The concept of lulling unsuspecting locals into a false sense of confidence so that they will reveal their innermost prejudices may sound cruel and potentially humiliating for all involved, but the movie has been very well received in America, debuting at number one and managing to keep the top spot for the following week as well. Take for example the man working at a rodeo who, trusting the seemingly simple foreigner, tells Borat that America is currently working on making it acceptable to “string up” homosexuals. Because Borat is new to America and knows nothing of American decorum or tradition, he unwittingly does and says things to the locals along his path that both infuriate them and end up making them look like horrible people. Perhaps years filled with American Pie’s and Scary Movie’s, capped by the summer of raunchy sex farces (like Wedding Crashers and The 40-Year-Old Virgin) have made it hard for me to be shocked and appalled by anything, even the scene of a hairy naked man wrestling a fat naked man, which constitutes the climax of the Borat movie.įor those who have not seen the movie (or read every article written about it) the idea is as follows: a journalist from Kazakhstan named Borat drives an ice cream truck across America, hoping to meet the woman of his dreams, Pamela Anderson.
Perhaps I have been desensitized to bodily functions and nudity, especially when they are presented in the name of comedy. My disappointment made me think about my extensive exposure to vulgar comedy and the nature of comedy in America. It was not nearly as outrageous or offensive as I felt all those articles had promised it would be. When I finally got to see the movie, I was disappointed at my lack of disgust and horror. I imagined sitting low in my theatre seat, covering my eyes, horrified by the displays on the screen. Based on reviews and articles I had read about the new faux documentary Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, I expected that when I actually saw it, I would be disgusted.
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