The new Ben Stiller movie has a subplot parodying Hollywood films about mentally disabled people, apparently with liberal use of the word “retard.” Suddenly we’re hearing that rights organizations are protesting the use.

Like Robert Downey’s much-hyped blackface, the protests have no resonance, because the objects of ridicule in the film aren’t blacks or mentally disabled folks. That hasn’t stopped DreamWorks from playing up the controversy: The Downey-in-blackface issue was first leaked to Drudge months ago, a clear sign the studio was looking for a little naughty buzz around the film.

Since then, reporters like the NYT’s Michael Cieply, with his drumbeat of coverage, or LAT blogger Elizabeth Snead, have helped the studio out immensely.

Among the many other things the stories don’t mention is that the word “retard” has been a staple in the rise of the post-Dumb & Dumber idiot-comedy era. Why all the noise about its use in a parody film-within-a-film?