View Full Version : Borat bunched in the face
Sometimes its best for actors to keep their character under control when dealing with people on the street.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/13112006/344/borat-star-punched-street-attack.html
And someone is not happy with the movie - I haven't seen it so I don't know the exact content of the movie.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/11112006/325/college-frat-boys-borat-sue-filmmakers.html
http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=241628>1=7701
and finally a critic's comments
http://www.slate.com/id/2153578/?GT1=8805
Never cared for the Ali G Show, but I guess the question is for anyone that has seen the movie - does Cohen go into infantile humor like the critics are claiming?
I find the article concerning Romania hilarious.
Sasaki Kojiro
11-15-2006, 06:59
The movie was hilarious, some peope just have no sense of humor and and pissed that they made themselves look like idiots on the big screen.
Borat plays a crude character but the jokes aren't about that, they're about how people react to him...much of the movie is unscripted.
I do find the slate article hilarious. The guy has his feathers all ruffled about a movie that isn't an attack on America.
It's a funny movie but it is definately low brow humor. I admit I enjoyed it but I certainly didn't take it seriously. I assumed that everyone except maybe the rodeo crowd and the Christians speaking in tongues were well aware of what was going on. While it's fun to get people to slip their tongue at times I feel that he was taking advantage of peoples hospitality if most of the interviewees were honestly unaware of its intent.
I prefer humor more like the Colbert show has where things are just taken completely and obviously out of context, especially when interviewing politicians.
King Ragnar
11-15-2006, 09:36
i loved the movie, very funny, if anything i think the movie shows hw mature Judaism is, if it wasa bout christianity or Islam, crusades and Jihads would have been called and he would been in big trouble, but good on the jews, for no reacting in a silly way and taking it on the chin.
Well Borat is jewish himselve, keeps them down :beam:
I haven't seen the movie yet, but I love the idea that people made utter asses of themselves with a little instigation. So I probably will go see it. I have no sympathy for the frat boys, for example, who are suing because they made total asses of themselves. Sorry, the excuse that they were taken to a bar and loosened up first doesn't hold water (or the alcoholic beverage of their choice :wink:). Alcohol doesn't make you say things that you don't mean, it lessens your judgment so you say things you mean that you wouldn't normally say. The excuse didn't work for Mel Gibson, either. Too bad for them.
Sasaki Kojiro
11-15-2006, 12:39
I haven't seen the movie yet, but I love the idea that people made utter asses of themselves with a little instigation. So I probably will go see it. I have no sympathy for the frat boys, for example, who are suing because they made total asses of themselves. Sorry, the excuse that they were taken to a bar and loosened up first doesn't hold water (or the alcoholic beverage of their choice :wink:). Alcohol doesn't make you say things that you don't mean, it lessens your judgment so you say things you mean that you wouldn't normally say. The excuse didn't work for Mel Gibson, either. Too bad for them.
Yes, I loved the way they claimed he "plied them with alcoholic drinks"...as if frat boys ever needed any encouragement :laugh4:
It was really brilliant. Especially the hotel fight scene...
Apparently only bits where anyone genuinely knew what was going on was the Pam scene and the hooker. Everyone else was under the impression it was just some documentary, so signed all the releases without cottoning on.
Oh, and another thing! Some people, the frat boys included, are claiming that they were duped into signing the releases, as well. Another excuse without merit. So, sorry. If someone puts a document down in front of me and says something like, "Sign this and win a free burger and fries!" and it's 22-pages long or something, I'm going to be inclined to read the bloody thing before signing it! Even worse, how stupid do you have to be to sign something that they said was a "waiver" without reading it in its entirety. Here, sign this form which waives certain of your rights. Duh, OK!
Del Arroyo
11-15-2006, 22:20
if it wasa bout christianity or Islam, crusades and Jihads would have been called and he would been in big trouble,
You mean if it had been about Islam jihads would have been called.
King Ragnar
11-15-2006, 22:24
You mean if it had been about Islam jihads would have been called.
no i could see Christians reacting violently to it if it was about them just as Muslims would..
Oh, and another thing! Some people, the frat boys included, are claiming that they were duped into signing the releases, as well. Another excuse without merit. So, sorry. If someone puts a document down in front of me and says something like, "Sign this and win a free burger and fries!" and it's 22-pages long or something, I'm going to be inclined to read the bloody thing before signing it! Even worse, how stupid do you have to be to sign something that they said was a "waiver" without reading it in its entirety. Here, sign this form which waives certain of your rights. Duh, OK!
I would have to agree with you. If you don't read what you are signing, or if you don't understand what your about to sign - and you do it anyway - its your own bloodly stupidity that got you into a bind.
You mean if it had been about Islam jihads would have been called.
I dont get it...
