Baron Cohen on Borat
Baron Cohen (what a great name), the man behind Borat, has briefly come out of character to explain something about the plucky, but disgusting, Kazakh journalist. You can read it here.
It has something to do with the Holocaust. For some reason Andrew Sullivan, from whom I got the link, wishes Baron Cohen had kept his mouth shut.
If any of you have seen the movie, let me know what you thought of it. Young Clovis loved it, which does not bode well. The young these days, they have such a cruel sense of humor.
[btw - I am thinking of adopting Canadian spellings. That way when I lard up these posts with typos and misspellings, I'll just claim that's the way it's spelled in Canada (and probably the rest of the Anglosphere) ]
posted by Clemens @ 10:09 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Borat rules. I agree with your generalization about our generation's sense of humor...wait for it...in general. Borat has some brutally funny stuff.
I don't want to ruin it for you so allow me to send you a link to a
>video that was from Da Ali G Show (not the movie) which is as hilarious as it is frightening.
The racism, antisemitism (we'll use the generally accepted, anti jewish definition rather than tia's more accurate ethnic one which would include non jews) and sexism is largely about eliciting responses from people. But more to the point, as long as something is funny who cares about the motive? ::South Park Republican Mode:: Plus, why is it that making fun of this material is controversial but portraying it in drama is not?
I am not surprised there are people that don't like Borat. If you don't I will unfairly lump you into one of two categories.
1.) Simplistic sense of humor. If you ever laughed more than twice during America's Funniest Home Videos, this means you. Don't get me wrong, this ain't real highbrow stuff.
D.) Bubbling over with self righteous white liberal guilt, that you supress the national reaction to laugh in favor of brooding and acting concerned for the groups he targets.
Plus as the article mentioned, everytime someone takes him seriously they are proving his point that Americans (and Brits) do not care to look much past their borders.
I highly recommend the movie, and would say that was the funniest movie I have ever seen in the theatre.
--Joey
I thought he targeted ignorant bigots - I'm fine with that. I am usually told my sense of humor is either too weird, too intellectual (the Latin puns I suspect) or too silly. Humph. Maybe that last one means I'm too simplistic.
Or is that simplistic? Well, it's probably solipsistic in any case. The characteristic sin of bloggers.
Of course, in referring to people who didn't find the movie funny, by "you" I mean the collective you not *you* specifically. Em saw this movie with two people that did not crack so much as a half smile throughout the whole thing. (that could be secret option 3, no sense of humor)
You have to see it, I suggest you not be eating anything when his producer and he get into a scuffle.
Incidentally the Christian Science monitor has an op ed asking why Borat didn't make a movie that featured some really positive stuff in the United States. It is because, a nice person offering up their house to strangers isn't all that funny. People need to calm down.
--Joey
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