Borat
Encyclopedia
Borat Sagdiyev (born February 27, 1972) is a satirical
fictional character
invented and performed by English
comedian
Sacha Baron Cohen
. He is presented as a Kazakhstani
journalist
and is the main protagonist
of the film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
.
Borat's humour derives from his mocking of society through outrageous sociocultural viewpoints, his violation of social taboos and his use of vulgar language and behaviour. Entertainment Weekly
put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "The Kazakhstani journalist gave us some of the most incisive cultural commentary ever filmed. That, and a wrestling match between butt-naked men. Something for everyone."
that Cohen presented in 1996–1997. He was given another run by Paramount Comedy 1
before being picked up by BBC Two
's Comedy Nation. This early version of Borat was nearly identical in looks and demeanor to his latest incarnation but was as yet unnamed. Initially, the character claimed to be from Albania
before ultimately settling on Kazakhstan
. The character remained dormant while Cohen concentrated on his Ali G
persona for Channel 4
's The 11 O'Clock Show. With the subsequent success of Ali G and the creation of Da Ali G Show
(also on Channel 4), Cohen regularly revisited his Borat character.
(who is also stated to be his paternal grandfather, uncle and former father-in-law until the demise of Oksana); he says his mother gave birth to him when she was nine years old. He has a thirteen-year-old son named Hooeylewis (believed by some to be a reference to Huey Lewis
), twelve-year-old twin
boys named Biram and Bilak, and seventeen grandchildren. He has a sister, Natalya (whom he has claimed at different times to be "the number four best prostitute
in Kazakhstan") and a younger brother, Bilo, who is mentally retarded and kept in a cage.
It is unknown how many times Borat has been married, after first having been betrothed to his half-sister's Plough while in his teens. One of his wives (Ludmilla) is said to have been shot by a hunter when he mistook her for a bear as she plowed the fields. His former wife, Oksana, is reported in the Borat film to have been attacked, "violated", and "broken" by a bear while taking his brother Bilo for a walk in the forest. Borat is not saddened by the tragedy; he thanks the man who brings him this "good news" by giving him a high five
and celebrates his new-found freedom by pursuing Pamela Anderson
and eventually reunites with and marries Luenell
, an American
prostitute he met while filming his documentary.
According to various in-character interviews with Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat attended Astana
University, where he studied English
, journalism
, and plague research. He created five new plagues which "killed over 5 million goats in Uzbekistan." Prior to his plague research, Borat worked as an ice maker, gypsy catcher, animal puller (one who produces semen from animals) and computer maintenance engineer (specifically, removing dead birds which had nested in the vents in the computers casing). He now works as a professional journalist and announcer on Kazakh television. This job "helps Borat and other Kazakhs express themselves in ways they otherwise would not have been able to do."
Although nominally pagan
for most of his life, sometimes remarking that his people "follow the hawk", in the film he attends a Pentecostal
church service and later converts his village neighbours to Christianity. Borat greatly admires the political views of Joseph Stalin
, and claims that both he and Stalin are strong men with powerful "khram" (genitals). He is strongly against women's rights
and was quite aghast upon learning of women's suffrage
(stating that government scientist Dr. Yarmulka says a woman has a brain the size of squirrel). He frequently comments that it (woman's suffrage) is like "a monkey driving a car" or "a monkey with a gun". In his spare time, he enjoys playing ping pong
, sunbathing
while clad in a lime green "mankini
", disco
dancing, spitting
, sitting on comfortable chairs, and taking pictures of women while they "make toilet". He also enjoys hunting Jews in his homeland. He is particularly fond of "mouth-party
" and "hand-party
" Borat also states that he "very much like Korky Butchek" who is a fictitious musician and sex which he likes to call "sexy time".
However, Kathleen Tracy states in her book Sacha Baron Cohen, the Unauthorized Biography: from Cambridge to Kazakhstan that the character Borat was never intended to be entirely consistent, meaning that incongruities in Borat's personal details can be noticed if they are examined closely.
Cohen retired Borat due to widespread recognition, and used Brüno
as his 'proper' alter-ego, but this character has also been retired.
).
The Borat segments on Da Ali G Show use the rock-rendition Russian folk tune "Korobeiniki
" as the theme song.
Five Borat sketches were shown, in the form of "Guides" to "Etiquette", Hunting, Cambridge
, Edinburgh
and Henley
. The "Guides" to "English Gentlemen", "Politics" and "Sport" were also filmed at this time but released at a later date as part of Ali G DVDs. The Cambridge sketch is the only major Borat material from this series not to have made it onto the compilation DVDs.
Six Borat sketches were shown in the form of "Guides" to "Dating",
"Etiquette", "Acting", "Men", "Baseballs" and "The (Deep) South". A "Guide to Animals" was filmed but released at a later date as part of an Ali G DVD. (Alyssa Greenfill was his co-star.)
Six Borat sketches were shown in the form of "Guides" to "Wine Tasting", "Politics", "Country Music", "Hobbies", "Buying a House" and "Jobs" (careers), with "Hunting" airing in the UK only.
as a Kazakhstani diplomat, in which he greets Cohen's other character Ali G
with a hug and kiss, but is rebuffed and accused of being a homosexual
"batty boy
", thus calls Ali G a "cocksucker".
Subtitled Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, the film Borat
is mockumentary
comedy. Most of those appearing in the film are not paid performers, but real people whom Borat met on his journey. The film was distributed by 20th Century Fox
, and directed by Larry Charles
. It premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival
, and was released across Europe on 2 November 2006 and North America on 3 November 2006.
The film follows Borat in his travels across the United States, as he commits cultural solecisms and exposes a few American ones. Over the course of the film, Borat falls in love with Pamela Anderson
after watching a rerun of Baywatch
, and vows to make her his wife.
The film opened at #1 in the U.S., taking in $26.4 million on a limited release of 837 screens during its first weekend, beating Fahrenheit 9/11
as the biggest opening weekend for a film released in fewer than 1,000 cinemas. Cohen celebrated the release of the film with a host of promotional in-character interviews. The film expanded its release on the second weekend to 2,566 screens, where it took in an additional $29 million.
In 2007, Cohen won a Golden Globe for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy". With a production budget of $18,000,000 the film has grossed $128,501,044 in the United States of America and another $128,848,505 internationally, for a worldwide gross of $257,349,549 by mid-March 2007.
character, will be retired. Borat's last appearances were at Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Event for Autism Education 2006 television special and an online public service announcement ahead of the 2008 United States elections.
is unfair and unjustified.
In August 2004, the Chief Rabbi
of Kazakhstan
, addressing an international religious conference in Brussels
, stated that in 10 years in the country he had never faced anti-Semitism
. He praised the Government of Kazakhstan for its treatment of the Jewish community.