The movie was very funny, but only when not taken seriously. The people in it have no grounds to sue, as they acted as they would in that circumstance anyway. I do however have much sympathy with khazakstan, some of the khazakstani jokes are slightly too much, because it doesnt really reflect the true nature of the country..
The jewish religion has spoken out against it, but in moderation, they have impressed me by not being overly offended, i think this is for three reasons:
1. Cohen insults everyone, and therefore noone can really claim he's overly prejudiced,
2. Jewish jokes are not the majority in the film, and therefore do not invite the same type of criticism as a film soely based on jewish joke making
3. He is jewish himself
:2thumbsup:
King Ragnar
11-15-2006, 22:44
if anything he is doing what mel brooks did alot along time ago, mel brooks is very funny :D
Borat is crude and scatological, but he is not the joke. The joke is how people react to him, and not just them saying "eww" to poop. The fact that they believe him is funny enough.
Crazed Rabbit
11-16-2006, 01:45
no i could see Christians reacting violently
History and events do not bear that out.
Crazed Rabbit
History and events do not bear that out.
Crazed Rabbit
Hahaha.
Major Robert Dump
11-16-2006, 07:10
Bah Red you didnt like the Ali G show??? Him interviewing Newt Gingrinch, Andy Rooney, a DEA agent and a feminist leader (just to name a few) is one of the few reasons imo to even have cable. A comedian can be hit/miss 10/90 if the 10 makes me fall out of my seat laughing.
]
havent seen the movie, waiting for the crowds to thin a bit
Bah Red you didnt like the Ali G show??? Him interviewing Newt Gingrinch, Andy Rooney, a DEA agent and a feminist leader (just to name a few) is one of the few reasons imo to even have cable. A comedian can be hit/miss 10/90 if the 10 makes me fall out of my seat laughing.
]
havent seen the movie, waiting for the crowds to thin a bit
Well I missed those episodes. I watched two of them to give his humor a chance - just didn't find him amusing enough to really want to continue watching.
More of the dry humor type I guess
IRONxMortlock
11-16-2006, 07:44
More of the dry humor type I guess
Ali-G is hardly dry humour.
That slate reviewer really couldn't have missed the point anymore if he was trying. I guess some folks don't have much of a sense of humour. :shrug:
I've always enjoyed the Borat skits on the Ali-G show so I'm quite looking forward to this movie.
Ali-G is hardly dry humour.
That was in reference to myself.
Zalmoxis
11-16-2006, 08:26
I saw the movie, I heard the Romanian, and I still think it's freaking hilarious.
Crazed Rabbit
11-16-2006, 09:41
Hahaha.
Yeah, all that violence after the 'piss Christ' thing...oh, wait.
Crazed Rabbit
IRONxMortlock
11-16-2006, 10:43
That was in reference to myself.
Ahh gotcha,
My apologies.
:oops:
Seamus Fermanagh
11-16-2006, 14:14
Oh, and another thing! Some people, the frat boys included, are claiming that they were duped into signing the releases, as well. Another excuse without merit. So, sorry. If someone puts a document down in front of me and says something like, "Sign this and win a free burger and fries!" and it's 22-pages long or something, I'm going to be inclined to read the bloody thing before signing it! Even worse, how stupid do you have to be to sign something that they said was a "waiver" without reading it in its entirety. Here, sign this form which waives certain of your rights. Duh, OK!
Wise advice folks. THE MOST DANGEROUS thing you possess is your own signature.
To be honest Borat is as old as Ali G. The last time I saw Borat on TV was probably back in 2002 on the Ali G show. The movie may be funny, but it's not something I'd rush out especially to see. As to his antics in the street, well he does that anyway. So he should accept the risks. I'm surprised he hasn't been assaulted before now. If you approach someone in the street trying to kiss them, you've no idea who you're dealing with. Most people will see it as a joke, a few will recognise him as who he is, though someone, who's maybe having a bad day, may react rather differently.
Yeah, all that violence after the 'piss Christ' thing...oh, wait.
Crazed Rabbit
You know, I had found an article where a bunch of Christians beat a kid who called himself a Satanist within an inch of his life just for saying so. I'm too lazy to google it myself, but seriously, you must not get out much if you think Christians, especially of the Yankee variety, don't get violent for stupid reasons.
King Ragnar
11-16-2006, 19:10
lol he has a go at me for saying muslims react to everything and when i say that alot of religions react would react he is first to defend christianity and not islam
Major Robert Dump
11-17-2006, 18:47
Yeah, I would rather pick and choose what I watch rather than have to see the wqhole show. Thats why yourtube is great. I'll get some links posted to some of the better ones
Crazed Rabbit
11-17-2006, 18:55
You know, I had found an article where a bunch of Christians beat a kid who called himself a Satanist within an inch of his life just for saying so. I'm too lazy to google it myself, but seriously, you must not get out much if you think Christians, especially of the Yankee variety, don't get violent for stupid reasons.
