Culture
ADL: Concerned over Borat's depiction of anti-Semitism
Ynetnews
Published: 30.09.06, 19:58
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31. Borat
Sheldon ,   Little Rock, Ark USA   (10.01.06)
I thought Kazakhstan WAS mythological.
32. Tarob is right!
Mike ,   Ft Lauderdale, USA   (10.01.06)
I agree with Tarob, Mr. Cohen is insulting a friendly country. My wife is from Kyrgyzstan and we have been a few times to Kazakhstan and that country is very friendly towrads Jews, Christians and all other minorities. President Nazarbaev has done plenty of business with Israel, Mr. Cohen should have chosen "Palestine" or some Euro Socialist arab supporting country such as France!!
33. Borat
Johann ,   New York, NY   (10.01.06)
Throw the Jews down the well so our countries can be free!!!!
34. BORAT
ANTONIO ,   usa   (10.01.06)
I think Borat is very funny. I also think he should have picked a mythical country. The implication is that his country in real life is superior, which is offensive. However, we must realize that humor is getting more savage (the Underground, anyone?) I think it is a symptom of the general decadence and decline we are living in.
35. Borat
Irene Solnik ,   Bay City, USA   (10.01.06)
Those who "don't get it" are a minority. Mr. Cohen is very funny. Let's stop being so PC and laugh a little.
36. Cohen, 21st century comedian?
kiz   (10.01.06)
The ADL comedians are at it again. This stuff really cracks me up sometimes. Borat is not sophisticated quite to the contrary as heavyhanded as it can get. Cohen is in his last throes. Falling asleep on reruns of Ali G.
37. Stereotyping
Mihos ,   Sons USA   (10.01.06)
Alot of my friends find Borat very funny as do I on rare occasions. Sometimes he is spot on. His humour at the expense of singled out ethnicities/cultures is disturbing to me. His Ali G act too delight in dsiqualifying the opinions of urban Arab and Black hiphop 'sophisticates' which i found was pretty convincing. His vapid narcissist of the fashion crowd was painfully accurate at least from an outsider's perspective.
38. anti-cynicism
Mihos ,   Sons USA   (10.01.06)
Borats take on Kazakh culture is clearly hilarious to alot of people including people that happen to be Jewish. But reading the reactions here its as if his audience is arrogant in their indifference to the suffering caused by this entitlement to make fun of people. At the end of the day I still find myself on the fence, conflicted, between admiring Cohen's genius and despising him for being so arrogant as to risk being perceived as another Jew suffering from a deeply rooted superiority complex. What does this Borat character do for Jewish Kazakhs? Im conflicted and the peanut gallery is mostly just fine with this satire. What if Cohen were actually Kazakh, Black or Arab? Wouldnt be so funny then.
39. #21
Mihos ,   Sons USA   (10.01.06)
Wow, that was an impressively transparent effort ! I think that was the most patronizing bunch of shill I've ever read.You don't care one tiny bit about Kazakhstan or its people. Why should you? Iits ok to feel entitled to make fun of other people when your people are well fed. Everytime Borat speaks with a woman I cringe wondering what will happen to this family. They dont speak English and have no idea what he is saying, This a good thing because he is making fun of them in the worst way. It doesnt make sense to claim you have good intentions and then behave in the opposite manner. Ever wonder if any of the women featured in Borat's self-serving sketchs have been punished or felt reprisals? Of course not. Those peoples' lives are worth nothing..Right? And yhat's funny!
40. #30
Fred ,   Greenlawn,USA   (10.01.06)
Your suspicions speak volumes about yourself! Which "codeword" did they use that I missed?
41. Borat
Betty Guise ,   Buffalo NY USA   (10.01.06)
Cohen is a comedian and a genius. Please don't go looking for problems, we have enough on our plate already to deal with. If anyone doesn't get the satire, they shouldn't be allowed around sharp objects. Shalom. Sincerely, Betty
42. Crybabies.
Tony Straight ,   dallas, tx, USA   (10.01.06)
C'mon, let the other 99.999% of the world have a little fun. Don't tell me you are so dense that you can't see the humor?
43. Borat for President
Joe ,   Alexandria, Va   (10.01.06)
Borat for President in 08 So my people can be free!
44. huh?
tom ,   los angeles usa   (10.01.06)
If people don't realize that BORAT is a comedy...well, there's really no hope at all for the world, is there?
45. Kazakh Whining
SILENCER ,   L.A., USA   (10.01.06)
You know, folks, everyone and their dog rips on the USA as mich as they like. Big bad America. Wahhhaaa Waaahhh. You don't see us griping when some clowns release films about, say, assassinating our president for example. Got to be able to take criticism, usually say "so what!" and keep on moving. Cohen is a Jew, a funny one, and has probably had a snootful of anti-semite experineces in his life. Also, Borat is HILARIOUS. let's face it: third world countries in which people live like animals is, well...funny. Yeah it's cruel to laugh at it, but it's still funny. Keep in mind he is also going to be shining a light mostly on racisim and intolerance in the USA, which will be the main focus of the film. Just like his skits on the Ali G show. I think they're funny, and I'm not an America hating hippie. Once again, another attack on The United States of America. You don't hear us whining, do you? Mellow out, Zazakhstan. You're finally getting publicity for something other than Russain Missile Silos and typhoid.
