley]

Terry,

 

Great points. You and Jamie have really helped personalize the dialogue. There will be young people sitting in a theater or room who will be unprepared for an offensive joke. 

 

I have another thought about these types of jokes. They aren't good jokes. Not only are they offensive, the jokes just aren't funny.

 

I prefer that jokes be funny. 

 

 

[TT]

 

I think Jamie and Bryan raise an interesting point:  at what age can you TAKE a joke about epilepsy?

  I wrote a book and a lefty, alternative type literary journal agreed to review it.  The editor responded with a joke about whether reading the book would cause her to have a seizure. Frankly, it wasn't that witty.  Then the comment was followed by a sincere interest in the topic and a genuine desire to bring some attention to epilepsy.  When I looked up the organization a little more closely, not only do they run a journal, they also have a foundation for disability advocacy and support.  On a second reading I realized that this person was doing a sort of 'in family' joke.  I'm 43 and so a quick millisecond read irked me, then I judged it a rather stupid comment in terms of objective wit, then I remembered that the journal had something to do with disability advocacy and I understood the context. But what if I were a child who had written an essay on epilepsy and a teacher responded 'If I read it will it give me a seizure?"  I think I would respond far differently.  I think, as Jamie said, I might have gone back home and cried.  

 

I do think that the general media and Hollywood have to think twice when they make a G/PG/PG13 film and make it politically correct.  They should not make anti-semitic jokes, racist jokes.....everything that is stereotypically taboo. I would add disability to that.

 

If we're talking about an adult movie, I can take the joke and the joke depends on context and quality in terms of whether I would laugh. I'm Catholic and I find Monty Python's  Life of Brian (parody if a guy named Brian were mistaken for Christ) hilarious.  I also had adopted Jewish grandparents and I find Mel Brooks', The Producers (the Broadway number they do that's called "Springtime for Hitler and Germany") hilarious.  Both are well-crafted jokes so perhaps their quality gives them a "politically incorrect license,"

 

But I'm an adult and I can take it and I can give it back.  I think a rule for general media, public, and Hollywood would be to consider maturity in making politically incorrect jokes.  For movies/programs targeted to children or adolescents still finding themselves on a ethical spectrum then no politically incorrect jokes and therefore no disability jokes.  

There's a lot to be said for political incorrectness in comedy and how its irony can make intelligent observations (think Borat) and push the boundaries.  But that's for adults and if the movie is targeted to a younger audience then Grunberg has a point.

 

Regards,

 

Terry Tracy

 

[bryan farley]

Jamie,

 

I laughed when I read you comment, "Seizure Boy sounds funnier than Asthma Boy (because unfortunately it does)" ... often those are the only types of "seizure jokes" I find funny. The comments that reveal our pain. 

 

I have been taking a longer view of our struggle lately, and I am grateful that we have finally made it to the point where people make fun of us. This is a sign that we have achieved something. (or so I hope) At least we are not invisible. We are not merely detested. We are not exterminated and forgotten.

 

People make fun of us. It is progress. Painful, but progress.

 

Will kids in the theater wonder what others think about them? Sure, but we already know what some people think. But there might be a sign of respect in comedy too. People who makes jokes about someone often assume that a person can take a joke. Now, maybe it is time for us to dish it out and play the game too.

 

Rattner, Murphy and Stiller can take it.

[Jamie W]

I never fail to wince when someone uses “seizure” or “epilepsy” as a descriptor or comparison for entertainment. I believe people are good at heart and don't mean to hurt others, but I think people who make “mistakes” like this one are ignorant of the impact they have on individuals.

 

They should think hard about why Seizure Boy sounds funnier than Asthma Boy (because unfortunately it does) so they understand the impact of their writing. 

 

The trailer left me with an image of a young girl with epilepsy, sitting in a dark movie theater with her head bowed and, instead of enjoying a funny movie, she is thinking about how to deal with the situation when the movie is over …ignore it and go along with her friends’ opinion of the film, be “annoying” and “complain,” get home as fast as possible so she can avoid crying in front of friends. I can hear her thoughts and questions…is this what people think of me? Will I always be remembered this way? Am I known as the Seizure Girl or Seizure Boy? Will this ever end for me?

 

Spastic, weird, funny looking, crazy, scary, ugly, mean, stupid…that’s the implicit message children with epilepsy hear when seizures are used as comedy. They believe the world is laughing at them.

 

We’ll move on like we always do but not without reminding Media that they are responsible for at least 3 million winces and for the pain they cause all the children with epilepsy who receive the message that they are not as good as their peers.