Brett Ratner, the fleshy, beardly-flesh-bearded auteur of slow-motion explosions and buddy-based racial conflict laughs in the inimitable Rush Hour series and at least one Heavy D and the Boyz video, was in the news last week when details emerged from the recent memoir by Olivia Munn, tied for the fifth least funny/second most bangable Daily Show reporter, that he used to jerk off with shrimp (wtf?) and that he was a sleezy casting couch director cliche. But "she wasn't Asian back then," he pointed out, which is kind of a sweet diss. So far no biggie. A few days later, Ratner, who is producing the Academy Awards this year, which probably surprises him as much as it does the rest of us, held a Q+A after a screening of his recent film in which he denied doing much rehearsing before shooting, because "rehearsing is for fags." Haha, pretty sweet diss again, Ratner, you old crustacean-knuckled wanker.
Surprising, right? No, not because someone in Hollywood, who should obviously know better, used language like that, but because Brett Ratner said something funny. Rehearsing is for fags.
But wait, does that make me a violent, despicable homophobe because that was my first reaction?
Aside from the fact that I live in the gym, wear really tight clothes, am super into Morrissey and Robyn, and 75% of the people who meet for the first time think I'm gay, I'm actually straight. Weird, right? I am, however, a reasonable fucking human being who realizes that there is nothing more ridiculous in the world than living with hatred/fear of homosexuals. I'm not homophobic, I'm homophobe-phobic, as anyone who reads a lot of the stuff on this site, like this recent post, will probably attest. Sort of a convoluted way to say "...yeah, but some of my friends are gay..." but you get the point. I feel like I've earned my post-PC pass in other words. Maybe I'm full of shit? That seems highly possible.
That said, I also happen to think stuff like this call for Ratner to be fired on Grantland is fucking retarded. Sorry, I mean lame. Shit. Mark Harris, the author of the post, Why the Academy Should Fire Brett Ratner is a pussy is what I'm trying to say.
Reacting to Ratner's admiteddly half-assed apology, Harris writes:
I’ve had to listen to versions of every one of these mea-not-quite-culpas over the years and seriously, I’m no longer interested in patiently witnessing the slow arc of a public figure’s learning curve. What I do care about is what the Academy does, which should be either to ask for and receive his resignation from the show or to drop him as the producer of a show that is supposed to represent the best the industry has to offer. There’s not really a long, nuanced debate to be had about this. If he had used an equivalent racial or religious slur, the discussion would go something like, “You’re fired.” Apology or not. The same rule applies here. You don’t get a mulligan on homophobia. Not in 2011.Is he right? Ratner appeared as himself in an episode of Entourage, which is gayer than Christmas, so how much of a homophobe could he actually be? And does he deserve to be fired for using the word fag to teach the rest of us a lesson about hurting feelings?
I'm conflicted about this, because I think using language that makes people feel threatened, or cheapened, or unwelcome in any situation is fucked up, particularly when it comes to teenagers being bullied for their sexual orientation, but at the same time, the idea that "rehearsal is for fags" just strikes me as funny and harmless. On the other hand, when Tracy Morgan got in trouble a while back for saying if his son was gay, he'd "better talk to me like a man and not in a gay voice or I'll pull out a knife and stab that little nigger to death" I thought that was obviously over the line.
What's the distinction then, is it just because Morgan's line wasn't funny? I'm aware of the ways in which language that associates homosexuality with a negative reaction, ie, that shit is gay, can change how we think and make actual, real world homophobia seem more acceptable, but I also live and work in one of the most liberal cities in the country, so the idea that anyone could actually, genuinely be homophobic seems almost like a fairy tale to me. No pun intended.
Maybe I've just lived a sheltered life. It's like I always say about people actually being racist. I don't buy it. I feel it's more that people feel like they're supposed to adopt a 'racist vibe' due to their social/religious scene. Most racists are like that proverbial China-man on some island in Japan who still hasn't gotten word that we're not fighting the war anymore. They don't realize they lost yet, so they keep up the front just for appearances.
I know a lot of my homo-homeboys and lesbros read this site. How do you feel about it? When you're responding, please keep in mind that being offended by things, however, is for girls.
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25 comments:
This blog is gay.
That's not funny! I think I probably should've focused more not just on whether or not it's bad to use words like that, but whether it's so bad it's worth getting fired over. I dunno.
I think that wearing like that is so gay, even more if we get that face like the "men" above, I can't believe it maybe they could to dissimulate a bit, what a fags men they are I'm totally sure that they make nasty things everyday...
Fag doesn't mean gay...it just means you're a fag. Louis CK sums up this whole thing quite nicely.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IFloXOuLgA
What the fuck? ^^
But people from Phoenix ARE Phoenicians!
Ha. "Quit being a faggot and suck that dick."
also. wearing matching shirts when you are an adult "straight" male is pretty faggy. also. being brett ratner is gay.
i used the word fag long before i had any idea what it really meant. I still use it in the fifth grade sense of "He's such a fag, or stop being a fag"
Right, I think many of us do, but there's an argument to be made for why that's harmful.
Mark Harris, the guy that wrote "I'm a Gay Papa"?
I do not know.
Munn must have some weak pussy if he's jacking off with shrimp.
..."better talk to me like a man and not in a gay voice or I'll pull out a knife and stab that little nigger to death" I thought that was obviously over the line. FAG.
Doesn't that guy that said the thing about it not being ok in 2011 realize that he should be over people saying fag in 2011? I say fag and I thought the Tracy Morgan thing was funny, yet I'm ok with gay dudes and chicks. If one of them said I had a great body I might hold it against them though. LOL GET IT?
I think I follow you there pal.
Is it racist that I get grossed out when fat dudes hit on me, but don't mind flirting with a hot dude?
I work with a bunch of homos who call things faggy all the time. "Fag" is all about context. This Louis C.K. bit is great as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-55wC5dEnc
True, but it's the whole "rappers saying nigger" thing there innit?
I cannot stand Nick Dipaolo. Ooof that dude. Great clip though, yes.
I have no problem with fag, well... not as much as I do with faggot. It's all about context and intent. This Brett guy's intent was to be funny and the context of the statement indicates no real derision towards the GBLT sandwich this country has going on. Use your deductive skills, dismiss this guy's luke warm attempt at a joke, and if you are still feeling feisty you should focus on the real scary people. Ann Coulter. Glenn Stanton. Voldemort. I don't care. Otherwise, get your faggy panties out a knot and come join me for a drink.
Ugh, you can't go anywhere online without some fags pulling out Louis CK's gay shit all over the place.
louis C-gay
Not only are fags gay, but they are showing themselves to be the biggest totalitarians around.
I use the terms 'gay' and 'fag' all the time and if people have a problem with it they can go fuck themselves since I am free to speak my mind. I won't cede that right to fag nazis.
LOL at fag nazis.
Did Ratner mean the remark in a homophobic way? Probably not. That's not at all the important issue here, though. In a time when gays are still being beaten up and driven to suicide simply because of their orientation, using "fag" is not at all cool. As adults, we need to recognize that words are powerful and very loaded. It's much more important to create a safe environment for our kids than to get a cheap laugh.
@anonymous: thanks for sharing, I am pretty receptive to that argument.
Lotsa folks invoking the 1st amendment on this one.... But what folks gotta remember is that "your right to swing a fist ends at my face."
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