Borat: A Cultural Mirror Reflecting America's Complexities
Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, directed by Larry Charles, transcends the typical multiplex comedy, achieving the status of a conceptual art epic. The film presents a unique and unprecedented cinematic experience, using humor as a tool to dissect American culture and expose its hidden prejudices.
The Character of Borat: A Vehicle for Social Commentary
Borat Sagdiyev, a Kazakh television presenter, is one of Cohen's many alter egos, a character that relies heavily on the ignorance of some people, who cannot discern the Eastern Orthodox church from Islam, much less understand the finer points of self-identity among former Soviet satellite nations. Borat's persona is carefully constructed, complete with an intimidating moustache, a perpetual ingratiating smile, a discount suit, and a juvenile patois peppered with bits of Hebrew, Polish, and casual anti-Semitism. This carefully crafted caricature allows Cohen to explore the depths of American society and its reactions to perceived foreign backwardness.
Cohen’s shtick is ingeniously simple. Borat’s homeland, of which he is a representative specimen, is portrayed as a backwater populated by dingy peasants and village rapists, the cosmopolitan EU’s nightmare neighbors. The character has gone through previous incarnations as an Albanian and Moldavian, but the changes in nationality are hardly relevant.
Unveiling American Prejudice Through Satire
The film's brilliance lies in its ability to coax out backwardness in the supposedly civilized United States. Borat's journey across America, ostensibly to study the country for Kazakh TV, becomes a series of encounters that reveal the prejudices and biases lurking beneath the surface of American society.
One of the most infamous examples is the "Kazakh folk song" segment, where Borat leads a crowd at a Tucson country-and-western bar in a rousing chorus of "Throw the Jew down the well / So my country can be free." This scene, along with other interactions, highlights the casual anti-Semitism and other forms of prejudice that exist within certain segments of the American population.
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While Kazakhstan's largest theater chain refused to host the movie, the film's true target of defamation is arguably America itself. Through Borat's interactions, the film exposes the underbelly of American society, forcing viewers to confront uncomfortable truths about their own culture.
The Unsuspecting Participants: Victims or Accomplices?
The success of Borat depends on the participation of individuals who are often unaware of the true nature of the film. These "victims" of Borat's ruse are often non-media savvy individuals who either possess a robust sense of humor or are simply oblivious to how they are being portrayed.
Cohen's favorite targets include yokels and politicians, individuals who are more likely to be caught off guard by Borat's outrageous behavior. The film suggests that Borat cannot thrive in media-saturated capital cities, where people are more likely to recognize the character and his intentions.
It’s telling that Cohen’s favorite targets are yokels and politicians. By his nature, Borat can’t thrive in a media-saturated capital city for long - I seem to recollect a Page Six item about Cohen-as-Borat being recognized while working a New York subway crowd. After disembarking in NYC, he stays just long enough to interview some Veteran Feminists of America who’ve presumably been sealed in a pop-deprivation tank since 1976, and to reinforce stereotypes (the crux of his comedy) about New Yorkers as pathologically abrasive.
The film raises questions about the ethics of Cohen's approach, particularly regarding the exploitation of unsuspecting individuals. However, it also prompts viewers to consider the extent to which these individuals contribute to the film's message, either through their explicit prejudices or their willingness to tolerate offensive behavior.
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A Road Trip of Revelation: Memorable Encounters
Borat's journey across America is filled with memorable encounters that expose different facets of American culture. These include:
- A rodeo manager who casually voices support for anti-gay pogroms.
- An RV of ill-bred road-tripping frat boys whose partying betrays an obvious undercurrent of desperation, and whose digressions into “explaining” America make you want to avert your eyes
- A middle-class dining room whose brittle pretense of Southern gentility disintegrates when a thick black prostitute arrives at the door at dinner guest Borat’s invitation (to realize quite how racially charged their hysteria is, you’ve got to see what else Cohen brings to the table that they’re willing to laugh off).
These encounters, captured through judicious button-pushing and dab-handed editing, paint a caricature of America that is both savage and revealing. The film's ability to expose these hidden prejudices is a testament to Cohen's skill as a comedian and social commentator.
Comedy as a Tool for Social Change
Borat is not just a funny movie; it is a work of social commentary that uses humor to challenge viewers' perceptions of themselves and their society. Cohen's fearless physical comedy and improvisational skills, combined with Larry Charles's direction, create a film that is both entertaining and thought-provoking.
Sculptor Linda Stein, among the Veteran Feminists who meet with Borat, later asked why Cohen’s work “zooms in on human weaknesses and foibles” - as good as admitting she doesn’t know the first thing about comedy. And Borat is a shamelessly funny movie; in addition to being a deft, unblinking improviser, Cohen is a fearless physical comedian, not above spastic pratfalls in an antique store’s Southern “heritage” section or, in the film’s comic aria, a nude wrestling match with his hirsute, flabby producer (Ken Davitian).
The film's success lies in its ability to make people laugh while simultaneously forcing them to confront uncomfortable truths about their own biases and prejudices. By using humor as a weapon, Cohen challenges viewers to think critically about the world around them and to question the assumptions that they often take for granted.
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