Borat

[larrystanley]

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

*

Review by Larry Stanley

Spoilers are Many. You are welcome.



I fully intended to make this a review consisting of only a few words; mostly words like "crude", "vulgar", 'insulting' and 'racist'.
However, on further consideration, I decided I would actually review about this piece of crap the way I would any other film.
Ever since I first saw the trailers for "Borat", I tried to defend it thinking it would be in the manner of "Dumb and Dumber" or even "Animal House." I was certain the film would be all manner of bad taste and probably lots and lots of Political Incorrectness.
I thought, "This is right up my alley." I hate to waste time, and I did with "Borat". I was able to handle half of the film before I got up and left. It was so outrageous at some points that I had a hard time accepting that not only was this film made, but the audience was eating it up.
Now, before we go any further let me explain something important. I loved "Van Wilder and Wedding Crashers was the funniest thing I had seen in years. I cannot stand to miss a gory horror movie, and I think that Italian Zombie films are just wonderful.
I like BAD TASTE in movies. I love politically incorrect humor. However, I don't like racism or attempts to humiliate other for the sake of a laugh.
"Borat" is filled with racist attitudes; "The Running of the Jew" in which a female Jew with devilish features is depicted as laying an egg, then all the children run out to kick and beat on the egg, "Before it can hatch another Jew."
In one scene where Borat has to travel to California to meet Pam Anderson, he refuses to fly in case "The Jews repeat their attack of September 11th. One scene has him trying to buy a gun to "Kill Jews."
And the last scene I saw concerning Jews had Borat and his Director staying in a lovely Bed and Breakfast. When Borat discovered the people were Jews, he refused to eat their food, accused them of shape shifting into cockroaches and threw money at them to make them go away.
However, this was funny. At least according to the audience where I was, and many film critics. Perhaps the explanation lies in the fact that the star of the film is a Jew. Oh, now I get it. So, if a black man comes out and makes fun of the stereotypical idea of the 'darky' that would be funny as well? He could lay about a dirty house all day, using his cell phone to call all his illegitimate children, making dope deals, eating fried chicken and watermelon and raping white women and that would be funny. What? Why not? That is just what many folks still feel about 'African-Americans' (re: Black People).
Making a joke about someone usually does not mean the speaker is a bigot. It might mean they are insensitive, stupid or just somewhat weird, but it does not always mean they are a racist. Telling jokes about a group of people repeatedly might tend to lend credence to the 'bigot' term. I don't care if the speaker is Jewish, repeated jokes about how evil Jews are, is not funny.
Why does this bother me? Because just like there are still people who think Black me are just as I described above there are people who will think Borat is right about Jews.
I was also insulted by the references to pedophilia, rape, incest and incestuous rape that seemed to make up a great portion of the film. The references to Borat's wife's sexual organs while talking to a car dealer I could have lived without as well.
When he meets with an etiquette teacher, he shows her pictures of his "son". They are all nude shots of a young man with a large penis. Ha ha. Funny. However, the shining moment in this scene was that the woman did not get flustered or upset. She kept her cool, and explained that perhaps he should not show those particular photos.
She was the epitome of a classy Southern Lady.
The film is loaded with traps to be sprung on unsuspecting people. Like going to the bathroom at a dinner party and returning with a plastic bag filled with excrement. Then pretending to not understand the concept of toilet paper to an embarrassed Southern woman.
I have emphasized "Southern" twice for a reason. Borat seems dedicated to showing that people in the South are the most racist, hateful, evil and stupid people alive. He spends a great deal of time ridiculing Southern ideals of courtesy and friendship, while exploiting those same ideals to the best of his ability.
Example: At a rodeo in Texas people are depicted as being anti-Muslim racists, bigots, and idiots. Apparently, many folks seem to think we are at war. Funny how they would think that. In addition, when they boo Borat for insulting the American Anthem, they are made out to be the bad guys.
Example: When Borat meets former Congressman Bob Barr, he offers him some cheese, saying it is a traditional image of friendship in Kazakhstan. As Barr swallows the cheese, Borat tells him it is made from his wife's breast milk. Barr's acceptance of a gift of friendship is shown to prove how stupid Republicans and Southerners can be.
Then, with Alan Keyes another conservative Republican, he describes how he and a gay man had sex with a plastic fist in a shower.
And the audience is laughing like they are being paid to. But not everyone thinks this stuff is funny; apparently, some of the people involved in the film are currently suing the producers and I hope they win. In particular, a group dealing with Civil Rights of Gypsies has filed suit in Germany accusing the film and its star of inciting violence against the Roma and Sinti populations, slander and violating Germany's anti-discrimination laws.
In addition, the nation of Kazakhstan has filed protests with the producers and distributors and has even used a Public Relations firm to show positive information about the country. They even took out a large add in the New York Times.
Masturbation on public streets, defecation in full view of people on a sidewalk, humiliation of people. This is what the first half of Borat deals shows.
This entire film was offensive to Jews, Kazahks, Southerners, Cowboys, Americans, Christians. The only people who came across as being treated remotely fairly were overweight black hookers and homosexuals during the Gay Pride parade.
Women are treated like garbage; at the best property, at the worst nothing more then trash, to be used and thrown away. Borat is shocked when informed that 'women have the right to choose who they have sex with.'
The things Borat says about women in this movie are not funny. They are stupid at their best and savagely cruel at their worst. Nevertheless, the women in the audience laughed right along with the men.
He says he wants a car that is big enough to 'run down Gypsies'. He makes fun of the mentally retarded. But everyone laughed.
I left the theater during the naked homoerotic wrestling so I don't know what else happened.
"Borat" scares me. It scares me that this is what is happening to America. We are getting to the point that the more outrageous, cruel, dirty, hateful, bigoted humor becomes, we will still accept it.
And the actual joke is on all of us for paying for trash like this.

