3 ms·
Kazakhs weren't the targets.
by EliRivers 7y ago
Kazakhs weren't the targets.
- knolax 7y agoThat's what makes it worst, the theme didn't even have anything to do with Kazakhs, they just threw in the low-effort stereotyping for comedic effect.
- whytaka 7y agoI think GP means to say that the target was our privileged ignorance.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- zozbot234 7y agoYup, the controversial scenes in Borat's "home village" were actually shot in rural Romania. But I'm not sure that stereotyping poor, rural Romanians is any better.
- gherkinnn 7y agoNeither Romanians nor Kazakhs were the but of the joke. They were a vehicle to poke fun at ignorant westeners.
- zozbot234 7y ago> Neither Romanians nor Kazakhs were the but of the joke. How could one tell?
- gherkinnn 7y agoA few things - Kazakh people (mostly) look nothing like Borat - It was clearly (to me, a European) set in eastern Europe - Cohen played on our ignorance to make us believe Rumania is Kazakhstan - Everybody he encounters thereafter is American - Cohen uses Borat to mock stereotypical American[0] behaviour - I am aware just how much juvenile humour there was too [0] applies to most places, but the film is set in America
- EliRivers 7y agoRomanians, too, were not the target.
- maeln 7y agoI doesn't matter. If I make a movie to make fun of german but the main character is jewish and greedy, that would raise a lot of eyebrows.
- EliRivers 7y agoIt does matter. Jewish people portrayed as greedy is an existing stereotype with a sad history. There is no such existing stereotype for the people of Kazakhstan in the target audience of the movie. Also, say what you mean. Raise eyebrows? So what. The last Star Wars movie raised some eyebrows. This thread already has enough people righteously missing points, so just say what you mean.
- neonate 7y agoThat logic is not generally acceptable when it comes to ethnic and racial humour. I don't believe many Kazakhs felt good about it.