"Borat" does in fact expose the dark side of some key members of the Republican "Big Tent", so it isn't surprising some FReepers would hate it. I wouldn't call the movie PC, exactly. The only major PC-like fault I see is the total avoidance of mentioning Islam - a major force in Central Asia. It seems that a real Kazakh TV reporter would have a few choice things to say about Muslims as well as Jews.
I concede. You made several great points. My PC comment was a bit flippant and off the cuff and you hit that soft ball out of the park. With respect to the participation of the 'actors' as the defining point as to whether this is deemed offensive or merely a crass comedy, I'll have to see the movie. From the excerpts and the comments from friends I'm not necessarily buying the duped victim bit as yet.
I haven't seen the film, but I have seen plenty of Ali G shows on HBO, and I find Borat tends to give those with an inclination to hang themselves the rope to do just that. You can't blame Sacha Baron Cohen/Borat for exposing people as racists, anti-Semites, or idiots (or all three) if they, in fact, behave like racists, anti-Semites, or idiots.
I disagree. Anyone who has seen the movie will admit that he was an equal opportunity offender. One of the funniest scenes in the whole movie is when he interviews a bunch of women from a left wing feminist group - that's certainly not a favored target of the PC crowd.
You're right that he also went after the "Joe Six-Pack" crowd...but what group didn't he go after?
The real point of Borat, and the reason why it is so un-PC, is that he's making fun of the worship of "multi-culturalism" in the United States. Think about it. He knows that most Americans are so afraid of "offending" somebody that they'll even put up with and strive not to upset a crass, obnoxious, smelly, backwards Borat-style character simply because he's a foreigner from a different culture.
This came to light very clearly in the scene at the fancy dinner where Borat was being completely obnoxious and absurd. He got up and left the table, and the lady sitting next to him started talking about how wonderful it was to experience all of Borat's multi-culturalism (a few minutes later the same multi-cultural Borat returned to the table with a bag of poop in his hand). It was all a gag to show just how ridiculous and profane Borat could be as these multi-cultural worshipping fools bent over backwards for him - not only to avoid offending him, but even to go so far as to praise celebrate his "cultural differences" with a compliment.
It's the heart of cultural relativism that Borat striking at, and that's why its so funny and so non-PC. As for the people in the film, none of them would've cared if it wasn't making money. Introduce money into the picture and all of and suddenly even gypsies living in dirt shacks have an attorney seeking his slice of the pie.