[xcamel]

Borat is proof positive that America has been emasculated, brainwashed, cowed, politically corrected, sued, berated, and dumbed down to the point of almost needing a helmet and a drool cup to get from one day to the next.

[dfwgator]

What the viewer never knows is how much footage was shot of people who would not take the bait, or who demonstrated appropriate outrage at Borat's cultural suggestions.

You could say the same about any Michael Moore movie.

[Stone Mountain]

Geez, what a whiner. Lighten up, Francis...

[Prodigal Son]

Borat was hillarious. I went to see it with a few mates from work. Was totally unprepared for the 'fight scene'. At any rate, being the only American in the group, I was asked to explain some of the behaviour of the characters in the film. 'Are Americans really like that?' and that sort of thing.

It's been 16 years since I was in the States. I did my best to explain some of the things. I grew up around Pentacostals in middle Georgia (we called 'em the Holiness Church but it's the same thing). I grew up around people that spoke in tongues every Sunday but I had the very devil of a time explaining that one to my friends because I always thought it was a load of crap when I was younger and haven't changed that viewpoint yet.

People can get angry at Borat for 'cherry-picking' scenes of Americana but my life and home wasn't a matter of cherry picking- it was just the reality where I grew up.

One thing I couldn't explain to them was how Borat escaped alive after making a mockery of the National Anthem in Texas. He would have been shot in Georgia when I still lived there.

[bboop]

Sounds like he lifted the plot and interviews from Michael Moore's film.

[dano1]

Alex, thanks for posting this excellent article! IMHO, the following observation helps explain movies like Borat.

"The profligacy of the representations soon drove away sober people. The frivolous and dissolute who remained required every year stronger and stronger stimulants. Thus the artists corrupted the spectators, and the spectators the artists, till the turpitude of the drama became such as must astonish all who are not aware that extreme relaxation is the natural effect of extreme restraint, and that an age of hypocrisy is, in the regular course of things, followed by all age of impudence". Thomas Macaulay, 1871

[Texas Eagle]

This movie doesn't sound any more vulgar than a typical episode of South Park. I'm sure the same imbeciles who find South Park funny will find this movie funny.