A Limey? I didn't think Borat looked very Kazakhi.
Posted on 11/11/2006 3:58:20 PM PST by Dumb_Ox
When Sacha Baron Cohen wanted a village to represent the impoverished Kazakh home of his character Borat, he found the perfect place in Glod: a remote mountain outpost with no sewerage or running water and where locals eke out meagre livings peddling scrap iron or working patches of land.
But now the villagers of this tiny, close-knit community have angrily accused the comedian of exploiting them, after discovering his new blockbuster film portrays them as a backward group of rapists, abortionists and prostitutes, who happily engage in casual incest.
They claim film-makers lied to them about the true nature of the project, which they believed would be a documentary about their hardship, rather than a comedy mocking their poverty and isolation.
Villagers say they were paid just £3 each for this humiliation, for a film that took around £27million at the worldwide box office in its first week of release.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
This guy's giving censorship a good name. Also note that the locals think he's an American, rather than a Brit.
Throw the Borat in the stocks, in the stocks...
I'd like to know if he told them he was American or if they just assumed it. Probably the latter but if it's the former, I'll just have go all out...registering my indignation on the internet.
Maybe it's just me, but I saw this Ali guy like 3 times on the tube and turned him off every time.
Somewhat insulting, vain, and had way, way too much of a sense that was he was saying or doing was riotously funny (which it wasn't).
Just like the dude from "The Office". Twisted paranoia trying to be humor. Woody Allen wannabees.
The US gets the worst PR in the world.
Not only is the whole point of film to humiliate Americans and reinforce the absolute worst stereotypes of Americans which ignorant Euros and others around the world will lap up with a ladle, but that a-hole Sasha Cohen left the impression with the Bulgarians that it was Americans doing the humiliating of them.
I saw the first four minutes of the film on youtube and it was very funny, but I don't know if I'm going to go see it. The Kazakhs have been a good ally, and they're quite civilized and advanced for a largely Muslim country. Flagrantly insulting them doesn't seem wise.
I used keyword and put in BORAT. Only this way did I catch your post. A silly question from me though..... Why does it go on general/chat? Just asking.
Someone commented that there is a difference between ridicule and satire.
He could have at least given that town some money...Looks like that will happen now, for PR sake at least. He'd be foolish not to make a big show of it as well.
To digress- what a tag line you have. Hope springs eternal. Thank heaven.
So where did they see the movie?
They had a trailer shown them by the Daily Mail newspaper. I believe it still is, as it was in my young days a somewhat "conservative" newspaper.
In the mean time, the villiagers could attack with pitchforks and torches, if they like.
The villagers are victims, because they thought they were going to be portrayed as victims, and they weren't.
Somebody needs to make it very clear to Kazakhstan, and everywhere else- that this jackass is NOT AMERICAN. We get enough bad worldwide press.
How much do we want to bet that this guy, and all the people involved with the film are to the left politically- Kindhearted, sensitive liberals, exploiting the poorest of the poor, not sharing any profits with them. The people in the village should sue. Maybe the UN, or someone, can help them?
I had no interest in this anyway.
Reminds me of Howard Stern -He thinks it's a laugh riot to make fun of people with developmental delays.
It's possible the villagers will have the last laugh. As of January 1st, Romanian district judges can put out EU bench warrants in civil cases.
All that's needed is a quick trial and judgement and Sasha Cohen could have to flee the EU or attempt a test case to prevent extradition to Romania.
That my friend, would be a pain in Sasha's a**holes.
Someone at FreeRepublic gave a link to that 4 minute video. I saw it too and did not think it was funny at all.
If the 4 minute segment is representative of the whole movie, it is exploitative and has disgusting humor. It lowers the bar on what is acceptable humor.
The truth about this movie needs to get out. Making fun of people is not funny.
NOT FUNNY and EXPLOITATIVE
"The villagers are victims, because they thought they were going to be portrayed as victims, and they weren't."
They were portrayed as sexual deviants. I'm sure they never agreed to that.
Romania has been depicted by the MSM after those dictators (whose name I cannot spell), as a human disaster. Those orphanages and all.
Meantime the unfortunate people in Africa are shown with all dignity and pathos. Indeed this is right! Funds are then demanded in some cases, which is fair. BORAT carefully picks his targets. As I mentioned to a Freeper elsewhere. I lived in England in the 1930's and 40's, I thought I knew what poverty was. Thank God, I and family are in North America.
Don't say that too loud, or else Alan Keyes and Bobby Barr might realize they've been had. They probably got humiliated for free.
I agree, to know he was going to profit from the people while seeing how poor they were should have caused him to help them out... at least a little bit.
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