Borat? Not cool. - Bilge

D donhonyc Tiki Socialite The Quiet EAST Village Joined: Jan 13, 2003 Posts: 1196	D donhonyc Posted posted on Sun, Nov 12, 2006 2:29 PM At the risk of sounding like a grouch, and somebody who has no sense of humour I'm going to go public here and say the Borat movie that I just saw was not cool. In fact it was pretty disturbing, and I'm not talking about the actual content of the film. Let me just say that I have no problem with vulgarity. I'm not an ultra-conservative G-Rated loving, easily offended person. I'm not offended by swearing, nudity, etc. I love comedy. I love George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Chris Rock, John Waters and happen to think for example that 'Blazing Saddles' is a pretty fucking funny movie. After you've lived in New York for as long as I have, nothing surprises you. The thing about Borat (which I saw NOT by choice with a friend of mine) that disturbs me is how hugely successful this movie is. Number one at the box office? I actually saw a guy with two kids there that were probably no more than 10 years old. What the hell? I mean this is definitely film as a subversive art no question about it, and I use 'art' loosely, but I find putting regular, otherwise harmless people on the spot to be the fodder for your own comedy not cool. When something like The Daily Show pulls this kind of routine with somebody that deserves it, it's funny. I thought 'Borat' did this pretty well with the Frat Guys (who are now suing him). But other than that, how 'ingenious' is this? Pissing people off for a laugh? That's schoolyard crap. I'm also so over the shock value that alot of comics (and artists) throw into their material to illustrate how 'cutting edge' they are. At this point it's just boring. Throw a penis, vagina image or reference or a fart sound effect in there and that's supposed to be pushing the envelope? I mean c'mon. Yeah, Mel Brooks did that kind of thing, but somehow it was in a different context and funnier. As a friend of mine put it who actually liked the film "it's a step up from 'Jackass' and a step down from Michael Moore". With the popularity of 'Jackass' and this 'Borat' film, popular culture is just going that much futher into swift decline. Anyway, I just found this guy to be a selfish jerk-off who thought it would be cool to go out and get the best of people. YAWN! Big deal... [ Edited by: donhonyc 2006-11-12 15:00 ]

At the risk of sounding like a grouch, and somebody who has no sense of humour I'm going to go public here and say the Borat movie that I just saw was not cool. In fact it was pretty disturbing, and I'm not talking about the actual content of the film. Let me just say that I have no problem with vulgarity. I'm not an ultra-conservative G-Rated loving, easily offended person. I'm not offended by swearing, nudity, etc. I love comedy. I love George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Chris Rock, John Waters and happen to think for example that 'Blazing Saddles' is a pretty fucking funny movie. After you've lived in New York for as long as I have, nothing surprises you. The thing about Borat (which I saw NOT by choice with a friend of mine) that disturbs me is how hugely successful this movie is. Number one at the box office? I actually saw a guy with two kids there that were probably no more than 10 years old. What the hell? I mean this is definitely film as a subversive art no question about it, and I use 'art' loosely, but I find putting regular, otherwise harmless people on the spot to be the fodder for your own comedy not cool. When something like The Daily Show pulls this kind of routine with somebody that deserves it, it's funny. I thought 'Borat' did this pretty well with the Frat Guys (who are now suing him). But other than that, how 'ingenious' is this? Pissing people off for a laugh? That's schoolyard crap. I'm also so over the shock value that alot of comics (and artists) throw into their material to illustrate how 'cutting edge' they are. At this point it's just boring. Throw a penis, vagina image or reference or a fart sound effect in there and that's supposed to be pushing the envelope? I mean c'mon. Yeah, Mel Brooks did that kind of thing, but somehow it was in a different context and funnier. As a friend of mine put it who actually liked the film "it's a step up from 'Jackass' and a step down from Michael Moore". With the popularity of 'Jackass' and this 'Borat' film, popular culture is just going that much futher into swift decline. Anyway, I just found this guy to be a selfish jerk-off who thought it would be cool to go out and get the best of people. YAWN! Big deal...

[ Edited by: donhonyc 2006-11-12 15:00 ]

Post #266164 by donhonyc on Sun, Nov 12, 2006 2:29 PM