On 19 October 2006, the BBC
reported that Kazakhstan's Deputy Foreign Minister, Rakhat Aliyev, had invited Cohen to visit Kazakhstan to see how inaccurate his portrayals were. In an interview, Aliyev asserted that:
. The scenes supposedly filmed in Borat's Kazakhstani village were actually filmed in an impoverished Roma village of Glod in Romania
. USA Today
reports that poverty
-stricken villagers were offered between $3.30 and $5.50 to bring animals into their houses and perform other acts some critics called humiliating. The studio contends that
participants were paid double the rate recommended by the Romanian film office for extras. The villagers (none of whom knew English) were told that they were being filmed for a documentary on village life and Cohen was a famous documentary host called Nicolae Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, which aroused suspicions among the villagers because the name sounded like a portmanteau of the names of the Romanian Communist leaders Nicolae Ceauşescu
and Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
.
Two villagers of Glod hired reparation
attorney Ed Fagan
to sue the makers of the film for $30 million for human rights
abuses. Fagan intended to submit lawsuits in New York
and Florida
state courts, as well as in Frankfurt, Germany. Fagan said that he hoped to "teach Hollywood a very expensive lesson." The lawsuit was thrown out by U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska in a hearing in early December 2006 on the ground that the charges were too vague to stand up in court. Fagan plans to refile.
but Baron Cohen, himself an Orthodox Jew, has explained that the segments are a "dramatic demonstration of how racism feeds on dumb conformity, as much as rabid bigotry
." "Borat essentially works a tool. By himself pretending to be anti-Semitic, he lets people lower their guard and expose their own prejudice," Baron Cohen explained to Rolling Stone
. Baron Cohen, the grandson of a Holocaust
survivor, says he wishes in particular to expose the role of indifference:
However, the Anti-Defamation League
, a U.S.-based group that “...combat[s] anti-Semitism and bigotry of all kinds”, complained to HBO after Borat performed his country western-style song "In My Country There Is Problem
". It called on people to "throw the Jew down the well", warning that 'you must be careful of his teeth' and that "you must grab him by his money", and was welcomed with applause and participation from some members of an audience in Tucson, Arizona
. The full chorus goes: "Throw the Jew down the well/So my country can be free/You must grab him by his horns/Then we have a big party." Regarding the enthusiastic response to "In My Country There Is Problem", he says, "Did it reveal that they were anti-Semitic? Perhaps. But maybe it just revealed that they were indifferent to anti-Semitism."
In another scene, Borat visits the Serengeti Range ranch in Texas
, where the owner of the ranch confides that he believes the Holocaust was a necessity for Germany
. He further implies that he would have no problem running a ranch where people can hunt, in Borat's words, "deer... then Jew."
An interview with James Broadwater, an evangelical Christian and Republican
candidate for the United States' Congress from Mississippi
, caused Broadwater to receive some hate email
s after an episode of Da Ali G Show aired in which Broadwater stated that all non-Christians (including Jews) will go to Hell
. He was told that the interview would be played in foreign countries to teach others about the American political system
. Broadwater later posted a letter on his website denouncing Da Ali G Show, explaining that his statement referred to a theological belief that anyone that "accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour will spend eternity in Heaven
, while everyone who rejects Him will spend eternity in Hell." Broadwater did not apologise for his comments. Instead, he insisted that "the liberalism
, anti-God media needs to be brought under the strict control of the FCC
, and that as soon as possible."
In the film, Borat continues his anti-Semitic stance. When he mentions his decision to avoid flying while in America, Borat says that his colleague "insists we not fly in case the Jews repeat their attack of 9/11". Later, he finds himself in a bed and breakfast run by a kindly old Jewish couple. He tries to 'escape', and throws money at two cockroaches that have crawled into his room, apparently fearing that the Jewish owners have shapeshifted
into the cockroaches. He was amazed that they had managed to look human and states that one "can hardly see their horns". Borat is completely oblivious to his hosts' religious beliefs when he first meets them, despite the immediate evidence: the man wears a kippah
and the woman openly displays her paintings of Jewish people all over the house. Borat does not understand until the woman explicitly tells him "I'm Jewish."
Cohen later joked, upon receiving a British comedy award, that Borat was a guest of honour at the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust
in Tehran
.
The movie has enjoyed particular success in Israel
because Israeli filmgoers understand what Borat is really saying when he is supposedly spouting Kazakh: throughout the film, Borat speaks fluent Hebrew.
The movie has enjoyed similar success in Armenia
as well because Armenian filmgoers understand what Azamat Bagatov (Kenneth Davitian
), Borat's producer and second character in the movie, is actually saying when he is supposed to spout in Kazakh: through the film, Azamat speaks fluent Armenian
.
, Cohen managed to infuriate a crowd at a rodeo
in Salem, Virginia
. Even though the crowd first cheered at the beginning of his statements of support for the Iraq war:
He then went on to sing an off-key rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner
with the lyrics replaced by those of a fictitious "Kazakh national anthem", beginning with "Kazakhstan is the greatest country in the world/All other countries are run by little girls..."
"If he had been out there a minute longer, I think somebody would have shot him," said one witness. "People were booing him, flipping him off
." For his own safety, Cohen was escorted from the venue. (Much of the event appears in the movie. A credible news report about the incident, aired on a local television station, is included in the DVD extras.)
.
In November 2005, following Borat's hosting of the MTV Europe Music Awards
in Lisbon
, Kazakhstan
's Foreign Ministry voiced its concerns about the character. Spokesman Yerzhan Ashykbayev told a news conference: "We view Mr Cohen's behaviour at the MTV Europe Music Awards as utterly unacceptable, being a concoction of bad taste and ill manners which is completely incompatible with the ethics and civilised behaviour of Kazakhstan's people", concluding "We reserve the right to any legal action
to prevent new pranks of the kind."
Baron Cohen has since posted a video on the "Official Borat Homesite" where Borat responds to Ashykbayev in character. In the video, Borat states, in part:
Reuters
quoted an unnamed Western diplomat as saying "They (the Government of Kazakhstan
) are damned if they do [respond] and damned if they don't," he said. "It's sort of unfortunate that he hit upon Kazakhstan." Another unnamed source inside Kazakhstan's Washington embassy called Borat a "one-man diplomatic wrecking ball
."
The next week, the government hired two Western public relations
firms to counter Borat's claims, and ran a four-page advertisement in The New York Times
. The ad carried testimonials about the nation's democracy, education
system and the power and influence enjoyed by women. On a previous occasion, Borat responded to such official complaints by issuing his own "press release", which consisted of randomly arranged Cyrillic characters. He would again respond when promoting his movie in front of the Kazakh Embassy in Washington, roundly denouncing the advertisements as "Uzbek
propaganda".
