Borat

[Peace-Phoenix]

Has anyone seen the Borat movie yet? Man, between the blatant piss take of anti-semitism and homoerotic humour, it's the funniest thing I've seen in ages. Kicks the crap out of Ali G Indahouse and firmly marks Borat as the best of Sacha Baron Cohen's characters I think....

[paulfreespirit]

have"nt actually seen movie yet peace but watched a few clips on you tube " one were he joins the pigs man " brilliant .................iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

[Cerebus]

I'll be waiting for DVD, and hoping for a few more laughs than Ali G The Movie provided.

[Peace-Phoenix]

Aye, it benefits a whole lot from being almost entirely improvised. That's Cohen's forte I think. Ali G didn't really show off his talents in the same way....

[dapablo]

I find him to embarrasing to watch, I'm the sort who always felt the guilt when it was somebody else who done it at school.

[fountains of nay]

Saw this the other day and thought it was great. I can't believe he wasn't lynched for some of it.
What did you guys think?

[L.A.Matthews]

It's pretty good, but he obviously casts American's in a bad light...Which is righteous in my opinion.:)

[fountains of nay]

yeah, he did it to the Brits too.

Do not fear me gypsy!

[Ambient Fraggle]

Borat Rules............

[lithium]

Nay, I've merged your thread into the previous 'Borat' thread which had sunk to page 2, mainly because I've never done it before and wanted to see how it worked! Hope that's ok with you:)

I haven't seen the film yet, but sounds like I might have to...

[fountains of nay]

Nay, I've merged your thread into the previous 'Borat' thread which had sunk to page 2, mainly because I've never done it before and wanted to see how it worked! Hope that's ok with you:)

I haven't seen the film yet, but sounds like I might have to...Mate, that's cool dude. Looks good all merged in :)

[Elliott]

i saw the borat movie and laughed my arse off but then stopped and thought abou the reasons i found it funny and the outcome of the laughter.

a week ago i was at a conference in kent and there was a guy working there from kazekstahn dont know how to spell that. but he was so upset with that movie. just got me thinking. couldnt help but feel bad for the guy. you know what its like when you get drunken english yobs yelling and heckelling about something and laughing. just imagined that poor guy getting the same treatment every time hes asked where hes from.

i bet he dreads going out.

i have some friends that just walked out of the cinema. at the time i thought it a bit much but now i understand why

[dapablo]

Not seen it myself, kinda know it will make me uncomfortable after seeing a couple of clips, kinda reminds me in a way of Bernard Manning.

[lithium]

Not seen it myself, kinda know it will make me uncomfortable after seeing a couple of clips, kinda reminds me in a way of Bernard Manning.I really have to see this ... your comment Dappy reminds me of a very uncomfortable conversation between Garry Shandling and Ricky Gervais that was on Channel 4 over Winterval. Shandling asked Gervais why he chose to pick on the disabled etc as the source of the characters' mortified embarrassment in Extras and The Office, and Gervais really couldn't answer. While he is taking the piss out of the taboo of joking at the afflicted, there is some element of the taboo still present, if only in priveleging the disabled person to always be the victor. We're laughing at the laughter of those who laugh for the wrong reasons. Irony is a fine line - and it's hard to exactly identify why being ironically self-aware about taboos and being politically incorrect with an ironic twist is ok, while Bernard Manning humour is not.

Sacha Baron Cohen has always been on the side of ironic self-awareness, and ridiculing of the bigoted rather than laughing alongside them as far as I'm concerned, but I'll be interested to see what he's done in this film ... downloading it now:)

[dapablo]

Just get the feeling that as long as one wears the guise of a character then it's deemed allowable to abuse anybody.

I do understand the distinction you so succinctly put between Cohen and BM but it just sits uncomfortably with me, as did the Office I suppose. Also get the gist of the emporers clothes.

[fountains of nay]

He isn't taking the piss out of Kazakhstan, he's playing on western opinions. Or that's what I got from the film.

[Elliott]

i think hes doing both. thing is most westerners have no idea about kezakstahn anyway. hell i cant even spell it

[lithium]

The target of the comedy is not Kazakhstan - the place is almost incidental, it's used because its a place few in the West know anything about (and can't even spell). It's a grotesque version of Kazakhstan representing our assumptions about the place.

