3 ms·

It’s kind of funny to see a lot of posts saying Borat is a racist caricature - well of course he is! The whole point of the character is to see what it takes fo

It’s kind of funny to see a lot of posts saying Borat is a racist caricature - well of course he is! The whole point of the character is to see what it takes for some Americans to stop and say “are you kidding me?” Our own political correctness keeps people from asking if he’s a joke - instead “kindly” following along into the madness. The racism comes from the average persons ability to believe the he is a real person - a crazy foreigner - rather than a parody. Taking him seriously requires that you believe people like him exists. People who absolutely would have never looked Kazakhstan up to see if it actually existed or not. Borat is a projection of racism in order to mock the worldview of Americans - and it works fantastically. The fact that he mostly focuses on otherwise kind/quiet people “going along with it” is the entire message.

cmrdporcupine 6y ago
The problem with this is that he is using a real country with a real culture and real existing issues as his foil for this purpose. And so it ends up being seen as profoundly insensitive and disrespectful by many, even if the intent is satire.
jquery 6y ago
I think this is a very uncharitable interpretation of the people who get “duped” by Borat. They’re racist because they don’t immediately suspect this strange person is actually an actor? Even when they do, that gets edited out. What exactly about American behavior would you have change that would make a Borat-like film impossible? IIRC Ali G was originally filmed in Britain and the same sorts of antics were pulled off easily... I don’t think “going along to get along” is unique to Americans, although as a multicultural country I am sure we have a bit more than average.
- erulabs 6y ago
  For sure the reasonable responses are edited out - It would take one hell of a world to make a Borat-like film _impossible_ - but that doesn't mean the current one isn't effective. I'm not sure I'd _change_ anything, but Borat is a tour-de-force in speaking up when you see something questionable or ridiculous. Ali G is the same way - you'd have to think street kids are absolutely insane if you can look at Ali G and try to keep a straight face. To take Ali G seriously is the same as admitting you have no idea whatsoever what the youth culture looks like.
  - jquery 6y ago
    > speaking up when you see something questionable or ridiculous. I wish this was encouraged more, but unfortunately our society is moving in the opposite direction. Speaking up gets you labeled as a malcontent, at best, unless it’s of the “50 Stalins”[1] variety of critique. https://sanerthanlasagna.wordpress.com/2016/02/01/50-stalins/ https://sanerthanlasagna.wordpress.com/2016/02/01/50-stalins...

cmrdporcupine 6y ago

The problem with this is that he is using a real country with a real culture and real existing issues as his foil for this purpose. And so it ends up being seen as profoundly insensitive and disrespectful by many, even if the intent is satire.

jquery 6y ago

I think this is a very uncharitable interpretation of the people who get “duped” by Borat. They’re racist because they don’t immediately suspect this strange person is actually an actor? Even when they do, that gets edited out. What exactly about American behavior would you have change that would make a Borat-like film impossible? IIRC Ali G was originally filmed in Britain and the same sorts of antics were pulled off easily... I don’t think “going along to get along” is unique to Americans, although as a multicultural country I am sure we have a bit more than average.

erulabs 6y ago
For sure the reasonable responses are edited out - It would take one hell of a world to make a Borat-like film _impossible_ - but that doesn't mean the current one isn't effective. I'm not sure I'd _change_ anything, but Borat is a tour-de-force in speaking up when you see something questionable or ridiculous. Ali G is the same way - you'd have to think street kids are absolutely insane if you can look at Ali G and try to keep a straight face. To take Ali G seriously is the same as admitting you have no idea whatsoever what the youth culture looks like.
- jquery 6y ago
  > speaking up when you see something questionable or ridiculous. I wish this was encouraged more, but unfortunately our society is moving in the opposite direction. Speaking up gets you labeled as a malcontent, at best, unless it’s of the “50 Stalins”[1] variety of critique. https://sanerthanlasagna.wordpress.com/2016/02/01/50-stalins/ https://sanerthanlasagna.wordpress.com/2016/02/01/50-stalins...