On the 13 December 2005, the right to use the domain name
www.borat.kz was suspended, and the site attached to it was closed down. The domain-issuing body said that they took this action since false names were given for the site's administrators, and also because the site www.borat.kz was hosted outside Kazakhstan. However, the stated underlying cause of the action was in order to censor the content of the site: "We've done this so he can't badmouth Kazakhstan under the .kz domain name," Nurlan Isin, President of the Association of Kazakh IT Companies, told Reuters. "He can go and do whatever he wants at other domains."
Reporters Without Borders
petitioned the ICANN
ombudsman
to intervene and reverse this decision. Meanwhile, the "Official Borat Homesite" was moved to the .tv
domain, where it remains. , the former domain name was still suspended. The 2006 annual human rights report released by the US State Department cited the loss of the .kz website as evidence of the Kazakhstani government's efforts to curb free speech.
Borat has, however, recently been defended by Dariga Nazarbayeva
, a politician and daughter of Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev
. She stated on a national news programme Karavan that Cohen's website "damaged our image much less than its closure, which was covered by all global news agencies
," and "We should not be afraid of humour and we shouldn't try to control everything, I think."
gates to give a press conference to invite "Supreme Warlord Premier George Walter Bush" to a screening of his forthcoming film, along with "O.J. Simpson", "Melvin Gibsons
" and other "American dignitaries", after which they would join him for drinks at Hooters
. Secret Service
Uniformed Division Officers would not admit him to the grounds. The apparent publicity stunt
was likely timed to coincide with an official state visit
by Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev
the following day.
.
for the press just hours before the live broadcast of the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards
, he shocked local and international journalists in Lisbon, Portugal, by bringing a bag of birds from Romania
(the first European country to detect avian influenza) as a gift, then proceeded to say he was sorry that they had all died.
) TV news producer Dharma Arthur states in Newsweek
she lost her job as a result of her booking Borat on a local morning news program. At the time of the appearance, she was unaware of Cohen's act. During an interview with news anchor
Brad McMullan, Borat made sexual and scatological
references, kissed McMullan and later disrupted a live weather report
. She said: "Because of him, my boss lost faith in my abilities and second-guessed everything I did... I spiralled into depression, and... was released from my contract... It took me three months to find another job, and now I'm thousands of dollars in debt and struggling to keep my house out of foreclosure... How upsetting that a man who leaves so much harm in his path is lauded as a comedic genius."
The broadcast, including the initial interview, the disrupted weather report, and several behind-the-scenes shots made by Borat's own film crew
, is seen in the Borat movie.
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
invented and performed by English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Noam Baron Cohen is an English stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and voice artist. He is most widely known for his portrayal of three unorthodox fictional characters: Ali G, Borat, and Brüno...
. He is presented as a Kazakhstani
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and is the main protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Borat
Borat Sagdiyev is a satirical fictional character invented and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen...
.
Borat's humour derives from his mocking of society through outrageous sociocultural viewpoints, his violation of social taboos and his use of vulgar language and behaviour. Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "The Kazakhstani journalist gave us some of the most incisive cultural commentary ever filmed. That, and a wrestling match between butt-naked men. Something for everyone."
Origins
The character was first developed for short skits on F2F on Granada TelevisionGranada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
that Cohen presented in 1996–1997. He was given another run by Paramount Comedy 1
Paramount Comedy 1
Comedy Central in the United Kingdom and Ireland is a localised version of Comedy Central which first began in the United States in the 1990s. The television channel is available through the Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk TV in the United Kingdom, Sky Ireland, UPC Ireland and Magnet Networks in the...
before being picked up by BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
's Comedy Nation. This early version of Borat was nearly identical in looks and demeanor to his latest incarnation but was as yet unnamed. Initially, the character claimed to be from Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
before ultimately settling on Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
. The character remained dormant while Cohen concentrated on his Ali G
Ali G
Ali G is a satirical fictional character invented and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Originally appearing on Channel 4's Eleven O'Clock show, Ali G is the title character of Channel 4's Da Ali G Show, original episodes of which aired in 2000 and on HBO in 2003–2004, and is the...
persona for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's The 11 O'Clock Show. With the subsequent success of Ali G and the creation of Da Ali G Show
Da Ali G Show
Da Ali G Show is the name of two related satirical TV series created by and starring British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen and featuring the character Ali G....
(also on Channel 4), Cohen regularly revisited his Borat character.
Fictional character biography
Borat claims to have been born on February 27, 1972 in the fictional village of Kuzcek, Kazakh SSR to Asimbala Sagdiyev and Boltok the RapistRape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
(who is also stated to be his paternal grandfather, uncle and former father-in-law until the demise of Oksana); he says his mother gave birth to him when she was nine years old. He has a thirteen-year-old son named Hooeylewis (believed by some to be a reference to Huey Lewis
Huey Lewis
Huey Lewis is an American musician, songwriter and occasional actor.Lewis sings lead and plays harmonica for his band Huey Lewis and the News, in addition to writing or co-writing many of the band's songs...
), twelve-year-old twin
Twin
A twin is one of two offspring produced in the same pregnancy. Twins can either be monozygotic , meaning that they develop from one zygote that splits and forms two embryos, or dizygotic because they develop from two separate eggs that are fertilized by two separate sperm.In contrast, a fetus...
boys named Biram and Bilak, and seventeen grandchildren. He has a sister, Natalya (whom he has claimed at different times to be "the number four best prostitute
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
in Kazakhstan") and a younger brother, Bilo, who is mentally retarded and kept in a cage.
It is unknown how many times Borat has been married, after first having been betrothed to his half-sister's Plough while in his teens. One of his wives (Ludmilla) is said to have been shot by a hunter when he mistook her for a bear as she plowed the fields. His former wife, Oksana, is reported in the Borat film to have been attacked, "violated", and "broken" by a bear while taking his brother Bilo for a walk in the forest. Borat is not saddened by the tragedy; he thanks the man who brings him this "good news" by giving him a high five
High five
The high five is a celebratory hand gesture that occurs when two people simultaneously raise one hand, about head high, and push, slide or slap the flat of their palm and hand against the palm and flat hand of their partner...
and celebrates his new-found freedom by pursuing Pamela Anderson
Pamela Anderson
Pamela Denise Anderson is a Canadian-American actress, model, producer, author, activist, and former showgirl, known for her roles on the television series Home Improvement, Baywatch, and V.I.P. She was chosen as a Playmate of the Month for Playboy magazine in February 1990...
and eventually reunites with and marries Luenell
Luenell
Luenell Campbell , known professionally as Luenell, is an American comedienne and actress.She was born in Tollette, Arkansas and uses only her first name. She is the youngest of eight children...