It's a very, very funny film and I would recommend anyone to see it. Sacha Baron Cohen is a very clever man. The film did make me uncomfortable a few times, probably another good reason to see it - it's right on the edge of what is acceptable. He gives the participants enough rope to hang themselves - and they often do. They are essentially tricked into revealing things about themselves that they wouldn't want to; it's their honest reaction, but they are invited to expose their deepest prejudices.

*SPOILERS*
I think the best moments of the film are actually the scripted parts - the opening scene in Borat's village, the naked fight which spills out into the lift and the conference hall, the antique shop scene, and the kidnapping of Pamela Anderson.

Highly recommended, but be prepared to think about what you're watching and why you're laughing...

[Elliott]

i agree. accept about the assumptions bit

[fountains of nay]

I think my best bit is when he meets the "Gypsy"

[Elliott]

i dunno i quite like the bit with the cock roaches and when he starts throwing money at them hahaha :D

[fountains of nay]

yeh that's a classic too.

[dapablo]

It seems some of his victims are none to happy about the film though, lawsuits might be appearing. Sounds like some of it might even be labelled entrapment.

[phoenix_indigo]

*SPOILERS*
I think the best moments of the film are actually the scripted parts - the opening scene in Borat's village, the naked fight which spills out into the lift and the conference hall, the antique shop scene, and the kidnapping of Pamela Anderson.

Highly recommended, but be prepared to think about what you're watching and why you're laughing...I haven't seen the film yet but saw that antique shop scene and that was hilarious. I shudder at the fact though my own mother still thinks the confederate flag should be displayed as a sign of 'the heritage of the south'.
*shudders*

[fountains of nay]

It seems some of his victims are none to happy about the film though, lawsuits might be appearing. Sounds like some of it might even be labelled entrapment.
Personally, I think anybody who tries to sue has no leg to stand on. I mean, they didn't force them to sign the consent forms... they didn't force people to get drunk and say terrible things.

[mbworkrelated]

Personally, I think anybody who tries to sue has no leg to stand on. I mean, they didn't force them to sign the consent forms... they didn't force people to get drunk and say terrible things.
What about the poor buggers in that Romanian village or


Dharma Arthur.

“I spiralled into depression, and before I could recover, I was released from my contract," she wrote in a letter to Newsweek Magazine. "It took me three months to find another job, and now I'm thousands of dollars in debt and struggling to keep my house out of foreclosure.”

It says she is not taking legal action to be fair.

http://movies.uk.msn.com/features/Borattrickedme2006_article.aspx

I know those two young lads said 'orrible stuff. I think they might be regreting it all now.

I just found SBC a smug self rightious prick. So i hope he gets shafted by as many people as possible :) .

[lithium]

I just found SBC a smug self rightious prick.I'm trying to think when I've ever seen Baron Cohen out of character - and I'm not sure I ever have. So what are you basing that on? You could well say that his characters are self righteous pricks ... but that's kind of the point.

[mbworkrelated]

I'm trying to think when I've ever seen Baron Cohen out of character - and I'm not sure I ever have. So what are you basing that on? You could well say that his characters are self righteous pricks ... but that's kind of the point.
At awards ceremonies and a few interviews he has done.
I have to say you have a point, i don't know him that well out of character.
Even so, 'in character' imho he is acting like a prick. So he should imho pay the price when he is not in character. I'm not averse to people like him, i can see the charm. I just think he has done it far to long. So bugger him, i hope he gets a little bit of his smile wiped of his face.

He may give up acting like a prick or just being smug out of character.
Paul Kaye managed it. I hope so.

[lithium]

Well here he is, being interviewed about Da Ali G Show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0b_lTEgICw

Seems like a very charming, clever, articulate man who knows exactly what he's doing in using his characters to expose the hubris and folly of those in public life who should know better.

The 'ordinary people' targeted by Borat is probably the source of the unease about what he does - nonetheless it always makes some serious sociological points about how people behave when they're put in front of a TV camera, their assumptions about others, and he has a knack of exposing people's core beliefs and prejudices. Does their desire to get on TV and their rush to sign the release form mean they don't think properly about what it is they're exposing themselves to? If they actually read what they were signing, it'd give some clues - I've seen the release form used for Borat, and there are reams of stuff about waiving the right to make legal claims. I'd think very seriously before signing such a document and agreeing to participate. Why didn't those racist fratboys? Hubris? Doesn't that make them a legitimate target?

It's a tricky area. But I have a great amount of respect for what Baron Cohen does, and the fact he does it with such intelligence and skill. It's worlds apart from a lot of trash exploitation TV.