[Pulpmariachi]

THERE'S SPOILERS

I think you missed the point a bit.

Now, I don't think "Borat" is the greatest comedy of all time, I don't think it's funny from start-to-finish and I think it's weakened because it spends too much time on jokes and there's not enough pathos. But I do think it's funny. I mean, I'm not commenting on your opinion of the movie, you didn't like it, okay whatever. It happens. Not everyone gushes over the same movie. But still Borat isn't exactly what you make it out to be.

It's a complete and total satire.

It's a down, dirty, low-blowing satire on our American culture, on what our country is coming to while trying to protect these "morals", these "santicities", but revealing just how hypocritical eveyone is. Yeah, satire isn't always charming and pleasent and sometimes it takes something completely low-brow to expose the culture.

Did the producers set up traps for people to fall into? Of course they did, forcing the people to admit things they probably keep hidden. I've been reading a lot of articles about it lately and the most bitter people don't even seem to be the ones most insulted -- at least here in the States. I mean, the guy at the rodeo, who says that people like me should be hung, says he regrets saying it. Then the car dealer is suing too for whatever reason. But it's these people. You have the guy, who before Borat even says anything, that Borat should shave off his moustache because he looks too much like an Arab. And you didn't even stay for the frat boy scene, exposing what's wrong with a lot of our country's youth.

It's not so funny that Borat is doing it after awhile, but that people are AGREEING with him. You laugh in defense. A lot of "Jesus Christ, I can't believe he said that." You start thinking that Borat is just a naive character and most people will put him in his place, but you realize how others are just as naive and ready to defend than anything (after hearing blatant racists, sexists, etc. questions, many people dismiss it as "cultural differences").

The interesting thing is that often the minorities deemed "dangerous" or whatever are the poeple who are the nicest and accpepting of Borat. The black kids treat him the exact opposite of how they are portrayed in the Media. The gay people don't do anything to harm him (he realizes later that they're gay but doesn't go up on it).

The entire point of Borat is to expose the underbelly of America, the country deemed so grand so powerful, the epitome of all that is good in the world, but where people hate each other so blatantly.

I seriously doubt any of the people who are suing that film are going to win. They signed those releases so...its a contract. What is a contract? Webster defines it as a legally binding contract that cannot be broken. CANNOT BE BROKEN.

You know, this movie is kinda saying the same thing as Acopalytacmamaman from Mel Gibson, that a nation has to destroy itself first for the inside before the outside can do it. I'm sure that the political spectrums of Sasha Baron Cohen and Mel Gibson are completely different. But Borat seems to go with that tagline that we're doomed if people keep going on like that.

Satire, dude. Satire. It's not always pretty.

[Bartwald]

Larry - quite a review there. However, I must say I agree with Pulp. Borat clearly is a satire, and therefore it's difficult to feel offended by it. Please remember that I was the first one to point out the stupidity of Hostel in the wrongful description of the Czech Republic, and I also think that, for example, Lars von Trier did exploit the disabled in his poor attempt at being artistic in The Idiots - but I just can't treat Borat like that. True - not all the jokes hit the mark, the movie's filled with the nastiest bad taste you can think of, but most of the time it IS hilarious and it IS making some good points about the US (or, one could say, about the modern, PC-stifled countries in general). And really, Borat doesn't teach us to hate the Jews, does it? It tells us something about racism and prejudice, and does it in a shockingly direct way, but the Jews themselves - the nice old couple so hospitable towards Borat - are NOT shown as devils, are they? They're just perceived by Borat as ones.

I thought it's impossible for such a PC-unfriendly comedy to be made these days - and I'm glad Sacha Baron Cohen and Larry Charles proved me wrong.