, an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
prostitute he met while filming his documentary.
According to various in-character interviews with Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat attended Astana
Astana
Astana , formerly known as Akmola , Tselinograd and Akmolinsk , is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010...
University, where he studied English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
, journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
, and plague research. He created five new plagues which "killed over 5 million goats in Uzbekistan." Prior to his plague research, Borat worked as an ice maker, gypsy catcher, animal puller (one who produces semen from animals) and computer maintenance engineer (specifically, removing dead birds which had nested in the vents in the computers casing). He now works as a professional journalist and announcer on Kazakh television. This job "helps Borat and other Kazakhs express themselves in ways they otherwise would not have been able to do."
Although nominally pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
for most of his life, sometimes remarking that his people "follow the hawk", in the film he attends a Pentecostal
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...
church service and later converts his village neighbours to Christianity. Borat greatly admires the political views of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
, and claims that both he and Stalin are strong men with powerful "khram" (genitals). He is strongly against women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
and was quite aghast upon learning of women's suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
(stating that government scientist Dr. Yarmulka says a woman has a brain the size of squirrel). He frequently comments that it (woman's suffrage) is like "a monkey driving a car" or "a monkey with a gun". In his spare time, he enjoys playing ping pong
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
, sunbathing
Sun tanning
Sun tanning or simply tanning is the process whereby skin color is darkened or tanned. The process is most often a result of exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun or from artificial sources, such as a tanning bed, but can also be a result of windburn or reflected light...
while clad in a lime green "mankini
Bikini
The bikini is typically a women's two-piece swimsuit. One part of the attire covers the breasts and the other part covers the crotch and part of or the entire buttocks, leaving an uncovered area between the two. Merriam–Webster describes the bikini as "a woman's scanty two-piece bathing suit" or "a...
", disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
dancing, spitting
Spitting
Spitting or expectoration is the act of forcibly ejecting saliva or other substances from the mouth. It is currently considered rude and a social taboo in many parts of the world including the West, while in some other parts of the world it is considered more acceptable...
, sitting on comfortable chairs, and taking pictures of women while they "make toilet". He also enjoys hunting Jews in his homeland. He is particularly fond of "mouth-party
Oral sex
Oral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
" and "hand-party
Masturbation
Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...
" Borat also states that he "very much like Korky Butchek" who is a fictitious musician and sex which he likes to call "sexy time".
However, Kathleen Tracy states in her book Sacha Baron Cohen, the Unauthorized Biography: from Cambridge to Kazakhstan that the character Borat was never intended to be entirely consistent, meaning that incongruities in Borat's personal details can be noticed if they are examined closely.
Cohen retired Borat due to widespread recognition, and used Brüno
Bruno (character)
Brüno Gehard , sometimes written as Bruno and Brueno, is a fictional character portrayed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. The character, a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion reporter, first appeared during short sketches on The Paramount Comedy Channel in 1998, before reappearing on Da Ali G...
as his 'proper' alter-ego, but this character has also been retired.
Da Ali G Show
In each episode of Da Ali G Show, Borat is shown doing satirical interviews with often unwitting subjects in the United Kingdom and the United States. The segments were shot in low-quality video to maintain the satirical feel of poor quality television (similar to Chanel 9 segments on The Fast ShowThe Fast Show
The Fast Show, known as Brilliant in the US, was a BBC comedy sketch show programme that ran for three series from 1994 to 1997 with a special Last Fast Show Ever in 2000. The show's central performers were Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Simon Day, Mark Williams, John Thomson, Arabella Weir and...
).
The Borat segments on Da Ali G Show use the rock-rendition Russian folk tune "Korobeiniki
Korobeiniki
"Korobeiniki" , also known as the Tetris song is a nineteenth-century Russian folk song that tells of an incident between a peddler and a girl "haggling" over a price, with the details only being said in metaphor...
" as the theme song.
Guide to Britain
Shown as part of a six-part Ali G show originally on Channel 4 (UK) in March 2000.Five Borat sketches were shown, in the form of "Guides" to "Etiquette", Hunting, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and Henley
Henley
- Places :UK:*Henley-on-Thames, a town in South Oxfordshire, England**Henley Rural District, a former rural district in Oxfordshire*Henley-in-Arden, a village in Warwickshire, England*Henley, Suffolk, a village in Suffolk, England...
. The "Guides" to "English Gentlemen", "Politics" and "Sport" were also filmed at this time but released at a later date as part of Ali G DVDs. The Cambridge sketch is the only major Borat material from this series not to have made it onto the compilation DVDs.
Guide to USA 1
Shown as part of a six part Ali G Show originally on HBO (USA) in February 2003. This series was screened and released in the UK as Ali G In The USAiii.Six Borat sketches were shown in the form of "Guides" to "Dating",
"Etiquette", "Acting", "Men", "Baseballs" and "The (Deep) South". A "Guide to Animals" was filmed but released at a later date as part of an Ali G DVD. (Alyssa Greenfill was his co-star.)
Guide to USA 2
Shown as part of a six-part Ali G Show originally on HBO (USA) in July 2004. (Channel 4 was the UK channel where Ali G and Borat originally appeared, and the series for America was a joint HBO/Channel 4 co-production). This series was re-edited for the UK to remove all the Ali G material, becoming two prime-time Borat's Television Programme specials for Channel 4. These specials also embodied the Bruno segments from the series and Borat's "Guide To Hunting", not screened in the US version. The uncut second series as it appeared on HBO was later given a UK courtesy transmission on digital channel E4.Six Borat sketches were shown in the form of "Guides" to "Wine Tasting", "Politics", "Country Music", "Hobbies", "Buying a House" and "Jobs" (careers), with "Hunting" airing in the UK only.
Ali G Indahouse
Borat had a small role in Cohen's film Ali G IndahouseAli G Indahouse
Ali G Indahouse is a British comedy film directed by Mark Mylod and starring the fictional character Ali G, who is performed by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen...
as a Kazakhstani diplomat, in which he greets Cohen's other character Ali G
Ali G
Ali G is a satirical fictional character invented and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Originally appearing on Channel 4's Eleven O'Clock show, Ali G is the title character of Channel 4's Da Ali G Show, original episodes of which aired in 2000 and on HBO in 2003–2004, and is the...
with a hug and kiss, but is rebuffed and accused of being a homosexual
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
"batty boy
Batty boy
Batty boy , batty man are pejorative sexual slurs used to describe gay, bisexual and effeminate men, or those presumed to be gay and bisexual. The term is a Jamaican Patois abbreviation of the word bottom into batty; "batty boy" is a cognate of the American English "butt boy"...
