We can learn a lot from Borat

Europeans have held a fascination with our country ever since the American Revolution. French aristocrat and social critic Alexis de Tocqueville traveled the United States in the 1830s to study this relatively new nation and its people. His resulting work Democracy in America is still one of the most cited books in the American media. De Tocqueville’s effort has been duplicated by his own countrymen; first by philosopher and feminist Simone de Beauvoir )America Day by Day ) and more recently by philopher and self-appointed American expert, Bernard-Henri Levy's American Vertigo: In the footsteps of de Tocqueville.

Sascha Baron Cohen (aka Ali G, Borat, and Bruno) is certainly no philosopher , but his latest movie Borat should make us take a really long look in the mirror at ourselves. The film is shot in “man in the street” style with Cohen posing as Borat an offensive and racist journalist from Kazakhstan. The film audience is treated to interviews with Americans who either actively or passively participate in the character Borat’s racist comments. The footage is largely from the southern red state region and viewers are treated to suggestions on what to do with homosexuals, college frat boys upset over the fact that we no longer have slaves, and helpful hints on which gun might be best to kill jews.

Borat is a catalyst for a lot of racism in the film. The character’s anti-semitism (Cohen is Jewish) is a recurring theme throughout the movie. While not all of the people he encounters participate in the racism none of them challenge his views. There could be many explanations for this, but most likely they are being polite and non-conforntational (and of course editing the hundreds of hours of video). Nevertheless, the movie sheds some uncomfortable light onto American bigotry and Borat is able to bring that racism out of the parlor and onto the street.

Recommended reading: This Purdue Phd candidate took her class to see the film.