46. I am Kazakh and now in counseling because Borat
Fritz ,   Skutter Plains, Iowa   (10.01.06)
I take Kazakh flag with me to therapy session and it much makes me cry. Why they ridicule the country of my heart? Borat is bad man.
47. hes a Jew!
george ,   beirut, lebanon   (10.01.06)
Hes a jew for Gods sake! Here we go again with Jewish paranoia..why dont u ban him? and southpark? and mad magazine? any everything else in the world?????
48. Jewish history: Khazaria
Aharon the Khazar ,   Khazaria   (10.01.06)
http://www.khazaria.com read up on it.
49. public too stupid to get Borat
Brandon ,   Duncan, OK USA   (10.01.06)
So basically the ADL says they are smart enought to get that Borat is a joke, but they don't think that the general public is smart enough to understand that it is not okay to act like Borat.
50. Borat
Steve ,   Villa Park, U.S. & A   (10.01.06)
Laugh, Laugh, Laugh!!!! More laughter=Less Hatred People need to laugh at each other. Life can be hard, have a little fun.
51. "dangerously too sophisticated"?????
William ,   Houston USA   (10.01.06)
What kind of world is it in which we live that a phrase like this doesn't bring condemnation? Because there are bigoted MORONS in this world we have to lower ourselves to the lowest common denominator? Too bad no one told Mozart his compositions were "dangerously too sophisticated" or else we might have a larger supply of innane, sophomoric children's music. Not to compare Cohen to Mozart, but to compare art to art. Just another example of why I don't participate in society. Too many idiots.
52. The ADL's Position is Valid
Lance ,   Montreal, Canada   (10.01.06)
Why is Borat so funny? Because the antisemitism that he exposes is real. But attacking Jews is not a joke! What the ADL is saying is that antisemites may now find it socially acceptable to openly express their antisemitism. Indeed, around the "water-cooler" it may now be acceptable to make an anti-Jewish joke. Although I believe that Cohen is, through humour, expressing a serious social commentary, I assure everyone that the antisemites won't get it; thus, the ADL's concern. Although I can laugh at Borat's comedy, I'm disturbed at the antisemitism that his comedy exposes.
53. ADL make dirt
Damon F ,   Fort Wayne,USA   (10.01.06)
Like brown water
54. Calm down Tarob
Sal ,   Israel   (10.01.06)
Everyone knows Kazakhstan is far ahead of Russia in becoming a modern country - the satire has to do with the way countries' whose names end in "Stan" are associated with backwardness (because Mohammedanism is a backward religion). I might be a good idea to change Kazakhstan's name to something else for example "Kazakhland" or "Kazakhia".
55. kazakhstan..satire..and antisemitism
Mark ,   New Orleans   (10.01.06)
Hey guys lighten up. Tarob from kazakhstan has a point. how would we feel if our country was lampooned. I agree that antisemitism is an evil, and yes many estern european countries have a long tradition of hating jews. And yes this fil is a satire, but if I was kazakh, I would be hurt. Imagine if the title were Israel, and Sacha Chen portrayed a palestinian...Why couln't he call it Anywherestan.
56. I agree with Tarob too.
Tommy Mandel ,   USA   (10.01.06)
Tarob, as an american father of 2, a jewish liberal, i agree with you that what has been done by this ali g character is a bad idea. I apologize, if you can accept an apology from someone not connected to ali g in any way... there's a whole lot of stupid humor out there in western culture. the tv is full of it. we do believe in freedom of speech though our president may not agree : ( but when this freedom of speech is used to say hurtful things about that which others treasure, it's bad. Even if it comes out of the pain of experience or history. so please know that there are many of us out there that would rather emphasize the good things we all have in common. And try to change the others. Humor can be a good weapon, but in this day of media manipulation and greed, one should be more careful about the possible harmful results of one's 'creativity.' Peace, in this time of holidays for both our peoples, and thank you for the information about Kazakh literary heroes too! I will Google one now. TM nyc
57. The Film Trailer is anti-Kazhakh
tommy ,   usa   (10.01.06)
It is interesting that this discussion centers around Borat's anti-Semitism. The only ethnic insults that were visible in the trailer, viewed on the NY Times' movies site, was a horrible anti-Kazhakh flavor. How can this be disputed, and or ignored in a forum dealing with ethnic insults against OUR people? Hillel- the Golden Rule, op. cit.
58. ADL and lowest common denominator
mike burns ,   tucson, AZ, USA   (10.01.06)
It's rather telling that the ADL considers people so very stupid that they can't even recognize parody. Elitists who control our society consider the rest of us to be mindless sheep. One day day the sheep will grow teeth.
59. Barat
Mac ,   Saint James City, FL   (10.01.06)
The fact that some people won't get is a poor excuse for self censorship. There are always some people who are offended and some people who don't get it. That's why the expression "get a life" was invented.
60. hehehe
peter ,   LA usa   (10.01.06)
Cohen is funny , point blank. The people of Kazakhstan are the target of Humor thats funny to the rest of the world. then Tarob sets the record straight by offering to us that nothing in basle will hold a candle to our own Zhent, famous Kazakh chocolate without Kazakhstan we would have no laughter or chocolate...:)
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