syrinx

David posted his experience of seeing the movie Borat. I have finally seen it myself and have to agree with his take on it. I was surprised at what a well crafted little movie it is if you can get past some of the shock of how extreme Sasha Baron Cohen is in getting a reaction out of people.

When I watched the Ali G show (SBC's show prior to the movie) I had mixed feelings about what the movie would be like. Borat was the best part by far - but I was uncomfortable seeing people set up and made to look bad without knowing it.

The movie is altogether different. Good people shine through as much as not so good people. I think it is extremely clever and reminded me of an incident from my life in my 20's. When working for a print/design company I had on occasion ran into the two sons who inherited the company from their father. They were kind of classic to this type of company passed on to two spoiled rich kids in that they destroyed that company within a couple of years. Lawyers have an expression "shirt sleeves to cuff-links - gone in 2 generations".

The youngest one was somewhat predatory toward me and the other young women in the company, but I seemed to fit into his ideal: blue eyes, blonde hair, waspy looks. One day he sat with me while I enjoyed my lunch outside and told me how the problems of the world could be traced to the Jews. I was stunned by this... as I had never heard anyone from his generation, wealth, and station in life be so blunt about his bigotry. My looks lead him to believe that I probably shared his point of view. I told him that I did not share that viewpoint and that I had war heroes in my family who fought fascists in the 2nd World War; they too did not have that point of view. I informed him that in my opinion the soldiers in my family were heroes and that I would be insulting my family if I went along with his views. Some of them died to fight this hate. He talked to me as if I just didn't know how horrible these people are - that I was naive - an innocent.

After that talk he found lots of things wrong with my work. It was uncomfortable working there. I left soon after.

It was not the last time that type of thing happened. Because I fit a certain type I get to hear lots of hateful things, usually in the form of a confession or with the idea that I would probably go along with it. And from the nicest people you could ever meet. Nice to me that is. That is where the problem lies. There is an assumption that we all really feel that way - those of us with the approved features. It's so pathetic that I resent that assumption that I would be part of this undercurrent of stupidity.

Sasha Baron Cohen hit the nail on the head with his movie. It is very clever - but you don't have be from Kazakhstan to be blunt about hate - as his movie reveals.

Some people I know said they would not see it because Steve Martin did it first. The wild and crazy guy is nothing - absolutely nothing like this. Besides you could argue that Chico Marx actually did it first. So why not stop there? In fact Cohen's character is closer to something out of the Marx brothers than anything that came afterward. Marx brothers with an edge.

For the record, Pamela Anderson is great in the movie, as I heard she went along with the premise entirely.

Good movie all around. I hope the people who don't want to see it - do see it.

tags: bigotry borat cohen