Respek
(Or: why Sacha Baron Cohen is a genius.) Sacha Baron Cohen is the chameleon-like British comedian best known for his HBO series Da Ali G Show. On the show, Cohen interviews unsuspecting people in the guise of three very unique, but equally maladroit, characters.
Ali G, the show’s namesake, is a wannabe gangsta/hip-hop journalist from the west-London “‘hood” of Staines. (The irony is that Staines is not exactly the ‘hood, but rather an upper-middleclass London suburb.) Ali G regularly interviews people who have held prominent positions in American politics and culture, including John McCain, Sam Donaldson, and Donald Trump, usually making them feel extremely awkward and leaving them extremely confused. At his core, the Ali G character is an idiot, who conducts his interviews under the premise that he is connected to youth culture and that he understands how to communicate with them. To that it extent, it is amazing how patient some of the interviewees are with SBC since by being interviewed they believe they are reaching a demographic that is largely beyond their reach.
Brüno is a flamboyantly gay reporter from Austrian television, whose topics include fashion, celebrities, entertainment, and homosexuality. The Brüno segments often leave you in a state of disbelief about 1) how apparently stupid and clueless his interviewees (often members of the fashion cognescenti) are, 2) how easily they are manipulated into agreeing with outrageous statements, like boarding all the unfashionable people of the world onto trains and shipping them off to camps, and 3) how quick some people are to change their opinions (sometimes prompted by Brüno, who informs them that their stance is not what his viewers will agree with; and sometimes purely out of their own airheadedness).
Borat Sagdiyev is an awkward and bumbling Kazakhstani journalist sent to report on American activities and culture to his home country. Unlike Ali G and Brüno, who mostly interview famed or influential members of society, Borat instead mingles with regular (and quite unsuspecting) American people. And unlike Ali G and Brüno, people generally embrace Borat because of his sincere desire to understand America. The humor with Borat comes from his sincerity. He often extolls his “cultural” beliefs, which arise out of racism and misogyny, putting his guests in awkward situations but at the same time putting them at ease, which in turn facilitates their voicing of their own prejudices and hypocrisies.
It’s hard to believe that the same person portrays all three characters. They are each so believable (and ridiculous) that it’s easy to take what Cohen is doing for granted. But SBC is a comedic virtuoso in full command of all his facets and well aware of what he is up to. Robert Siegel did an interview with him in 2004. (It’s interesting to hear Cohen in his own voice, which most closely resembles Ali G.) If people haven’t heard of SBC yet, they will soon. His new movie, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, opens on November 3.
(N.B. For those who have seen the show, I’ve actually been to the gym that Borat visits in South Beach in S1. I used to go there when I had performances with the New World Symphony.)