I haven't seen "Borat" and don't intend to, so judge my remarks about it accordingly. I'm squeamish about that kind of humor, which sets out to deliberately deceive people, then invites the rest of us to laugh at the fools who have been duped. Apparently, I'm one of the few people who feel that way. The movie made $50 million in eight days and seems on track to be the highest-grossing comedy ever. It's being praised from those across the political spectrum; here's a conservative who liked it:
Of course in our modern era of political correctness this is a rare phenomenon, which makes Cohen all the more funny and startling. Compare him to the so much blander Comedy Central duo Stewart and Colbert. It's hard to imagine either of them with anything close to enough guts to do something as outrageous as the now famous nude wrestling scene in Borat. I also couldn't imagine them making a group of real life New York feminists seem like complete idiots. Cohen does the same thing later in the film with a right-wing rodeo rider as well. He is an equal opportunity destroyer. And we know they all deserve it.
They deserved it? I don't think so. We all behave foolishly now and then. If they deserved it, we do, too. I understand that cruelty is the foundation of much humor, which helps us rise above human weakness by lampooning it. And much of the humor is directed at specific individuals -- you won't to read very far back on this blog to find people I've made fun of. But this type of humor, based on inviting trust then violating it, seems over the top.
But maybe that's just me. I even felt uncomfortable while watching -- and laughing at, along with everyone else -- "Candid Camera."