", thus calls Ali G a "cocksucker".
Borat film
Borat
Borat Sagdiyev is a satirical fictional character invented and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen...
is mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
comedy. Most of those appearing in the film are not paid performers, but real people whom Borat met on his journey. The film was distributed by 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
, and directed by Larry Charles
Larry Charles
Larry Charles is an American writer, director, and producer. He is best known as a staff writer for the American sitcom Seinfeld for its first 5 seasons, contributing some of the show's darkest and most absurd storylines...
. It premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
, and was released across Europe on 2 November 2006 and North America on 3 November 2006.
The film follows Borat in his travels across the United States, as he commits cultural solecisms and exposes a few American ones. Over the course of the film, Borat falls in love with Pamela Anderson
Pamela Anderson
Pamela Denise Anderson is a Canadian-American actress, model, producer, author, activist, and former showgirl, known for her roles on the television series Home Improvement, Baywatch, and V.I.P. She was chosen as a Playmate of the Month for Playboy magazine in February 1990...
after watching a rerun of Baywatch
Baywatch
Baywatch is an American action drama series about the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, starring David Hasselhoff. The show ran in its original title and format from 1989 to 1999, sans the 1990-1991 season, of which it was not in production...
, and vows to make her his wife.
The film opened at #1 in the U.S., taking in $26.4 million on a limited release of 837 screens during its first weekend, beating Fahrenheit 9/11
Fahrenheit 9/11
Fahrenheit 9/11 is a 2004 documentary film by American filmmaker and political commentator Michael Moore. The film takes a critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, the War on Terror, and its coverage in the news media...
as the biggest opening weekend for a film released in fewer than 1,000 cinemas. Cohen celebrated the release of the film with a host of promotional in-character interviews. The film expanded its release on the second weekend to 2,566 screens, where it took in an additional $29 million.
In 2007, Cohen won a Golden Globe for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy". With a production budget of $18,000,000 the film has grossed $128,501,044 in the United States of America and another $128,848,505 internationally, for a worldwide gross of $257,349,549 by mid-March 2007.
Book
In 2007, a book from Baron Cohen was released, titled "Touristic Guidings to Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan/Touristic Guidings to Minor Nation of U.S. and A.", with humor about both countries in a similar vein to the movie.Fate
Sacha Baron Cohen has stated that the character of Borat, alongside his Ali GAli G
Ali G is a satirical fictional character invented and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Originally appearing on Channel 4's Eleven O'Clock show, Ali G is the title character of Channel 4's Da Ali G Show, original episodes of which aired in 2000 and on HBO in 2003–2004, and is the...
character, will be retired. Borat's last appearances were at Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Event for Autism Education 2006 television special and an online public service announcement ahead of the 2008 United States elections.
Criticized as unfair smear against Kazakhstan
There have been arguments that the film's portrayal of the people of KazakhstanKazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
is unfair and unjustified.
In August 2004, the Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...
of Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, addressing an international religious conference in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, stated that in 10 years in the country he had never faced anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
. He praised the Government of Kazakhstan for its treatment of the Jewish community.
On 19 October 2006, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
reported that Kazakhstan's Deputy Foreign Minister, Rakhat Aliyev, had invited Cohen to visit Kazakhstan to see how inaccurate his portrayals were. In an interview, Aliyev asserted that:
His trip could yield a lot of discoveries—that women not only travel inside buses but also drive their own cars, that we make wineKazakh wineKazakh wine is wine made in the Central Asia country of Kazakhstan. The roots of the Kazakh wine industry can be traced to the 7th century AD when grapevines were brought to the region from neighboring Uzbekistan and China...
from grapes, that Jews can freely attend synagogueSynagogueA synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
s and so on.
Denigration of Roma
Borat's movie has been accused of promoting antiziganismAntiziganism
Antiziganism or Anti-Romanyism is hostility, prejudice or racism directed at the Romani people, also known as Gypsies.As an endogamous culture with a tendency to practise self-segregation, the Romanis have generally resisted assimilation with the indigenous communities of whichever countries they...
. The scenes supposedly filmed in Borat's Kazakhstani village were actually filmed in an impoverished Roma village of Glod in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
reports that poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
-stricken villagers were offered between $3.30 and $5.50 to bring animals into their houses and perform other acts some critics called humiliating. The studio contends that
participants were paid double the rate recommended by the Romanian film office for extras. The villagers (none of whom knew English) were told that they were being filmed for a documentary on village life and Cohen was a famous documentary host called Nicolae Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, which aroused suspicions among the villagers because the name sounded like a portmanteau of the names of the Romanian Communist leaders Nicolae Ceauşescu
Nicolae Ceausescu
Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian Communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader...
and Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej was the Communist leader of Romania from 1948 until his death in 1965.-Early life:Gheorghe was the son of a poor worker, Tănase Gheorghiu, and his wife Ana. Gheorghiu-Dej joined the Communist Party of Romania in 1930...
.
Two villagers of Glod hired reparation
Reparation (legal)
In jurisprudence, reparation is replenishment of a previously inflicted loss by the criminal to the victim. Monetary restitution is a common form of reparation...
attorney Ed Fagan
Ed Fagan
Edward Davis "Ed" Fagan is a controversial former American reparations lawyer who was punished by the Supreme Court for his conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation...
to sue the makers of the film for $30 million for human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
abuses. Fagan intended to submit lawsuits in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
state courts, as well as in Frankfurt, Germany. Fagan said that he hoped to "teach Hollywood a very expensive lesson." The lawsuit was thrown out by U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska in a hearing in early December 2006 on the ground that the charges were too vague to stand up in court. Fagan plans to refile.
Denigration of Jews
The Borat character has been accused of anti-SemitismAnti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
but Baron Cohen, himself an Orthodox Jew, has explained that the segments are a "dramatic demonstration of how racism feeds on dumb conformity, as much as rabid bigotry
Bigotry
A bigot is a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices, especially one exhibiting intolerance, and animosity toward those of differing beliefs...
." "Borat essentially works a tool. By himself pretending to be anti-Semitic, he lets people lower their guard and expose their own prejudice," Baron Cohen explained to Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
. Baron Cohen, the grandson of a Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
survivor, says he wishes in particular to expose the role of indifference:
When I was in university, there was this major historian of the Third Reich, Ian Kershaw(The actual line from Kershaw’s 1983 book Popular Opinion and Political Dissent in the Third Reich was that "the road to Auschwitz was built by hate, but paved with indifference")Ian KershawSir Ian Kershaw is a British historian of 20th-century Germany whose work has chiefly focused on the period of the Third Reich...
