[In the June issue, we printed a movie commentary by Julia Socha. This month, we share the following update from the Spina Bifida Association of America, as forwarded by Socha.]

Crude and offensive references about spina bifida made in the recent blockbuster, “Head of State,” will be edited out of the version that will be released for home viewing. As a result of a successful advocacy campaign by the Spina Bifida Association of America (SBAA), DreamWorks has agreed to remove the remarks about spina bifida from both VHS and DVD versions for home distribution.

People across the nation were outraged when they went to movie theaters expecting to enjoy the most recent Chris Rock movie. Instead, they were shocked to hear people with spina bifida ridiculed.

A letter writing campaign launched by SBAA asked that DreamWorks, who produced the film, take immediate action to avoid perpetuating this offensive and hurtful scene by deleting it when the movie reaches the final stage of distribution for the home viewing audience.

“While removing the cruel and insulting remarks from ‘Head of State’ cannot mitigate the pain already inflicted upon those who live with spina bifida, we are pleased that DreamWorks heard us and has taken positive action,” said Cindy Brownstein, CEO of SBAA. “We are grateful to all those from the spina bifida community who had the courage to write and share their own stories with DreamWorks. Their efforts made all the difference.”

The next stage of SBAA’s advocacy effort will be to continue to educate DreamWorks about the seriousness of spina bifida and how it affects the lives of 70,000 Americans.