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Saturday, March 03, 2007

On Borat

On the back cover of the Borat DVD that I purchased yesterday, it says the following:

‘In the movie theater, you couldn’t even hear all of the jokes because the audience was choking from hysterical laughter. People choked on their popcorn and slid off their seats onto the floor. If you don’t find this movie funny, take out a drill and drill a hole in your head.’

Unfortunately, I don’t have a drill.

I decided to watch this movie to see what all the bustle was about – to see why Russia banned it from the silver screen. I got my answer loud and clear. The first emotion I felt during and after the movie was disappointment in all of the people who raved about this film. Those of you who said that my political correctness and overactive cultural sensitivity would clash with this movie were absolutely right. I saw nothing funny about it.

I understand that the message of the movie was less about Kazakhstan than about America – a parody on Americans and the way they bask in the rays of their cultural ignorance. However, for an overwhelming majority of Americans, this film put Kazakhstan on the map and sprouted a bouquet of stereotypes that even the most backward Texan couldn’t have dreamt up. In a time when cultural misunderstanding leads to atrocities all over the world, Sasha Cohen has defaced an entire people and nation in a base, primitive film that says more about his personal neurosis than about any of the peoples he managed to stuff into this cinematographic abomination.

It is also interesting to note that none of the scenes of ‘Kazakhstan’ were actually filmed in Kazakhstan. The scenes of his hometown were filmed in Romania and the languages spoken ranged from Hebrew to Polish – Kazakh not included. Most of the scenes in the movie were not scripted. The only actors in the movie were Borat, his traveling companion and the black prostitute that he marries in the end. So being, everyone else was told that they were taking part in a documentary about an immigrant from somewhere in the former Soviet Union, and so they went into it the way one would go into a serious documentary and were shocked, upon seeing the film, that they had been tricked. The people who were filmed in Borat’s ‘hometown’ also claim that they had been lied to about the nature of the film.

Nonetheless, the entire time, I couldn’t help but feel a sharp pain in my chest for the people of Kazakhstan, who in this film are portrayed as dirty, mentally handicapped, incestuous, godless, fascist cave people capable only of defecating and masturbating. A friend of mine said that Americans already think this way and that this film would not affect their net perception of the peoples of the Newly Independent States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union. I have to disagree. Although it is clear that the absurdity of the image that Cohen has created for the Kazakh people is intended to testify to how ridiculous cultural stereotypes can be, for people who have never been to or heard of Kazakhstan, this film becomes their reference point, even if only on a subconscious level. I have no doubt that upon meeting a Kazakh person, every young American who has seen this film will immediately pull Borat out of the thin rolodexes of their cultural records. The association has been made.

I will admit that what the film does do is bring to the table the ignorance of the West about Eastern Europe and Central Asia. But the problem is that this kind of film can only have the effect intended by Cohen on people who understand the ludicrousy of the assertions made about the Kazakh people. But when such humor aims to reach a public that has no real knowledge about the culture to fall back on, jokes begin to cross the line that separates comedy from bigotry.

I am aware of the fact that I sound like an old lady who has just awoken from a 30-year comma, but I am truly disappointed that this film has gotten such raving reviews. I can have no faith in a society that has so loudly lauded a film that has, in my mind, committed outright culturecide.

11 Comments:

Blogger A said...

I dunno, I have to say that I don't agree with you on some points. I saw the movie, and I found it funny, because ignorance exists, and our options are to ignore it, laugh about it or cry, choosing to laugh makes more sense. I don't like that the Romanian village was not compensated more, and that they were not informed of the nature of the film, but this will bring them revenue. As far as creating a stereotype in someone's mind, that someone would have to be completely ignorant... the point of the movie is to show that. Kazakhstan will not suffer from this movie, I think they will receive more tourism, and people may actually have curiosity towards this formally unknown nation. All in all Cohen presented a grotesque example of what ignorance allows, and if in the end at least one person thinks about it, well the movie did something good.

11:35 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wait... If you bash people because they make fun of other cultures, because of what they believe, you're just as self-centered as they are :)

Best wishes,
Daniel.

11:29 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Some Kazakh bashing :)

I had some suspictions about the actual Kazakh lifestyle from talking to my mother about her time in Asia. However, I wasn't sure which cultures she was talking about specifically - although Kazakhs, Tajiks, Turkmens etc. might seem similar to us, these are certainly distinct cultures. Of couse, even then I was pretty certain that neither of these is more developed than Tatars in my homeland (who are by no means very developed), but I decided to ask her again.

