Borat: Unconventional or a Way of Life?
by Lauren Strupp
Neil Postman wrote in 1985 about how society is becoming more and more focused on “amusing ourselves to death.” Everything is meant to entertain, rather than be of any substantial content. After the release of Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, I’m beginning to see where he was coming from.
Sacha Baron Cohen stars in a completely outlandish story of Borat’s travels to the United States to learn and absorb American culture. While the film is utterly hilarious while Borat searches for Pamela Anderson to make the “love explosion” and several punchlines stereotyping gays and Borat’s prostitute sister, it is meant to amuse rather than inform. While Borat is terrified of homosexuals, he engages in his homeland country’s tradition of men kissing each other and wrestling in the nude. The film is held together by a very slim plot because that’s not what the film is about. We are not meant to think and reflect while watching, but to laugh out loud instead.
As a broadcast journalism student studying how the networks and companies have changed the content and ways of broadcasting, it is clear that we have moved away from the time of Edward R. Murrow and Cary Grant films towards one of inappropriate and politically incorrect humor. While production companies still promote thought provoking films such as the recent Martin Scorsese film, The Departed, rarely are they the films that bring in the big bucks. Money is important, but companies shouldn’t sacrifice quality for revenue. More often than not, it’s the Will Farrell films like Talladega Nights and Elf that are number one at the box office.
I am not discounting these films because they are entertaining; that is their purpose. However, it is still possible to be entertained while maintaining some sort of seriousness. But seriousness is not what we want and films are catering to that. Borat had become a way of life long before the film’s release. Shows like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report give us the news with a comedic twist. They are informative, yet still allow us to make fun of those running the country, specifically George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Borat uses the success of these shows to catapult itself into the mainstream.
The film wasn’t expected to be a huge hit. In its first screenings, it wasn’t crowded at all. However, at later screenings people were being turned away because the buzz about it had been so widespread. This is what has become of American culture. Anything politically incorrect will bring crowds. But is this a bad thing? It’s good to let loose and laugh at life. Cohen exploits our desires to be entertained in his portrayal of a dimwitted and offensive man. One of Cohen’s memorable lines is when he makes fun of idiots. He describes how, like in Kazakhstan, the US has village idiots, but here they are called “frat boys” or “creepy old rednecks in cowboy hats.” This kind of humor is just that - humor. It’s not meant to be taken seriously, and as long as everyone who watches it remembers that, there shouldn’t be a problem.
While Borat is unconventional in its structure and style of humor, it plays off our desire to see it. We want entertainment, laughter, and amusement. Postman must have been clairvoyant in the 1980s because what he predicted was exactly what happened. We are superficial, grotesque, and inappropriate, and that’s how we like it. Carpe diem, but make sure you’re laughing when you do, otherwise Borat will be very disappointed. And if you haven’t seen the film yet, you should definitely put it on your to-do list.