, who said, 'The path to Auschwitz was paved with indifference.' I know it's not very funny being a comedian talking about the Holocaust, but it's an interesting idea that not everyone in GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
had to be a raving anti-Semite. They just had to be apathetic.
However, the Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
, a U.S.-based group that “...combat[s] anti-Semitism and bigotry of all kinds”, complained to HBO after Borat performed his country western-style song "In My Country There Is Problem
In My Country There Is Problem
"In My Country There Is Problem", also known as "Throw the Jew Down the Well" after the song's key line, is a satirical song written by British-Jewish comedian Sacha Baron Cohen for his comic character Borat Sagdiyev...
". It called on people to "throw the Jew down the well", warning that 'you must be careful of his teeth' and that "you must grab him by his money", and was welcomed with applause and participation from some members of an audience in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
. The full chorus goes: "Throw the Jew down the well/So my country can be free/You must grab him by his horns/Then we have a big party." Regarding the enthusiastic response to "In My Country There Is Problem", he says, "Did it reveal that they were anti-Semitic? Perhaps. But maybe it just revealed that they were indifferent to anti-Semitism."
In another scene, Borat visits the Serengeti Range ranch in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, where the owner of the ranch confides that he believes the Holocaust was a necessity for Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He further implies that he would have no problem running a ranch where people can hunt, in Borat's words, "deer... then Jew."
An interview with James Broadwater, an evangelical Christian and Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
candidate for the United States' Congress from Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, caused Broadwater to receive some hate email
Email
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
s after an episode of Da Ali G Show aired in which Broadwater stated that all non-Christians (including Jews) will go to Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
. He was told that the interview would be played in foreign countries to teach others about the American political system
Political system
A political system is a system of politics and government. It is usually compared to the legal system, economic system, cultural system, and other social systems...
. Broadwater later posted a letter on his website denouncing Da Ali G Show, explaining that his statement referred to a theological belief that anyone that "accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour will spend eternity in Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
, while everyone who rejects Him will spend eternity in Hell." Broadwater did not apologise for his comments. Instead, he insisted that "the liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
, anti-God media needs to be brought under the strict control of the FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
, and that as soon as possible."
In the film, Borat continues his anti-Semitic stance. When he mentions his decision to avoid flying while in America, Borat says that his colleague "insists we not fly in case the Jews repeat their attack of 9/11". Later, he finds himself in a bed and breakfast run by a kindly old Jewish couple. He tries to 'escape', and throws money at two cockroaches that have crawled into his room, apparently fearing that the Jewish owners have shapeshifted
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
into the cockroaches. He was amazed that they had managed to look human and states that one "can hardly see their horns". Borat is completely oblivious to his hosts' religious beliefs when he first meets them, despite the immediate evidence: the man wears a kippah
Kippah
A kippah or kipa , also known as a yarmulke , kapele , is a hemispherical or platter-shaped head cover, usually made of cloth, often worn by Orthodox Jewish men to fulfill the customary requirement that their head be covered at all times, and sometimes worn by both men and, less frequently, women...
and the woman openly displays her paintings of Jewish people all over the house. Borat does not understand until the woman explicitly tells him "I'm Jewish."
Cohen later joked, upon receiving a British comedy award, that Borat was a guest of honour at the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust
International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust
The International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust was a two-day conference that opened on December 11, 2006, in Tehran, Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the conference sought "neither to deny nor prove the Holocaust.....
in Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
.
The movie has enjoyed particular success in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
because Israeli filmgoers understand what Borat is really saying when he is supposedly spouting Kazakh: throughout the film, Borat speaks fluent Hebrew.
The movie has enjoyed similar success in Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
as well because Armenian filmgoers understand what Azamat Bagatov (Kenneth Davitian
Ken Davitian
Kenneth "Ken" Davitian is an American actor who is best known for his role as Borat's producer in the 2006 comedy film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, in which he speaks the Eastern dialect of Armenian throughout the film.-Life and...
), Borat's producer and second character in the movie, is actually saying when he is supposed to spout in Kazakh: through the film, Azamat speaks fluent Armenian
Armenian language
The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
.
Iraq War sarcasm
In January 2005, after convincing the authorities that he was shooting a documentaryDocumentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, Cohen managed to infuriate a crowd at a rodeo
Rodeo
Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
in Salem, Virginia
Salem, Virginia
Salem is an independent city in Virginia, USA, bordered by the city of Roanoke to the east but otherwise adjacent to Roanoke County. It is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 24,802 according to 2010 U.S. Census...
. Even though the crowd first cheered at the beginning of his statements of support for the Iraq war:
"My name a Borat. I come from Kazakhstan. Can I say first, we support your War of TerrorWar on TerrorThe War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
! May we show our support to our boys in Iraq! May U.S. and A. kill every single terrorist! May George Bush drink the blood of every single man, woman and child of Iraq! May you destroy their country so that for the next thousand years not even a single lizard will survive in their desert!"
He then went on to sing an off-key rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...
with the lyrics replaced by those of a fictitious "Kazakh national anthem", beginning with "Kazakhstan is the greatest country in the world/All other countries are run by little girls..."
"If he had been out there a minute longer, I think somebody would have shot him," said one witness. "People were booing him, flipping him off
Finger (gesture)
In Western culture, the finger , also known as the middle finger, is an obscene hand gesture, often meaning the phrases "fuck off" , "fuck you" or "up yours"...
." For his own safety, Cohen was escorted from the venue. (Much of the event appears in the movie. A credible news report about the incident, aired on a local television station, is included in the DVD extras.)
Conflicts with Kazakhstan's government
Baron Cohen has also been accused of creating a derogatory image of KazakhstanKazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
.
In November 2005, following Borat's hosting of the MTV Europe Music Awards
MTV Europe Music Awards
The MTV Europe Music Awards were established in 1994 by MTV Networks Europe to celebrate the most popular music videos in Europe. Originally beginning as an alternative to the American MTV Video Music Awards, the MTV Europe Music Awards is today a popular celebration of what MTV viewers consider...
in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
's Foreign Ministry voiced its concerns about the character. Spokesman Yerzhan Ashykbayev told a news conference: "We view Mr Cohen's behaviour at the MTV Europe Music Awards as utterly unacceptable, being a concoction of bad taste and ill manners which is completely incompatible with the ethics and civilised behaviour of Kazakhstan's people", concluding "We reserve the right to any legal action
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
to prevent new pranks of the kind."
