Jagshemash!

Cross-cultural humour is getting a total working-over by Borat, huh?



In reading this poor little article about Borat printed in the illustrious Globe and Mail, I was struck again by how curious it is that so many people still think Sacha Baron Cohen is making fun of Kazakhs, so much so that it's becoming an international "issue".

Here's a newsflash to the confused: he's making fun of US! North American and British ignorance about other cultures, our manners (or lack thereof), our hypocrisies.

If anything was right in the world, it would be North Americans and Brits feeling put on the spot and embarrassed, not Kazakhs. Why, for example, do we focus on the satirical anti-Semitism and outrageous sexism of Borat (which I find darkly hilarious), and not on the genuine anti-Semitism and sexism of some of the people he catches off guard?

Exhibit A:


Trailer for the movie:

UPDATE: My dad thought that the first clip was so awful that it had to be staged, and figured the line about shooting an animal that was already extinct was the giveaway. I don't think it was staged.