Borat: An Essay

I saw ‘Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan’ today with Tjokro Aminoto. Before I go on with my essay, I must set a few facts straight about myself:

1. I do NOT support anti-Semitic statements in any way
2. This Essay is not a promotional tool to encourage one to watch the movie.
3. I am a person who believes in God and I Love Him very much
4. I like getting my hands dirty by being involve in controversial arguments but I believe strongly that each argument eventually falls into only two categories. The Truth and the Lie.

The movie Borat is an incredibly crude, bold and disturbing piece of Guerilla-comedy filmmaking that will either leave you feeling entertained or will cuase you to walk out of the theater. As the saying goes, “Another man’s food is another’s poison”, the same can be applied for Borat. It is definitely not for the weak-hearted or the easily offended. How so? This movie not only exposes ‘taboo’ issues like homosexuality, feminism, anti-Semitism and sex, but rubs salt to the wounds of those negatively reeling from Post 911 attacks, the Iraq war, religion and other controversial issues that even Dave Letterman wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole.

Clad with a cheap charcoal grey suit and sporting a thick mustache, Borat’s deep hatred for gypsies, obsession with Pamela Anderson, backwater sexist statements and anti-Semitic character boldly opens a closet full of skeletons. The outrageously funny scenarios are when his prejudices go unchallenged by his American interviewees and as amazing as it sounds, some even happily support it. When Borat walks into a gun shop asking for a recommendation for the ‘best gun to kill a Jew’, the shopkeeper doesn’t flinch or bat an eye lid but recommends a 9mm handgun. An anti-muslim 5 minute rant caught on camera by an American rodeo cowboy and other disturbing insights about the casual prejudices of the average American acts as the films powerful sleigh hammer to conventionality.

Like a spokesperson for everything politically incorrect, Borat breathes genuine originality and brilliant shocks to the reality television landscape filled with weak, mindless, incoherent junk. Baron Cohen who plays Borat is a man of firm Jewish Ethic foundations, happily married and is a forerunner in combating prejudices. Like the Former director of Jewish Public affair Larry Rubin says, “Cohen’s heart is in the right place”. The parts that offended me were the parts that Cohen manipulate truths in order to suit his perception to create further controversy.

In conclusion, whether or not you choose to avoid this film like a plague or happily embrace its stinging satire is up to you. For me, Borat is an unflinching, unrelentingly breathless 88-minute ride that takes you on a crude, gross, rib-tickling exposition of human prejudice.

I've had my say.

Love,
The Dugong