Baron Cohen has since posted a video on the "Official Borat Homesite" where Borat responds to Ashykbayev in character. In the video, Borat states, in part:
In response to Mr. Ashykbayev's comments, I'd like to state I have no connection with Mr. Cohen and fully support my government's decision to sue this Jew. Since the 2003 Tuleyakiv reforms, Kazakhstan is as civilized as any other country in the world. Women can now travel on inside of bus, homosexuals no longer have to wear blue hats, and age of consentAge of consentWhile the phrase age of consent typically does not appear in legal statutes, when used in relation to sexual activity, the age of consent is the minimum age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. The European Union calls it the legal age for sexual...
has been raised to eight years old. Please, captain of industryCaptain of industry"Captain of industry" was a term originally used in the United Kingdom during the Industrial Revolution describing a business leader whose means of amassing a personal fortune contributes positively to the country in some way....
; I invite you to come to Kazakhstan where we have incredible natural resourceNatural resourceNatural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity and geodiversity existent in various ecosystems....
s, hardworking labour, and some of the cleanest prostitutes in whole of Central AsiaCentral AsiaCentral Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
. Goodbye! Dzienkuje!
Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
quoted an unnamed Western diplomat as saying "They (the Government of Kazakhstan
Government of Kazakhstan
The Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan oversees a presidential republic. The President of Kazakhstan, currently Nursultan Nazarbayev, is head of state and nominates the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government...
) are damned if they do [respond] and damned if they don't," he said. "It's sort of unfortunate that he hit upon Kazakhstan." Another unnamed source inside Kazakhstan's Washington embassy called Borat a "one-man diplomatic wrecking ball
Wrecking ball
A wrecking ball is a heavy steel ball, usually hung from a crane, that is used for demolishing large buildings. It was most common during the 1950s and 1960s. Several wrecking companies claim to have invented the wrecking ball...
."
The next week, the government hired two Western public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
firms to counter Borat's claims, and ran a four-page advertisement in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. The ad carried testimonials about the nation's democracy, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
system and the power and influence enjoyed by women. On a previous occasion, Borat responded to such official complaints by issuing his own "press release", which consisted of randomly arranged Cyrillic characters. He would again respond when promoting his movie in front of the Kazakh Embassy in Washington, roundly denouncing the advertisements as "Uzbek
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...
propaganda".
On the 13 December 2005, the right to use the domain name
Domain name
A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....
www.borat.kz was suspended, and the site attached to it was closed down. The domain-issuing body said that they took this action since false names were given for the site's administrators, and also because the site www.borat.kz was hosted outside Kazakhstan. However, the stated underlying cause of the action was in order to censor the content of the site: "We've done this so he can't badmouth Kazakhstan under the .kz domain name," Nurlan Isin, President of the Association of Kazakh IT Companies, told Reuters. "He can go and do whatever he wants at other domains."
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders is a France-based international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press. It was founded in 1985, by Robert Ménard, Rony Brauman and the journalist Jean-Claude Guillebaud. Jean-François Julliard has served as Secretary General since 2008...
petitioned the ICANN
ICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is a non-profit corporation headquartered in Marina del Rey, California, United States, that was created on September 18, 1998, and incorporated on September 30, 1998 to oversee a number of Internet-related tasks previously performed directly...
ombudsman
Ombudsman
An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...
to intervene and reverse this decision. Meanwhile, the "Official Borat Homesite" was moved to the .tv
.tv
The domain name .tv is the Internet country code top-level domain for the islands of Tuvalu.Except for reserved names like com.tv, net.tv, org.tv and others, any person may register second-level domains in tv...
domain, where it remains. , the former domain name was still suspended. The 2006 annual human rights report released by the US State Department cited the loss of the .kz website as evidence of the Kazakhstani government's efforts to curb free speech.
Borat has, however, recently been defended by Dariga Nazarbayeva
Dariga Nazarbayeva
Dariga Nursultanqyzy Nazarbayeva is a Kazakh lawmaker and daughter of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev....
, a politician and daughter of Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev
Nursultan Nazarbayev
Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev has served as the President of Kazakhstan since the nation received its independence in 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union...
. She stated on a national news programme Karavan that Cohen's website "damaged our image much less than its closure, which was covered by all global news agencies
News agency
A news agency is an organization of journalists established to supply news reports to news organizations: newspapers, magazines, and radio and television broadcasters. Such an agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswire or news service.-History:The oldest news agency is Agence...
," and "We should not be afraid of humour and we shouldn't try to control everything, I think."
White House "visit"
On the 28 September 2006, Cohen appeared in character as Borat at the White HouseWhite House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
gates to give a press conference to invite "Supreme Warlord Premier George Walter Bush" to a screening of his forthcoming film, along with "O.J. Simpson", "Melvin Gibsons
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
" and other "American dignitaries", after which they would join him for drinks at Hooters
Hooters
Hooters is the trade name of two privately held American restaurant chains: Hooters of America, Incorporated, based in Atlanta, Georgia, and Hooters, Incorporated, based in Clearwater, Florida...
. Secret Service
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
Uniformed Division Officers would not admit him to the grounds. The apparent publicity stunt
Publicity stunt
A publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can be professionally organized or set up by amateurs...
was likely timed to coincide with an official state visit
State visit
A state visit is a formal visit by a foreign head of state to another nation, at the invitation of that nation's head of state. State visits are the highest form of diplomatic contact between two nations, and are marked by ceremonial pomp and diplomatic protocol. In parliamentary democracies, heads...
by Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev
Nursultan Nazarbayev
Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev has served as the President of Kazakhstan since the nation received its independence in 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union...
the following day.
Complaint by Roma in Germany
On 18 October 2006, European Centre for Antiziganism Research, which pleads against discrimination of Roma, filed a complaint with prosecutors based on Borat's comments about "Gypsies" in his film. The complaint accuses him of defamation and inciting violence against the ethnic groupEthnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
.
Avian Flu "Gift"
At a news conferenceNews conference
A news conference or press conference is a media event in which newsmakers invite journalists to hear them speak and, most often, ask questions. A joint press conference instead is held between two or more talking sides.-Practice:...
for the press just hours before the live broadcast of the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards
2005 MTV Europe Music Awards
Kazakhstan's favourite reporter Borat, aka Sacha Baron Cohen, hosted the 12th MTV Europe Music Awards, this time at the Pavilhão Atlântico,Lisbon. He managed to offend everyone, especially his friend Madonna, and was subsequently banned from most after show parties....
, he shocked local and international journalists in Lisbon, Portugal, by bringing a bag of birds from Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
(the first European country to detect avian influenza) as a gift, then proceeded to say he was sorry that they had all died.