She affirmed what I thought: if Borat created a false impression of actual Kazakh lifestyle, it was in the direction of showing Kazakhs as more developed than they actually are. Of course, there are a lot of educated Kazakhs, Kazakhstan has several large cities, some heavy industry and spacecraft, there is even a pretty good Kazakh poet - but all this is predominantly Russian in origin. The spoken language in the cities is Russian (the poet writes in Russian as well), the industry was built and staffed by Russians, and I assume Kazakh genes is the main native thing about educated Kazakhs, same as with Tatars.

As for the actual Kazakh culture that still dominates the area outside the cities, here's some facts:

Lifestyle - The village shown in Borat wasn't right. Kazakhs are nomads, they leave in family groups of about 5-20 people that continually move with their herds, using large tents for homes.

Hygiene - Well, Kazakhs pretty much never take a bath. Not just for lack of water, either - steppe isn't a desert, streams can be found.

Defecating in open sight, on the other hand, is really quite practical - you can't really erect a john every time you migrate to a new place. Plus they do it without taking their robes off, I think, so you can't see anything anyway.

And by the way, about not taking the robes of - they don't throw away old dirty clothes as those start to fall apart, they simply put new ones on top of them. Pieces of old clothing sometimes fall from under the layers.

After reading this, you would be surprised that they do wash dishes, albeit by having the dogs lick them clean.

Let's not even go into education, cruelty to animals, and women's rights topics :). Borat would be considered quite a liberal by almost any indigenous culture in Asia.

As for racism, there Borat really does portray kazakh people as more racist than they are. Of course, almost anywhere outside the cities in Soviet Asia you can be humiliated and robbed, possibly beaten or tortured, and maybe killed, sometimes even by cops, but they won't ask for your national identity - not being a member of their clan is all that matters.

However, I'd like to mention that Kazakhs are really much nicer than Tajiks and some highlanders in the area, and although uncivilized can be considered quite tolerant and peaceful by comparison :)

6:52 PM  
Blogger Amanda said...

I wholeheartedly agree with what Asya said.
I think you have grossly underestimated the average person's ability to understand that the portrayal of Kazakhs is beyond ludicrous.

8:01 PM  
Blogger Liza said...

In response to Amanda's comment, I understand where you're coming from, but if you read the response left by Danilla, it makes you wonder...

12:26 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Liza, I couldn't even watch the entire movie without wondering...what are they trying to say with this? I didn't find it funny whatsoever and I'm glad I didn't buy the movie...If I had...I would've asked for my money back. I completely back you 100% as to how degrading the movie actually was.

2:20 PM  
Blogger Liza said...

Email I got from my friend Keeley:

Lizka,
Reading your blog put chills down my arms and hot, shallow tears in my eyes. Firstly, you're a natural-born writer, secondly- I thought I was the only one who felt that way. I was disgusted by the way different cultural groups were stereotyped. I think the most despicable and distasteful scene, personally, was Borat's depiction of the wonderful couple at the bed and breakfast.
The movie did highlight America's own ridiculous cultural views- the rodeos, underwear showing, pamela's breasts, frat-boy road trips; but that was something that the people here turned around and applauded. I was disgusted with myself, with the movie, and with the company that I was with who loved it, and said, "Yeah, that's really the way it is over there." Like they have any clue.
Thank you for being the one that placed it in the base light it belongs. I really appreciate your words. I seriously felt like I was the only one. It was hard dealing with that living over here.

Love ya,
Keeley

5:24 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I guess here's the point I'm trying to make:

To many Americans, being racist is the worst crime possible (which, paradoxically, makes them appear a lot more racist cause they pay far too much attention to your race).

However, being racist means that you have something against a particular SKIN COLOR, not culture or belief system.

Being against some cultures or belief systems, on the other hand, is easily justifiable - after all, some of them justify eating people (some South American natives), stealing everything that isn't nailed down (gypsies), or killing various outgroups (skinheads, nazis, crusaders, etc).

Therefore, while it's not logical to believe that any and all Kazakhs (or, say, blacks) are inherently inferior, it's perfectly okay to believe something more specific, like:

Kazakhs that were brought up in a village environment in a 1920-1989 time period tend to be stupid and filthy (from an average American's point of view). They'd probably think the same about Americans though.

2:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

3:46 AM  
Blogger Павловский Арсений said...

Лиза!
продолжай писать!)
в твоей жизни по прежнему много удивительного!))

6:53 AM  
Blogger Liza said...

Thank you so much for your comment...that's very nice of you :) Do I know you? If you are interested in reading more there are some more posts on another blog I started called http://lizaintheworld.blogspot.com. Thanks for reading!
Liza

2:51 PM  

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