I heard once that the plural of anecdote is not data. Besides, this doesn't support Ragnar's claim that Chrisitans would react violently as Muslims.
A few events to ponder: Danish cartoons and NEA exhibits.
lol he has a go at me for saying muslims react to everything and when i say that alot of religions react would react he is first to defend christianity and not islam
:rolleyes:
Crazed Rabbit
sharrukin
11-18-2006, 18:51
Yeah, its real funny going to some dirt poor part of the world and have them do tricks for the entertainment of their betters! And hey, its not like we didn't give them a few bucks! The really ironic part is that some of the same people who think this is entertainment, will then wax poetic about the injustices of the world.
What's next?
Tour Darfur and play 'Survivor Darfur' where contestants get to race for the food. Should be good for some laughs.
Maybe we could have some homeless alcoholic dance us a jig for a bottle of Wild Turkey! Yeah, good times.
Yuk, Yuk!
Christ, am I becoming a Liberal? Somebody shoot me if that's true!
King Ragnar
11-18-2006, 19:06
What's next?
Tour Darfur and play 'Survivor Darfur' where contestants get to race for the food. Should be good for some laughs.
Now that would be good tv!:laugh4:
edyzmedieval
11-18-2006, 19:08
I see that people like Romanian actors. :beam:
IMHO, I find Borat disgusting. Low intelligence humour.
AntiochusIII
11-19-2006, 01:06
I still see people who just don't get the point.
I didn't laugh when Cohen's Borat acted stupid. Many didn't. It wasn't funny; it wasn't meant to be. We laughed our arses off when his victims -- their "betters" if you will, sharrukin -- show their stupidity and bigotry. Same thing for other Cohen characters -- Bruno was equally hilarious when he showed the prejudice against gays in so many people.
You people are just focusing your attention on the character and not the responses he elicit. It doesn't matter if "Borat" pretends to be Kazakh or Georgian, Muslim or Orthodox -- he even uses butchered Polish to pretend he speaks some sort of an obscure Central Asian language -- as long as it is the same "stereotypically different" character than can show us our closet racism and whatnot.
sharrukin
11-19-2006, 06:19
I still see people who just don't get the point.
I didn't laugh when Cohen's Borat acted stupid. Many didn't. It wasn't funny; it wasn't meant to be. We laughed our arses off when his victims -- their "betters" if you will, sharrukin -- show their stupidity and bigotry. Same thing for other Cohen characters -- Bruno was equally hilarious when he showed the prejudice against gays in so many people.
You people are just focusing your attention on the character and not the responses he elicit. It doesn't matter if "Borat" pretends to be Kazakh or Georgian, Muslim or Orthodox -- he even uses butchered Polish to pretend he speaks some sort of an obscure Central Asian language -- as long as it is the same "stereotypically different" character than can show us our closet racism and whatnot.
Yeah, poverty stricken Rumanian peasants are just fricking hilarious! Taking advantage of the poor now a new hallmark of progressive liberals? Oh, I know, it's all good fun... but always at someone else’s expense. Let’s take advantage of the kindness of strangers. Lets humiliate them, and do our best to make them look stupid. It is cruel, deceptive, and vicious, and trotting out pretensions of deep meaning, and cultural revelations is nothing but a cheap dodge. But it’s all good! You know why? Because, its anti-American bigotry, so that makes its all right.
Is it really that much of a chore to just have a basic level of respect for others? There are millions of people in the world who live in poverty, and we who live in the affluent west can often exploit them. Just because we have the power doesn’t mean we should use it without regard to morality. Borat took crippled old men and dressed them up in funny costumes so that we can have a good laugh. I am sure that that Louis XIV would understand, but I do not. Its just viciousness, masquerading as humour. Humiliating those less fortunate than ourselves for a few laughs isn’t funny. That we are just using them as a disposable rubber chicken doesn’t justify it!
"We thought they came here to help us - not mock us," said Dana Luca, 40, sweeping a manure-stained street lined with shabby homes of crumbling brick and corrugated iron sheeting.
"We haven't got anything here. We haven't got running water. We can't even bathe," she said. "We are poor people, but we are still people."
Once again in case its difficult for you to understand
“but we are still people!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAnF75IuLzo&mode=related&search=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq9D6H0HBN0&NR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVqDHlqr9Go&mode=related&search=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaBT4HzCiPE
My god, its like watching paint dry!
One of those who just don't get the point.
AntiochusIII
11-19-2006, 06:46
One of those who just don't get the point.You still don't...
Cohen's humor style is based on evoking in us a sense of what's in our society -- the natural prejudice that we naively assumed is no longer in our society. That's what we laugh at. Not "funny Romanian peasants." Borat, Ali G, and Bruno are all simply vehicles, using stereotypes relevant to us as a tool to expose our own uglier reactions against those very stereotypes. He's not making fun of "funny Romanian peasants" or "stupid Middle Easterner" or whatever people who despise him believe he's making fun of -- he's making fun of the West's own prejudices, our own hidden outlook of people in Central Asia and the Middle East as "Jew-hating stupid Middle Easterners."
