Bubble Boy--

[Belle1962]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22276-2001Aug16.html

 

[DisDuck]

I read the article. And, I never heard of this boy at all. I do remember a John Travolta movie about someone in a similar situation. I, personally, believe that unless someone has a connection to anyone with this disease or has read about the disease, they will see this movie as simply a comedy.

As to the Seinfeld show, the mother says her daughter saw it and cried. Well, not to be cruel or cold but why did she watch it. There is always the off button. I know that if I am watching something that is disturbing I turn it off or switch to another channel.

I agree with one comment in the article, IGNORE THE MOVIE if it disturbs you do not give it free publicity.

 

[DanG]

The storyline and use of a severely disabled character do seem an odd choice for a comedy. But I'm not a top movie executive. Oh well, bombs away!

danG

Immune disorder group out to burst Disney's 'Bubble'


By Judy Hevrdejs
Tribune staff reporter
Published August 17, 2001

Add a Disney movie to the list of films that have sparked controversies.

This time, it's "Bubble Boy," a comedy out Aug. 24 about a teen in love. The lead character, played by Jake "October Sky" Gyllenhaal, has an immune disorder requiring him to live in a plastic bubble.

It's rated PG-13, "For language and crude, sexual humor," notes the Web site. And, as the film's character explains on the site: "I get to be a bouncing ball at a rock concert. I get to do some mud wrestling."

You get the picture. This is not a sensitive drama, a la John Travolta's turn as Tod Lubitch in 1976's made-for-TV-movie"The Boy in the Plastic Bubble." Not since "Seinfeld" trotted out a foul-mouthed "bubble boy" character have folks been this upset.

"We have had hundreds and hundreds of letters written to [Disney Chairman] Michael Eisner. They're asking their families and friends to not go to the movie," says Marcia L. Boyle, founder of the Maryland-based Immune Deficiency Foundation, one of several groups upset with the movie.

A spokeswoman for Walt Disney Studios says, "I have no official comment on the record for you."

While she hasn't seen the film yet, Boyle says many patients told the group they had seen some things on the Web site and "when people started to see the trailers they really got upset."

"It's the portrayal. It's that it's a comedy. Have you ever seen a comedy about any other fatal disease?" she says. "Severe combined immunodeficiency is a fatal disease. This movie is gross."

That the movie's character is portrayed living in a plastic bubble is particularly troubling, Boyle says, because there has only been one "bubble boy."

"That was David. He was born into a bubble and he died at the age of 12 in 1984 undergoing an experimental bone marrow transplant," she says. "When we describe the primary immune deficiency diseases, which are a group of about 85 diseases of the immune system, which are genetically determined, we always say, remember David, the boy in the bubble. He's the symbol of our patients. What he had, severe combined immunodeficiency, is the most serious of this group of diseases."

Today, she explains, patients are no longer confined to "bubbles." "A person today born with severe combined immunodeficiency will die early in childhood if not diagnosed quickly and treated with a bone marrow transplant," she says. "The good news is that this therapy is available. The bad news is that diagnosis is not always perfect."

 

[ChefBilly]

If people are offended by this movie, wait until they see what's coming...

I remember reading about a Farrelly Brothers' film in development about a guy who pretends to be 'developmentally disabled' so he can cheat in the Special Olympics.

The Bubble People should lighten up. And realize it's not all about them.

 

[philjerden]

Remember the "Newhart" television series in which Bob portrayed "Dick Louden," a Vermont innkeeper? Dick was a writer in the series whose specialty was "how-to" books. Apparently he had a fan who had a disorder which confined him to a "bubble." Dick felt he should go and visit the fan, who turned out to be lasciviously offensive. An example? Stephanie Vanderkellen, portrayed by Julia Duffy, went with Dick and precipitated the following paraphrased comment: "You, the blond one! Take your top off!"

While we never saw the bubble boy, this was definitely a comedy which successfully dealt with "bubble" issues.

The point I'm trying to make--but perhaps losing here--is that serious issues don't always have to be dealt with in a tearjerker mode. Sometimes, comedy can force us to deal with serious issues even more effectively than the kleenex variety of show.

Phil

 

[Baileymouse]

People really need to get a grip. We saw coming attractions for Deuce Bigalow when that was out, and there was a narcoleptic character in that. My husband is narcoleptic and took a bit of ribbing about it after those spots aired, but he didn't care. If you don't like what's being shown at the movies, don't go. Loss of revenue is the only thing that concerns the entertainment world.

 

[Another Voice]

There is a significant difference between laughing at what a character DOES versus laughing at what a character IS. Think of someone in a wheelchair that is trying to climb up a flight of stairs, but tumbles back down when he gets half way up. Is that funny? No it’s not. It could be IF you know who the characters is and why he is trying to climb the staircase. Then you’re not laughing at a disabled person falling, but at a specific person who brought the situation on himself for a specific reason – the difference between what he is and what he is doing.

The problem with ‘Bubble Boy’ seems to be (I haven’t seen the movie) the perception that the movie is expecting you to laugh at the main character just because of what he is. All of the scenes in the trailers are “funny” only because the character appears as a victim trapped in the bubble. Watch the commercial and imagine the scenes without the bubble – would the scene still be “funny” (think about the one where’s hit by the bus). Are any of the scenes funny because of what the character does – or because of what the character is subjected to?

Hollywood is filled with a lot of double standards, the professionally sensitive, and those who are offended for profit. The vast majority of time these people are out for only attention and money. But occasionally they have a point – and Hollywood does not have a very good record when it comes to dealing with all people equally. While I’m withholding my judgment on ‘Bubble Boy’, it is hard to stay objective with the ads that Disney has been putting out for this film.

 

[Banzai]

I feel bad, yes. But that movies still looks good!

 

[JeffH]

Seinfeld did it.
I just saw a commercial where a whale bites off a mans hand, and all he cares about is a beer.

 

[DisDuck]

The same situation came up with the movie 'Something About Mary' where her brother is mentally handicapped and there were some jokes made around/about it. There was some cry about how terrible to 'poke' fun at but the movie was a success and quite funny anyway. I for one did not come away from the movie feeling that the handicapped were put down. Came away with a new outlook on zippers and hair gel.

 

[Quentin Disney]

When I first saw the ads for this film, I felt it was the lamest ideal for a movie. And I thought "Heavyweights" was offensive!

I really question the people who have the nerve to do a movie like this.