[fountains of nay]

Well here he is, being interviewed about Da Ali G Show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0b_lTEgICw

Seems like a very charming, clever, articulate man who knows exactly what he's doing in using his characters to expose the hubris and folly of those in public life who should know better.

The 'ordinary people' targeted by Borat is probably the source of the unease about what he does - nonetheless it always makes some serious sociological points about how people behave when they're put in front of a TV camera, their assumptions about others, and he has a knack of exposing people's core beliefs and prejudices. Does their desire to get on TV and their rush to sign the release form mean they don't think properly about what it is they're exposing themselves to? If they actually read what they were signing, it'd give some clues - I've seen the release form used for Borat, and there are reams of stuff about waiving the right to make legal claims. I'd think very seriously before signing such a document and agreeing to participate. Why didn't those racist fratboys? Hubris? Doesn't that make them a legitimate target?

It's a tricky area. But I have a great amount of respect for what Baron Cohen does, and the fact he does it with such intelligence and skill. It's worlds apart from a lot of trash exploitation TV.
Well said mate

[mbworkrelated]

Well here he is, being interviewed about Da Ali G Show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0b_lTEgICw

Seems like a very charming, clever, articulate man who knows exactly what he's doing in using his characters to expose the hubris and folly of those in public life who should know better.
I did say:
I have to say you have a point, i don't know him that well out of character.

Thanks for the link, he aint no Ricky Gervaise i suppose. I don't mind re-assesing my opinion of him.

Doesn't that make them a legitimate target?I can see your point to a certain degree, i just think he milks it. I accept some have better cases than others. Ofcourse you will find people like he did. I'm just looking at the aftermath. I don't care if they fully understood the release form. Do you think the people in that tiny little village in Romania understood the release form ?.
Maybe they fully appreciated he ''makes some serious sociological points about how people behave when they're put in front of a TV camera, their assumptions about others, and he has a knack of exposing people's core beliefs and prejudices'' .
I don't think he was doing anything like you say, in the front of that driving school car. he was just being a prick imho.
Who knew this would generate over $200million. Imho the release form never covered that level of exposure. To be fair you don't hear the majority of them moaning or suing him.
Imho
The Villagers Of Glod…and Dharma Arthur. Should be suing his ass off. Atleast it seems one is.


It's a tricky area. But I have a great amount of respect for what Baron Cohen does, and the fact he does it with such intelligence and skill. It's worlds apart from a lot of trash exploitation TV.
Even so, 'in character' imho he is acting like a prick. So he should imho pay the price when he is not in character. I'm not averse to people like him, i can see the charm. I just think he has done it far to long. So bugger him, i hope he gets a little bit of his smile wiped of his face.

[lithium]

Do you think the people in that tiny little village in Romania understood the release form ?.
...
I don't think he was doing anything like you say, in the front of that driving school car. he was just being a prick imho.How well did the driving instructor come off? He came off like a star - such a kind, generous man to someone he obviously just thought was a bit simple. Shows that what Borat does is provide a magnifying mirror to people's personality.

The Romanian villagers too - I ssumed they were in on the joke. They were not the butt of any of the jokes in any way. The story about them seems to have been deliberately stirred up by a British tabloid whose reporters went there to tell them they had been mocked - I don't believe they had in the slightest. They were exploited far more by the reporters who stirred up that story than they were by Baron Cohen.

Just for the record, repeating yourself verbatim doesn't really add anything to a debate :)

[fountains of nay]

Yeah man, the driving instructor dude was a legend.

[mbworkrelated]

How well did the driving instructor come off? He came off like a star - Shows that what Borat does is provide a magnifying mirror to people's personality. You justify his behaviour too much imho. I can see where you are coming from. Please tone it down a little though, it almost feels like you are being payed by the chap :) .
No doubt he [the instructor] maybe a little miffed, if he feels pissed off he has every right to be. I'm not sure how i would react, i suppose you would laugh it all off. Maybe i'm being oversensitive.

such a kind, generous man to someone he obviously just thought was a bit simple.I have read that 4 times, i still have no clue what you mean. Could you say it again in more simple language, just for me. Cheers.

The Romanian villagers too - I ssumed they were in on the joke. They were not the butt of any of the jokes in any way. The story about them seems to have been deliberately stirred up by a British tabloid whose reporters went there to tell them they had been mocked - I don't believe they had in the slightest. They were exploited far more by the reporters who stirred up that story than they were by Baron Cohen.We don't know if they were 'got at' by journalists. Unless you have a journalist from a tabloid underneath your bed ?. That might be a bit of wishful thinking on your part.