Let me show you the most significant example: Borat constantly fears, hates, and blame Jews for everything -- in the show, he successfully brings out the same anti-semitism in some of the people entangled in the act. This isn't funny because "stupid Middle Easterner hates Jews lol," but rather, "look at us -- some of us are still anti-semitic after all." The whole "Borat" act is to bring out that and satirizes it.
I can see how some people in Kazakhstan take offense to his play -- or may be gays, or the suburban white "black-wannabes" that "Ali G" satirizes; I can't see how we in the West pretends to be in the same situation with the Kazakhs and play the "we're offended for the sake of the rest of the world!" card as if it actually hurts us.
Some of his humor can go too far, true -- he did abuse Zeus' Law of Hospitality (:P) for humor's sake at times, as is the case with the old Jewish couple in the move; but your claim that this is all he does or this is what we laugh at is just ridiculous. This is not the same as the "blackface humor" of the early 1900s America.
Sasaki Kojiro
11-19-2006, 07:24
I doubt any of the villagers saw the movie when it came out. Some lawyer realized he could make a fortune off this and ran over there to tell them to act all offended and they would be rich, and some people are buying it.
When I saw it I thought it was a set and they were actors and had no idea they were Romanian.
Again, what's funny is that the portrayal of the village is what many people think poor countries are like.
rory_20_uk
11-19-2006, 11:42
I saw Borat.
Yes, his antics were supposed to be there to set off responses rather than be sidesplitting funny on their own (excepting such parts of the film as the beginning).
But: seeing some Frat boys acting like drunken idiots, "upper class" Americans bieng snooty and two faced, and the "salt of the earch" bieng utterly brain dead and making extremely uneducated statements was again not funny. Nothing in the film was great, as generally the people acted as expected.
~:smoking:
Pannonian
11-19-2006, 12:54
I still see people who just don't get the point.
I didn't laugh when Cohen's Borat acted stupid. Many didn't. It wasn't funny; it wasn't meant to be. We laughed our arses off when his victims -- their "betters" if you will, sharrukin -- show their stupidity and bigotry. Same thing for other Cohen characters -- Bruno was equally hilarious when he showed the prejudice against gays in so many people.
You people are just focusing your attention on the character and not the responses he elicit. It doesn't matter if "Borat" pretends to be Kazakh or Georgian, Muslim or Orthodox -- he even uses butchered Polish to pretend he speaks some sort of an obscure Central Asian language -- as long as it is the same "stereotypically different" character than can show us our closet racism and whatnot.
Try Brass Eye if you like that sort of thing. That got celebrities to jump on evidently absurd bandwagons - including saving "an elephant with its trunk stuck up its arse" - and even some politicians, including a question asked in the Commons about the dangers of "a made up drug". The paedophiles special was especially good.
sharrukin
11-19-2006, 19:23
You still don't...
Cohen's humor style is based on evoking in us a sense of what's in our society -- the natural prejudice that we naively assumed is no longer in our society. That's what we laugh at. Not "funny Romanian peasants." Borat, Ali G, and Bruno are all simply vehicles, using stereotypes relevant to us as a tool to expose our own uglier reactions against those very stereotypes. He's not making fun of "funny Romanian peasants" or "stupid Middle Easterner" or whatever people who despise him believe he's making fun of -- he's making fun of the West's own prejudices, our own hidden outlook of people in Central Asia and the Middle East as "Jew-hating stupid Middle Easterners."
No AntiochusIII, you are the one who does not get it! I know he is USING those Rumanian peasants to bash westerners, and Americans in particular. That is the problem!
That we are just using them as a disposable rubber chicken doesn’t justify it!
[/I]
He is using poverty stricken people as props in his not particularly funny satire. You cannot seem to see it, as you are so fixated on the crusade that you are blind to the ones being ridden under on the way.
The end does NOT justify the means.
Perhaps it is only funny to those who actually have 'naively assumed that we have progressed. That is the progressives.
Others are not so blind as to what is wrong with this.
"So why is this issue and film bothering me? Because he could have easily used us, our parents, grandparents, or our sisters to become "interviewees" and then mock us. He could have mocked our faith, and our history. He takes people's innocence and the exploits it. In my opinion, he is an evil and dirty person who makes his living exploiting others."
http://www.sikhnet.com/sikhnet/discussion.nsf/by+topic/912F64FF60F569A0872572230080E345!OpenDocument
Still not getting it!
IRONxMortlock
11-20-2006, 01:55
He takes people's innocence and the exploits it
Perhaps, but generally he takes people's ignorance and exploits it.
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