Dharma Arthur
WAPT (Jackson, MississippiJackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
) TV news producer Dharma Arthur states in Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
she lost her job as a result of her booking Borat on a local morning news program. At the time of the appearance, she was unaware of Cohen's act. During an interview with news anchor
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
Brad McMullan, Borat made sexual and scatological
Scatology
In medicine and biology, scatology or coprology is the study of feces.Scatological studies allow one to determine a wide range of biological information about a creature, including its diet , healthiness, and diseases such as tapeworms. The word derives from the Greek σκώρ In medicine and biology,...
references, kissed McMullan and later disrupted a live weather report
Weather report
Weather report may refer to:*Weather forecasting, the application of science and technology to predict the weather*Weather Report, a jazz fusion musical group...
. She said: "Because of him, my boss lost faith in my abilities and second-guessed everything I did... I spiralled into depression, and... was released from my contract... It took me three months to find another job, and now I'm thousands of dollars in debt and struggling to keep my house out of foreclosure... How upsetting that a man who leaves so much harm in his path is lauded as a comedic genius."
The broadcast, including the initial interview, the disrupted weather report, and several behind-the-scenes shots made by Borat's own film crew
Film crew
Television crew positions are derived from those of film crew positions.A film crew is a group of people hired by a production company for the purpose of producing a film or motion picture. Crew are distinguished from cast, the Actors who appear in front of the camera or provide voices for...
, is seen in the Borat movie.
Litigation
- The state prosecutor in HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, filed a complaint against Cohen, accusing him of slander, inciting violence against the SintiSintiSinti or Sinta or Sinte is the name of a Romani or Gypsy population in Europe. Traditionally nomadic, today only a small percentage of the group remains unsettled...
and Roma Gypsy groups, and violating Germany's anti-discrimination lawCivil rightsCivil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
. - Two of the University of South CarolinaUniversity of South CarolinaThe University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
fraternity brothersFraternities and sororitiesFraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
who appeared in the film, Justin Seay and Christopher Rotunda, sued the producers, claiming defamationSlander and libelDefamation—also called calumny, vilification, traducement, slander , and libel —is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government, or nation a negative image...
. On 11 December 2006, an L.A. Judge denied the pair an injunctionInjunctionAn injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
to remove them from the film. The suit by Seay and Rotunda was dismissed in February 2007. The students also had sought an injunction to prevent the DVD release of the film, which was denied.
- Cindy Streit, the owner of Etiquette Training Service in Birmingham, AlabamaBirmingham, AlabamaBirmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, had claimed mistreatment and fraud after Borat attended a dinner party and subjected her and the other guests to "ridicule and humiliation". Ms. Streit had hired attorney Gloria AllredGloria AllredGloria Rachel Allred is an American lawyer noted for taking high-profile and often controversial cases, particulary those involving the protection of women's rights.-Early life:...
, who was demanding an investigation by the California attorney generalAttorney GeneralIn most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
. Allred says that her client agreed to be filmed as part of a documentary for BelarusBelarusBelarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
television, and for those purposes only. She is asking the attorney general to consider all appropriate relief, including a percentage of the profits from the film. 20th Century Fox20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
denied the claims and stated that there was nothing in writing about only being shown in Belarus; the studio also asserted that the release form clearly stated the footage could be distributed worldwide. The case was dismissed on Sep. 3, 2008. - Michael Psenicska, the owner of the driving school in Perry Hall, MarylandPerry Hall, MarylandPerry Hall is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 28,705 at the 2000 census...
, has filed a lawsuit seeking $100,000 in compensatory damages and unspecified punitive damages. His lawsuit states that Twentieth Century Fox and Sacha Cohen fraudulently convinced him to approve his appearance in the movie by telling him that it would be for a documentary of immigrants integrating into American life. The case was dismissed on Sep. 3, 2008. - Kathie Martin, the owner of Etiquette Training School of Birmingham, filed a lawsuit on similar grounds, which was dismissed on Sep. 3, 2008 along with the Streit and Psenicska actions.
- Jeffrey Lemerond, who was shown running and yelling "go away" as Borat attempted to hug strangers on a New York street, filed a legal case claiming his image was used in the film illegally, and that he suffered "public ridicule, degradation and humiliation" as a result. The case was dismissed.
External links
- boratonline.co.uk Semi-official Borat site since 1999 - contains interviews with Dan Mazer and Sacha Baron Cohen
Articles
- NPR Fresh Air Interview of Sacha Baron Cohen
- Interview with Dan Mazer about Borat, Producer of Da Ali G Show on 23 April 2003 on boratonline.co.uk
- "Did Ali G Go Too Far?" on 13 August 2004 in The Jewish WeekThe Jewish WeekThe Jewish Week is an independent weekly newspaper serving the Jewish community of the metropolitan New York City area. The Jewish Week covers news relating to the Jewish community in NYC and has world-wide distribution.-Editorial staff:...
- "The Borat Doctrine" posted 13 September 2004 in The New YorkerThe New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
- "'Ali G' Comedian Riles Rodeo Crowd" on 14 January 2005 on CBS NewsCBS NewsCBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
- "No Joke" by Kenneth Neil Cukier on 28 December 2005 in Foreign AffairsForeign AffairsForeign Affairs is an American magazine and website on international relations and U.S. foreign policy published since 1922 by the Council on Foreign Relations six times annually...
, on what the removal of the Borat site from the .kz domain portends for the administration of the global domain name systemDomain name systemThe Domain Name System is a hierarchical distributed naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to the Internet or a private network. It associates various information with domain names assigned to each of the participating entities... - Borat on Gotuit Video
- And Now for the World According to Borat and Sacha Baron Cohen
- "Borat in Paris" on 9 October 2006
- "Offensive and unfair, Borat's antics leave a nasty aftertaste" by Kazakhstan Ambassador Erlan Idrissov on 4 October 2006 in The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- "Behind the Schemes", NewsweekNewsweekNewsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, 16 October 2006 (profiling several people who became unwitting Borat punch linePunch lineA punch line is the final part of a joke, comedy sketch, or profound statement, usually the word, sentence or exchange of sentences which is intended to be funny or to provoke laughter or thought from listeners...
s) - "Borat vs. Kazakhstan", brandchannel, 30 October 2006 (discusses Borat's affect on Westerners' perception of Kazakhstan)
- "Mahir to Borat: I Sue You!", Wired, November 2006 (Q&A with Borat look-a-like Mahir Cagri) "Can Borat be Sued by (Mahir Cagri)?", Electronic News Network, November 2006 (evidence Borat was developed before Mahir Cagri's internet fame)
- "We survived Stalin and we can certainly overcome Borat's slurs" by Kazakhstan Ambassador Erlan Idrissov on 4 November 2006 in The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
- "Borat 2 - A satirical explanation of the Borat movie."