[stm]

Borat is an absolute scream. That movie was one of the funniest I have ever seen.

[Hildy]

We finally saw it last week. We rented it in a hotel room. We turned it off in about 25 minutes. I'm sorry, I didn't find it funny, outrageous? yes. Funny. No.

I was sad. I was sad that this is what people find humorous today.

[whitedog57]

Thanks for the lecture. If you believe in the freedom that our country bestows, Cohen et al want to demean us "expose our prejudice."

I really detest being lumped in with everyone else. Isn't that stereotyping and bigotry?

Oh, I forgot. He is a socialist. Its therefore OK to be bigoted and stereotype everyone - because its in "a good cause."

[Sherman Logan]

But one remark which was recently posted openly (on FR) to me stands out in my mind: "I value the lives of American servicemen much more than innocent Israelis who die from terrorism."

My open response in that forum was that the remark was racist. It was not American. It was not Israeli. It was plainly anti-Semitic.

The man is an idiot. The poster he considers anti-semitic might equally well value American soldiers' lives over the lives of Brits, Argentinians, and Rwandans, indeed over anybody not American.

[lesser_satan]

bump for later

[Damifino]

...he fired one warning shot in the air, which apparently hit two of the mob, later resulting in the death of one.

I think there may be an incongruity here... I'm just able to sort it out. Is there a 3 year-old in the crowd that can help a writer out?

[Cinnamon Girl]

Why is so much information repeated in this too long article?

My impression of Cohen is that, like Howard Stern, he has contempt for society and his audience.

[DManA]

Thanks so much for that. Can't have too many buckets of slime poured on our heads. But you know Cohen, there are 300 million people in this country so finding some who believes any stupid thing you can think of isn't all that difficult. Putz.

But Cohen's true agenda was to unmask American arrogance, ignorance and prejudice.

[ChurtleDawg]

Baron Cohen is a genius

[A. Pole]

Glod, Romania: a remote mountain outpost with no sewerage or running water

And the inhabitants are not ethnic Romanians - they are Gypsy/Roma.

[rogue yam]

I hated Borat. I didn't even respect SBC's acting. The whole thing came off as amaturish, unintelligent, and very very ugly. SBC is an anti-American, anti-gentile, money-grubbing jerk. I'd rather break bread with any randomly selected Kazakstani than with him.

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

High volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel, WOT

..................

Recently this writer posted a story on one of America's finest and most respected Conservative Internet forums - FreeRepublic. Thousands of fine minds, caring Christian and Jewish souls who support democracy, free speech and Israel debate there on a daily basis. But one remark which was recently posted openly to me stands out in my mind: "I value the lives of American servicemen much more than innocent Israelis who die from terrorism."

My open response in that forum was that the remark was racist. It was not American. It was not Israeli. It was plainly anti-Semitic.

And this is what the unsophisticated, dimwitted, boorish, sexually obsessed Borat is all about. Of those who are truly anti-Semitic, most practice their hate in silence. Borat gets these same people to come out of the closet and then has the world view them as they are. So when Borat makes a visit to a gun shop in the US where he asks the proprietor, "What is best gun to defend against Jew?" we examine the response, we laugh at it and as a civilized society we correct it through education.

Unfortunately the Freeper statement lacks context. Since American soldiers aren't dying anywhere to protect innocent Israeli civilians, I suspect there was none.

[marron]

His reference to Free Republic is pretty dishonest. FR is a hotbed of pro-Israel sentiment. He chose to mostly ignore that, or give it short shrift.

Cohen's humor is always at someone else's expense. He finds someone who is too dim to realize he's being made fun of, or too nice to tell Cohen to take a hike, and he makes fun of them. I've seen several of his routines, in which the other person is trying mightily to be nice despite Cohen's boorishness.

Cohen, and Leyden, seem to think Cohen is exposing our prejudices. I see him projecting his prejudices onto others. It doesn't take a lot of courage to make fun of people who are trying to make you welcome.

