How Borat reveals American bigotry and foreign policy double standards.But as Borat tries to make sense of American customs, he unveils some intense prejudices. Borat, who first surfaced on Baron Cohen’s popular television program “Da Ali G Show,” is surprised to learn that American women can vote and claims that it is harder to marry in the United States because “you can’t go to her father’s house and swap her for 15 gallons of insecticide.” He is also virulently racist and often asks if gypsies or “chocolate faces” are granted entrance to selective social functions. Borat is best known, however, for his anti-Semitism, which creeps up in virtually every interview. During a segment at a karate class, Borat forces the instructor to teach him tactics he can employ to ward off the dangerous “Jew Claw.”
Although amusing for his slapstick antics, Baron Cohen’s blundering brainchild has a more profound aim. Borat examines how the anti-Semitism, racism, sexism and homophobia of Westerners are perpetuated, often through conformity rather than hatred. It makes sense Baron Cohen, who was raised by a Jewish mother of Iranian descent and a British father in London, would be sensitive to issues of discrimination. As a youth, Baron Cohen joined Habonim Dror, a socialist, Zionist youth organization whose aim is to “upbuild the State of Israel as a progressive, egalitarian, cooperative society, at peace with its neighbors.” He later attended Cambridge University, where he studied history and focused on Jewish and black relations during the U.S. Civil Rights Movement.
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During one sketch, Borat partakes in a wine tasting with two white gentlemen from Mississippi. When a black wine steward refills their drinks, Borat asks “he is your slave?” “No, he’s not a slave at all,” replies the white man. “We don’t have slaves down here any more … which is a good thing for them.” “But not so much for you,” Borat quips. “Right, right,” utters the Mississippian....
Yet Kazakhstan maintains a pitiful record of democracy and human rights. According to the U.S. State Department, the Kazakh government restricts women’s rights, workers’ rights, freedom of the press and freedom of assembly.
http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2877/
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