A film starring an actor with Down syndrome alongside A-list stars provides an insight on how you can call someone the “R”-word without even saying it.
Peanut Butter Falcon is a film starring Zack Gottsagen pursuing his quest to live on his own terms and fulfill his dream of becoming a professional wrestler. Gottsagen enjoys a rare lead role: one written for and performed by an actor with Down syndrome.
The film’s writer-directors Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz met Gottsagen at a camp for individuals with and without disabilities. Gottsagen shared how he’d been acting since a child and his desire to star in a movie. Nilson and Schwartz explained, unfortunately, there aren’t many roles in films for actors with Down syndrome. Gottsagen challenged them to create just that sort of role. And, they did.
Nilson and Schwartz weaved Gottsagen’s interests into a plot where Gottsagen, playing a man named Zak, escapes from the nursing home the state has committed him to (as he has no family that cares for him) and meets up with Tyler, played by Shia LaBeouf (Transformers, Indiana Jones), who is also on the run from trouble, and the two navigate the coastal byways of North Carolina to find a wrestling school run by the Salt Water Redneck, played by Thomas Haden Church (Wings, Sideways).
Also sharing the screen is Bruce Dern (The Cowboys, Nebraska) Gottsagen’s roommate and co-conspirator at the nursing home; Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades of Gray) who plays Eleanor, a volunteer at the nursing home on the hunt to bring Zak back; John Hawkes (The Perfect Storm, Lincoln) on the hunt to enact revenge against Tyler; Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead, Punisher) LaBeouf’s on-screen brother; and, real life professional wrestlers Mick Foley and Jake “The Snake” Roberts.
The soundtrack also shares a similarly impressive line-up of talent with songs and performances by Zach Dawes and Jonathan Sadoff (Punch Brothers), Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek), and Chance McCoy (Old Crow Medicine Show).
According to the reports about the film, these star performers signed on after seeing the script and learning the story behind it.
A new understanding of the “R”-word
The reviews for the film have been overwhelmingly positive, particularly for Gottsagen’s quality performance. In the ones I have read, however, I haven’t seen them focus on what I think is a key message of the film.
* * * While what follows is not technically a spoiler, you are forewarned that by continuing to read, you may not have the same a-ha moment in real time should you watch the film after reading this * * *
Going into a movie starring an individual with Down syndrome, it is to be expected that the hero will show he can overcome limitations placed on him by society and others. In an insightful turn, a key scene explains how those limitations aren’t placed just by those prejudiced against those with intellectual disabilities.
I had been tipped off by some social media posts that the film makes an interesting point about the “R”-word: retard, or retarded. I presumed it would be more of the standard-type scene where LaBeouf’s character Tyler uses it and Gottsagen stands up for himself. But, that’s not what happened. Rather, Tyler accepts Zak how I expect every parent wishes every other person would accept their child with Down syndrome: as simply a unique individual, just as everyone else is.
No, instead, it’s Eleanor’s non-use of the “R”-word that provides the insightful moment.
Eleanor’s interactions with Zak have been confined to the setting of the nursing home. When she ultimately finds him out on the lam with Tyler, she starts to patronize Zak by telling him what he can’t do and why he shouldn’t do something. Tyler confronts Eleanor, explaining that’s just the same as calling Zak a retard, because that word means you can’t do something that others can.
It was a convicting moment for me as a father to a daughter with Down syndrome. As Juliet has grown up, I am less reflexively triggered when I hear the “R”-word used by a comedian, or a political activist denigrating the opposition, or just rude/ignorant folks who use it as part of their everyday vernacular. But, I had not thought that while I never use the word myself, I may be treating my daughter, or her friends with Down syndrome, in a way that would effectively be the same as calling them an “R”-word.
It was a powerful lesson, and one everyone can benefit from learning.
At the time of this posting, Peanut Butter Falcon continues to be shown in an ever-growing number of theaters throughout the United States.
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