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2020 UPCOMING MOVIES DISCUSSION


RIPPA

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I think reasonable people can delineate between a broad racial catch-all caricature like Mr. Yushioni from Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Borat, a character from a fictionalized kleptocratic country that’s designed as satire like Duck Soup. 

 

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The Borat character works because SBC uses a person's prejudices and anti-foreigner instincts against them. The subject is set at ease because this seeming buffoon is asking very dumb questions, and simultaneously setting up a trap.

I have no proof of this, but I'm pretty sure when he was doing this character on his original UK show, he was embarrassing members of the Labour party as well as the Conservatives. Right now, Cohen's personal leanings are very clear, and yeah, he's doing it to members of the right.  Though I could just as easily see someone on the left falling for it too. 

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When Cohen was doing Ali G, he went after both.  It just happens that he's aiming for the Right more these days (Hell,  since he hit the States period. )  I'm sure you could trap a bunch of people on the left just as easy, just no one with that ability actually does it.

 

 

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On the original Da Ali G Show (and the Eleven O'Clock show before it) he would have politicians of all stripes on. It's just that when he had Tony Benn on, even though the end result was funny, Tony Benn came off like a really great guy (which is the general consensus among people who knew him) and was himself really proud of the interview. To the point that he'd show it to people who hadn't seen it, even.

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44 minutes ago, odessasteps said:

Id think the Borat shtick (let's laugh at the foreigner) would be out of bounds in 2020, but since he's lampooning the right, its okay? 

This, like RDJ in Tropic Thunder, work because the joke is on the racism not on the people.  Borat doesn't work unless people are racist enough to fall for his shit.  

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3 minutes ago, supremebve said:

This, like RDJ in Tropic Thunder, work because the joke is on the racism not on the people.  Borat doesn't work unless people are racist enough to fall for his shit.  

Not to be pedantic here, but the right word is xenophobic. SBC never portrays a non-"white" character.

It's a subtle but important difference.

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1 minute ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

Not to be pedantic here, but the right word is xenophobic. SBC never portrays a non-"white" character.

It's a subtle but important difference.

Well noted, but the entire premise breaks down if the people don't believe that this absurd character is a real life person.  There is no way to fall for his shit unless you think people who are unlike you are so different than you that they may take a shit in a plastic bag and bring it to the dinner table.  Just think about that for a second.  Historically, when do you think that human beings realized that food and shit need to be separated?  The movie is based on people who don't realize that people from outside of the United States haven't realized that yet.  So yes, xenophobic is the right word, but I'd be willing to bet that these people wouldn't consider Borat white.

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All that said, I'm legitimately amazed he found enough people to fall for the act for a second movie. Maybe I'm wrong, but I was under the impression the first movie was a cultural phenomenon that damn near everyone was at least aware of, even if they hadn't seen it.

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4 hours ago, Brian Fowler said:

All that said, I'm legitimately amazed he found enough people to fall for the act for a second movie. Maybe I'm wrong, but I was under the impression the first movie was a cultural phenomenon that damn near everyone was at least aware of, even if they hadn't seen it.

You're giving a lot of credit to someone like Rudy Giuliani, man. I don't think a 60 something year old in 2007 would exactly be knowledgeable to what's popular at the time. I mean, maybe some people that old would be, but let's keep in mind we're talking about Rudy Giuliani.

In any case, Who Is America? was basically what Borat 2 is shaping up to be, except it didn't have the Borat character. Compared to the original Borat movie, I prefer the WIA? show a lot more. It was fucking absurd and fantastic.

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On 10/21/2020 at 7:35 AM, RIPPA said:

I mean at this point Universal would have been much better off just filming a performance of the musical and releasing that

We say that now that Hamilton's done it, but up until this year Broadway was like, "NO, NO FILMING, MUST BE LIVE STAGE". Maybe NOW they'll be willing to film it.

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The thing is, Hamilton was filmed back when the Original Cast was doing it specifically because Miranda intended to put it in movie theaters once the Stage exclusivity deal ran out.  

They haven't filmed Wicked as such, and since Broadway is closed until next year right now...

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I remember the arms race that was supposed to go on between Wicked and Oz the Great and Powerful where the studios were trying to get one produced before the other.  It was around the same time as the competing Snow White movies (unseen by me, but I’d probably lean toward watching the one directed by Tarsem if the mood ever strikes.) 

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15 minutes ago, Raziel said:

The thing is, Hamilton was filmed back when the Original Cast was doing it specifically because Miranda intended to put it in movie theaters once the Stage exclusivity deal ran out.  

They haven't filmed Wicked as such, and since Broadway is closed until next year right now...

Yeah I get it, but I don't think their decision was wrong to not  film it, regardless of the current circumstances.

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6 hours ago, Brian Fowler said:

All that said, I'm legitimately amazed he found enough people to fall for the act for a second movie. Maybe I'm wrong, but I was under the impression the first movie was a cultural phenomenon that damn near everyone was at least aware of, even if they hadn't seen it.

This is acknowledged in the film. He gets noticed by strangers on the street so he starts wearing a series of absurd disguises. 

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20 hours ago, (BP) said:

I think reasonable people can delineate between a broad racial catch-all caricature like Mr. Yushioni from Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Borat, a character from a fictionalized kleptocratic country that’s designed as satire like Duck Soup. 

 

Not to discount anything you said here, but Kazakhstan is a real country.

20 hours ago, Raziel said:

When Cohen was doing Ali G, he went after both.  It just happens that he's aiming for the Right more these days (Hell,  since he hit the States period. )  I'm sure you could trap a bunch of people on the left just as easy, just no one with that ability actually does it.

On of his characters on Who is America was a pretty fun piss-take on on the left.

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48 minutes ago, Technico Support said:

Not to discount anything you said here, but Kazakhstan is a real country.

This is where the satire element becomes complicated.

He portrays Kazakhstan(not just his character) as "hilariously" poor and outdated and very anti-Semitic. It's been a while since I watched it but there may have been inferences to incest. Can't remember. All of that is part of the fictionalized narrative of the film that exists outside of the "satirical" pranks on Americans.

So yes, American's perception of a foreigners is targeted here, but it seems clear to me that he's also not a big fan of Kazakhstan in general.

 

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