Urged to be retitled as it is considered to be offensive to particular group, the drama movie from Alan Ball will stay with its chosen designation.
- Aug 27, 2008
AceShowbiz - Amidst Muslim leaders' demand of the retitling of "Towelhead", the Warner Independent Pictures' controversial drama stays firm with its chosen title. Rejecting the idea to make some changes in the naming of the film, its director/producer/writer Alan Ball reasoned that the title is important for the movie to be true to its original concept.
Insisting that the title will be kept, Ball shared his point of view on the matter. "As a gay man, I know how it feels to be called hateful names simply because of who I am," he explained. "Therefore, I felt it was important to retain the title of Alicia Erian's novel, in which she so effectively dramatizes the pain inflicted by such language, something many people of non-minority descent never have to face."
"I believe one of the unintended consequences of forbidding such words to be spoken is imbuing those words with more power than they should ever have, and helping create the illusion that the bigotry and racism expressed by such cruel epithets is less prevalent than it actually is, which we all know is sadly not the case."
Recent report has pointed out that the studio producing the film are prepared to back up the movie's filmmakers if they choose to stand firm with the title. Though planning to support the filmmakers, Warner Bros. still offer apology to those who are offended stating, "We apologize for any offense that is caused by the title."
Earlier, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has urged Warner Bros. executives to rename the movie suggesting that it should be entitled "Nothing is Private", the title under which the movie was premiered at 2007 Toronto International Film Festival instead. Calling the title as "a racial and religious slur", CAIR noted that "the word is commonly used in a derogatory manner against people of the Muslim faith or Arab origin".
Based on the critically acclaimed novel by Alicia Erian, "Towelhead" tells the story of a 13-year-old Arab-American girl who faces racism and hypocrisy both at school and at home while dealing with her sexual awakening. The title is taken from the nickname given to the girl by her foes. To debut in theaters on September 26, it features the likes of Summer Bishil, Aaron Eckhart, Toni Collette, Maria Bello, Peter Macdissi, Lynn Collins, etc.
