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For those of you who haven’t caught a snippet of Borat yet, take it from us — you’re missing out. Hailed as “genius” by Entertainment Weekly and endlessly compared to Peter Sellers and Andy Kaufman, fictional Kazakhstani journalist Borat is the hugely un-PC, anti-Semetic and yet strangely likeable brainchild of British comedian (and Jew) Sasha Baron Cohen. Hugely offensive to some and brilliantly satirical to others (read: smart folks), culturally clueless Borat’s reportage on the people and customs of the “U.S. and A” come off like cracked versions of Rick Steeves’ travelogues — that is, if Steeves were a homophobic misogynist who unintentionally offended everyone he met.
But enough talk — the only way to discover Borat is to watch his segments, all culled from Da Ali G Show and conveniently available on YouTube. Of course, there’ll be plenty of Borat for everyone when his 20th Century Fox-produced film, Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, hits theaters on November 3. But you don’t want to go in cold — so start here:
In this segment, Borat tastes wine with some Southern gentlemen, then tricks them into lamenting the passing of slavery — and manages to work in some brilliant physical comedy to boot. (Warning — this one isn’t 100% “family-friendly.”)
Many more after the jump:
Borat’s most YouTubed bit, in which he leads a rousing anti-Semetic sing-a-long in a crowded Country & Western bar:
Borat helps a Republican candidate for Congress do a little door-to-door campaigning in Mississippi. “Is your husband home? We want to speak with someone who can vote.”
A real jaw-dropper: Borat makes a Texan big-game hunter comfortable enough to admit that he thinks Hitler’s “Final Solution” was the right move for Germany.
Borat argues that Kazakhstan is the #1 country at an American patriot rally.
Very funny, but…
In the future please attach a warning when the content is not ‘family friendly’. I was caught off-guard by the pictures of his ’sister’ in the wine tasting clip. It ’s not the sort of thing allowed by my company’s Internet usage policy.
posted by n2y2 on 10-17-2006 at 3:01 pm