Members of The Arc of Howard County this week joined a national effort urging moviegoers to boycott the comedy-action movie "Tropic Thunder" because of the movie's use of language the group says is offensive to those with developmental disabilities.

A group of about eight representatives of The Arc of Howard County, an organization that provides services and advocacy for the developmentally disabled, gathered outside the United Artists Snowden Square theater in east Columbia on Wednesday, Aug. 13 in what event organizers called a "symbolic" boycott of the movie, which debuted that day.

The movie, produced by DreamWorks and intended to be satirical, stars Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black, who play the roles of actors filming a war movie in Southeast Asia.

The labels "retard" and "retarded" are used throughout the movie to describe a character, while images in the movie ridicule those with disabilities, Arc members said.

At the protest, Columbia resident Matthew Plantz, 26, who is disabled and receives services from The Arc of Howard County, called the movie "highly offensive."

"I just hope people see it for what it is or that they don't come see it," he said. "It's just not acceptable."

The group that gathered outside the Snowden theater disbanded after only a few minutes when theater managers asked them to leave.

An organizer said Arc members did not intend to confront patrons or theater staff, but instead intended the gathering as a show of support for the larger national protest and as a teachable moment.

In an interview Aug. 12, Arc board member Cole Schnorf, of Ellicott City, said the terms used in "Tropic Thunder" are offensive to him and to his daughter, Julia, 20, who has Down syndrome.

"We work very hard to have her accepted in school and in the community," Schnorf said of his daughter, a graduate of Wilde Lake High School, who attends Howard Community College and works part-time for the county's Department of Education. "It's really disappointing that a major film studio would produce something like this. It's a huge setback."

Nationally, "Tropic Thunder" has drawn fire from organizations including the Arc of the United States and Special Olympics.

According to news reports, representatives of DreamWorks have said the movie was not intended to be hurtful to those with intellectual disabilities and that no cuts or changes were planned.

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