ANTI-SEMITISM: LESS FUNNY AT THE MOVIES?

[oberliner]

THE MOVIE "Borat," which opened on Friday, had me and the rest of the audience laughing hysterically from beginning to end. But I must admit I had trouble laughing at some parts in the middle.

<snip>

A crowd of people runs down a street, shrieking, followed by an enormous head with a huge hooked nose that must be 6 feet long. Then comes "Mrs. Jew," who lays a big egg that is then hacked to pieces by the crowd.

All around me, people were howling. I was feeling a bit uneasy.

<snip>

So I know anti-Semitism can be funny... when I'm at home. In the theater, with an audience including non-Jews, it was different. I didn't know whether they were laughing with me, at anti-Semitism - or at Jews, or me?

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/opinion/15940410.htm

[Schema Thing]

1. clue: the movie Borat is absolutely NOT anti-semitic

who knows what they were laughing at, but the joke was on anti-semitism, and I'd wager the majority got the joke.

[YOY]

5. Money says the OP doesn't know that the creator of Borat is Jewish

Sasha Baron Cohen...One incredibly talented comedic genius.

And anyone who doesn't realize that the character who is an antisemite is a horses ass and a metaphor for all such people.

[LTR]

13. Cohen is very devoutly Jewish

His fiance is even converting.

[YOY]

14. So I have heard...his father runs a Haberdashery in Piccadilly as well.

The man's ridiculement of ignorance is phenomenal.

[w13rd0]

2. I know...

...it's a quandry for me. I've known antisemites who love the act, and seem baffled when I ask them if they realize Mr. Cohen is making fun of their bigotry. Some people are too stupid for satire.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

3. As Someone Of Mixed Parentage Sasha Baron Cohen Is Hilarious...

eom

[gulfcoastliberal]

4. When I went, the audince didn't really laugh at the Pentecoastal church

crazies...

But I did.

[kurth]

6. Most people don't even know the "foreign" language is Hebrew

Most of the "Kazakh" dialog in the film is the actor speaking Hebrew, as the actor speaks Hebrew fluently and uses this language around unfamiliar Americans when keeping up his character's foreignness.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borat

[ecstatic]

7. Reminds me of when I went to see "Bringing Down The House" starring Queen Latifah & Steve Martin

I went to see it at Phipps Plaza in the Buckhead area of Atlanta, Georgia. The audience (at least when I went) was mostly older, white, and wealthy.

Anyway, I found the movie to be very offensive--it played to just about every single racial stereotype. The most offensive parts were met with enormous roars of laughter from the audience.

I haven't seen "Borat," but I can see how the lines get blurred when you begin wondering WHAT EXACTLY someone finds so funny about a certain scene. Are people really laughing at the satire, or is it something more sinister?

[Lurking Dem]

10. That's it exactly.

I laughed hysterically at Throw the Jew Down the Well. Damn it was funny! But I still felt uncomfortable with how easily Borat got the crowd to go along. Maybe because I am a Jew in the South.

But it's not what Borat himself is doing that is troubling. I KNOW what he is doing and he cracks me up. It's what he so easily gets other people to do that can get uncomfortable.

[trumad]

11. It depends if you're in a theater with a bunch of Morans

or a theater of folks who get it.

But folks calling Sasha a bigot are clueless.

[jannyk]

8. It's up to you

No-one else can tell you what to find funny. The scene you describe must have more to it because it doesn't sound funny at all - sounds inane.

Can Jewish jokes be funny - yes, hysterical. Can black racist jokes be funny? Well, I always found Richard Prior laugh out loud funny. John Stewart is jewish and he makes self deprecating jokes. I am jewish and I found most clips of Borat very amusing. Baron-Cohen - the 'star' of Borat, is jewish - hence the 'Cohen'. We british use self deprecating humour far more than americans do.

[Ian David]

9. Everyone will laugh for a different reason, I suppose

Borat is ridiculing anti-semitism, but some will laugh with the anti-semites rather than at them.

There will always be some for whom the message gets lost.

For example, the movie "American History X" is supposed to be an anti-Nazi movie. But it's actually become a popular cult classic among the white supremacists.

Anyway, if you want to see a great example of Borat ridiculing anti-semitism, see:

YouTube - Borat - Throw the Jew Down the Well!!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb3IMTJjzfo

[ecstatic]

12. So are the patrons in the bar actors or is this a fake hidden cam situation? nt

[Ian David]

15. The patrons aren't in on the joke.

They think they're being filmed for something that's going to be on television in Kazakhstan.

Watch it again, and you'll see some patrons seem uncomfortable. Others have no problem with it.

See this DU Thread:

Who wants to have a Bar Mitzvah at Country West in Tucson, AZ
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=316x995

[fhqwhgads]

18. here in true-blue jersey...

...it was very clear that the very diverse crowd that packed the theatre got the joke. few moments got bigger laughs (and "who ARE these people?" reactions) than the pentecostal revival (or whatever it's called). there was a collective "oh my god" gasp at the old rodeo guy's anti-gay comments.

by the way, i actually managed to find an interview of sacha baron cohen out of character, on youtube. it's from letterman, maybe three or four years old. interesting stuff.

[applegrove]

16. The comedian himself is jewish. This is guerrilla type satire. I myself

will not see the movie as I can't take that type of humour. But he is laughing at blind anti-semitism and paranoia found in the middle east. I find it all too depressing to participate.

[WindRavenX]

17. It's not anti-semitic

Jesus christ :eyes:

That's like saying Dave Chapelle is racist-- both were satirists who were using ethnic/racial humor to illustrate the integrated racism and anti-semitism in America.

[Wonk]

19. In Deborah Leavy's ideal world, only Jewish people could watch that movie?

If you're not Jewish, you just might be laughing for the wrong reasons.

Oh my, I guess I should cancel my pre-order on the DVD then :/