It does not matter if they were exploited after the the lawyers had petitioned to sue [i suspect they were]. That does not make the slightest bit of difference to the SBC case. If they wanted to sue the tabloids they could.

We shall have to see what the judge has to say about it.


Just for the record, repeating yourself verbatim doesn't really add anything to a debate :)
Fair comment. I would have just said something along the same lines. Don't see it has repetition. Just see it as me putting the same words in the same order, at a different time.:tongue:

I'm sorry if i'm not being completly fair. I just think he should be taken down a peg or two. As irratioanal as i might be, that is the simple truth.

[lithium]

We don't know if they were 'got at' by journalists. Unless you have a journalist from a tabloid underneath your bed ?. That might be a bit of wishful thinking on your part.

It does not matter if they were exploited after the the lawyers had petitioned to sue . That does not make the slightest bit of difference to the SBC case. If they wanted to sue the tabloids they could.

We shall have to see what the judge has to say about it. As far as I'm aware the case has been thrown out of court. It was the Daily Mail who sent reporters to Glod to inform them that they had been savagely mocked and exploited. I needn't really say more than that - read the story yourself - the lawsuit seems pretty obviously opportunistic and the tabloid story a set-up.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6168148.stm
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=415871
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glod%2C_D%C3%A2mbovi%C5%A3a


[i]"The Daily Mail claimed that the villagers were paid 15 lei (£3), or about 6 dollars a day each for their appearances and that they were told the film would be a documentary about the hardships of village life. According to 20th Century Fox, the movie’s nature was obvious to everyone since it included blatantly ridiculous scenes like one of a cow inside someone’s house"
...
"But a spokesman for the movie studio said Borat was "never presented to anyone in Romania as a documentary".
Village residents were paid above the usual rate and mixed with professional actors, Gregg Brilliant said.
"The village was used as a set to portray a fictional village in Kazakhstan. It was clearly a satire," he added."

[mbworkrelated]

....
I never knew it had been thrown out. It seems they will refile. Imho when better advised.

He said they said we said who said. The 'truth' is somewhere out there i'm sure.

The Mail article did not seem exploitative well no more that SBC imho. I think they may have had a twinkle in their eyes 'exposing the truth' and spun the story in a way only The Mail can. To be fair, their online editions sometimes seem to be not so bloody awful.

This about sums it up imho.

''No one from the 20th Century Fox studio was available for comment on the villagers' claims.''



''It is small comfort that few, if any, of them will get to see the Borat film. Not a single villager we spoke to had ever been able to afford a trip to the nearest cinema, 20 miles away.''



''Perhaps that's the real reason why film-makers chose Glod in the first place.''



However considerate SBC may or may not have been... i'll refer you back to my last comment, in my previouse post.

[fountains of nay]

Basically, it's been done now. Tough titty!

[mbworkrelated]

Basically, it's been done now. Tough titty!Very diplomatic of you. :rolleyes:

I await Borat 2.

[fountains of nay]

:)

ain't that toyah Battersby in your signature?

[mbworkrelated]

:)

ain't that toyah Battersby in your signature?Yes, once upon a time. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0852401/
Just been watching her in http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0813734/

[lithium]

Just been watching her in http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0813734/I started watching that... it was so shit, even the totty couldn't keep me watching! I preferred:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/images/bank/programmes_tv/drama/lilies/300kerrie_hayes.jpg
:eek:

[mbworkrelated]

I started watching that... it was so shit, even the totty couldn't keep me watching! I preferred:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/images/bank/programmes_tv/drama/lilies/300kerrie_hayes.jpg
:eek:
I don't think i will be watching it again. A bit to grim. I just saw her promoting it on The Paul O'Grady show. I'd forgoten what a sweetheart she was. Yeah sh is fairly pretty as well, but she looks about 14 [she is 19 http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/drama/lilies/whos_who.shtml]. No wonder you are going :eek:. :rolleyes:

I'm sure in about 3 days i will have got bored of her.

[lithium]

She told me she was 19 ... officer:policeman

[mbworkrelated]

She told me she was 19 ... officer:policeman
Thank fuck she IS 19. Or it would be 'clunk click you're nicked'.

Plus horribly castigated for the rest of your life [oh and a few teeth missing].