[rmlew]

Recently this writer posted a story on one of America's finest and most respected Conservative Internet forums - FreeRepublic. Thousands of fine minds, caring Christian and Jewish souls who support democracy, free speech and Israel debate there on a daily basis. But one remark which was recently posted openly to me stands out in my mind: "I value the lives of American servicemen much more than innocent Israelis who die from terrorism."

What is wrong about caring about your countrymen more than foreigners?

[Lijahsbubbe]

I saw the movie. I laughed and was also repulsed at certain points.

There's nothing new under the sun and this movie was far from genius.

It's just the latest take on poop jokes, making fun of ethnicities and cultures and pushing the envelope.

I don't think it's substantial enough to even review.
It's like having an intellectual discussion about "Jackass".

[elhombrelibre]

I'll offer a couple of observations. I saw the movie and actually laughed once, I think. The rest of it was not very funny. Most of it was condescendingly contemptuous of Americans who were either too kind to chastise Borat, or were indeed equally boorish (I'm thinking of the drunken college kids whose tirades about minorities and women were clearly indecent). "Borat" did make anti-Semitic remarks in the movie that I would have scolded him for, but a lot of Americans don't make it their habit or duty to denounce strangers about their opinions regardless of how egregiously bigoted the opinion is. I suppose they're just too genteel. I also agree with a few other comments on this thread that Southerners were one of the biggest targets he was after. As for me, this type of stereotyping is just an example that no matter how educated someone is he can still be unsophisticated. Southerners as individuals are every bit as decent and kind as any other people you'll ever meet, but apparently Borat (Cohen, I should say) is so stupid he thinks they're all covert members of the KKK.

As for the the author's opinion above about Freerepublic, I really think one example of one person's opinion offered on one occasion here on Freerepublic isn't in any way an accurate assessment of this site. The author seems to know that, yet uses the example. Real bigots on Freerepublic are rare as far as I know. I've been reading and posting here since 1998. Anyone who posts here is required to defend his ideas or retreat. Anti-Semitism, like any other idiotic or immoral idea, is not going to go unchallenged. As for valuing Americans dying in Iraq versus Israeli civilians, that's one of those worthless types of discussion. Neither death is less important. I'm reminded of people who want to say the mass murder in Ukraine was worse than the Holocaust, or some other mass murder was worse than some other. What do we gain when we minimize the suffering of any of the victims in these situations? It's pointless to talk of such things, and victim hood is not a contest to be won. The survivors can hardly take any comfort in coming in first in the worst case contest.

[Tribune7]

he fired one warning shot in the air, which apparently hit two of the mob, later resulting in the death of one.

That sounds like a Kazakh warning shot.

[Peter Libra]

I saw a documentary this evening on the tragic state of Romanians who have to live in the shadow of great poluting plants. The sickness and the infant rate of disability. The Communists are blamed for their utter contempt of filtering devices. Their rotten system cared much less about health of workers than the capitalistic system. If Romania is to join the European Union it is going to have to right this horrible mess.

I concede this is to digress.

I saw the people of Glod,Romania where Borat was filmed. I see a television promo for charitable funds-Foster Parents. It is for South America. Heart rending conditions for decent poor people. Americans and Canadians trying to help.

I have a hundred dollars for any fund for such people as the people in Glod,Romania. I am from the same county as Cohen. I am glad I emigrated. I thank the good Lord, I do care about poor abused people.

Nice to be such an old fool.

[jordan8]

But Cohen's true agenda was to unmask American arrogance, ignorance and prejudice.

Get it, morons? You almost have to laugh at the stupidity of clueless conservatives who embrace this sort of poisonous attack on their own society.

[Fester Chugabrew]

This article presents waaaay too much pontification over a film that is simply hilarious. I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time, and yes, Borat pokes fun at things over which I am sensitive. Something to offend everybody.

At the same time I appreciate the more genteel folks in our midst who do not have it in themselves to stomach the raw (and I mean RAW!) humor. I happen to have a very thick skin and am not easily offended. I should not expect that of everyone else. Life would be like Borat's wife if it were so.