Borat

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For other uses, see Borat (disambiguation).

Borat Sagdiyev ("born" July 30, 1972) (Kazakh Cyrillic: Борат Сағдиев) is a fictional Kazakhstani journalist invented and portrayed by the British comedian provocateur Sacha Baron Cohen. In Da Ali G Show, an unscripted television series starring Baron Cohen, Borat interviews people who believe that he is a real Kazakhstani television journalist. He is also the main character portrayed in the film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

Sacha Baron Cohen first presented his foreign reporter concept to Channel 4 in 1994^[1], and by late 2000 Borat was, in his own words, a "great success."

Contents 1 Overview 2 Fictional background 2.1 Family 2.2 Pets 2.3 Education 2.4 Career & skills 2.5 Hobbies 2.6 Prejudices 2.7 Medical history 2.8 Religion 3 Lingo 3.1 Greetings 3.2 Interjections 3.3 Sexual terminology 3.4 Fictional culture 4 Da Ali G Show 5 Film 6 Criticism and Controversy 6.1 Criticized as unfair smear against Kazakhstan 6.2 Alleged Exploitation of Roma (Gypsies) 6.3 Using people in nonfiction films 6.4 Possible antisemitism 6.5 Extreme pro-Iraq war stance 6.6 Conflicts with Kazakhstani government 6.7 White House "visit" 6.8 Complaint by Roma in Germany 6.9 Hoax victims 6.10 Litigation 7 Notes 8 External links

Overview

Borat evolved from previous characters that Sacha Baron Cohen had developed: An unnamed Moldovan TV reporter (for LWT/Granada TV and the BBC's Comedy Nation), and an Albanian TV reporter called Kristo (for the Paramount Comedy Channel).

Borat appeared irregularly on Da Ali G Show, for Channel 4 and HBO, with sketches featuring him often relying on outrageous behaviour and actions, and the reactions of uninformed individuals around him. In early appearances his name was given as Borat Karabzhanov as well as Borat Dutbayev but from 2003 his name was changed to Sagdiyev. In some cases, Borat's guests embrace his anti-Semitism and misogyny by agreeing with him, while other guests express displeasure and attempt to correct his behaviour. Borat has also appeared on BBC1's Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, he appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on July 14, 2004 and on November 2, 2006 in his own feature film, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

Cohen (in character) promoted the Borat film with appearances on Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Opie and Anthony, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Howard Stern Show, Live with Regis and Kelly, Late Show with David Letterman, on which he played the berimbau as a guest musician with Beck, The Today Show where host Matt Lauer interviewed him and CBS's The Early Show where host Harry Smith interviewed then playfully wrestled with Borat.[2] Just minutes before the CBS appearance, Borat appeared on Fox News where both hosts laughed constantly throughout the interview. But Gretchen Carlson could not stop even when Borat expressed his astonishment when she stated that she would see the movie on Saturday: "You let women in cinemas here? In my country we have a pen outside for the animals and womens!"

Because of his outrageously offensive and bigoted behavior, of which Borat seems innocently unaware, and the stereotypes of a backwards second world country, as he portrays Kazakhstan, the character has sparked controversy. The most outspoken critics of Borat so far have been government officials in Kazakhstan who have vilified Baron Cohen for the way their nation is characterised. The differences between Borat's fictional homeland in Kazakhstan and the actual people and way of life in the country are so far apart that some speculate whether Baron Cohen made it that way to be a satire of American and British views of the world.[3]

Fictional background

Sacha Baron Cohen provides Borat's backstory as follows.

Family

Borat was born on July 30, 1972 in Kuçzek, Kazakhstan. He is the son of Asimbala Sagdiyev and Boltok the Rapist, who is also his maternal grandfather. He is also the former husband of Oksana Sagdiyev, who was the daughter of Mariam Tuyakbay and Boltok the Rapist. His relationship with his mother seems to be unpleasant, and Borat has commented that "she wishes she was raped by another man."

Borat has a sister named Natalya, regarded as the fourth-best prostitute in Kazakhstan (and best sex-in-mouth), with whom he often fornicates, thus making him incestful. He also has a younger brother named Bilo, who is mentally retarded and must be kept locked behind a metal door or in a cage. Bilo also has a pouch were he stores all the porno he looks at inside. In an interview, Borat said, "My brother Bilo has a small head but very strong arms. He have 204 teeth (193 in mouth 11 in nose)! You can do anything to him - he do not remember nothing! He is a sex crazy ... all day long he in his cage look on porno & rub rub rub!"^[2]

He has been married several times, once to his half-sister's plough. His first wife was Oksana Sagdiyev, another half-sister. She was shot and killed by neighbour Nursultan Tuyakbay, who mistook her for a bear, while accompanying her brother-in-law Bilo on a walk in the forest. Borat was largely unaffected by this event and even celebrated it, as he was able to buy a new wife who he claimed was not boring. He maintains extramarital relations with a girlfriend, a mistress, and at least one prostitute.

He has three children: 12-year-old Bilak, 12 year-old Biram (whose mother is Borat's sister, Natalya), and 13 year-old Hooeylewis (his favorite child); and 17 grandchildren.

Pets

Borat used to have a pet pig, Igor, whom he claims to have loved, although he and his family eventually did eat it, including the eyes. He apparently also had a horse at some point.

Education

Borat attended the Astana University, where he studied English, journalism, and plague research (and created 3 new plagues that were launched on Uzbekistan).

Career & skills

Borat is a reporter. He has had many jobs ranging from ice maker to animal sperm retriever (he claims that rumours of a connection between these jobs are unfounded). He also claims to have previously worked as a Gypsy catcher, boasting that he can "hit a gypsy with a rock from 15 meters away if chained — 10 if not."

He also claims that he can carry a woman against her will and has done so, once carrying his future wife for 1,600 meters (one mile).

Borat claims to have the tightest anus of his village, tight enough to open a bottle of Pepsi.

Hobbies

Borat's hobbies are table tennis, disco dancing, sunbathing (while wearing a green "slingshot" thong), shooting dogs, spitting, sitting on comfortable chairs, taking pictures of women while they "make-a toilet," jumping on the trampoline, and drinking traditional wine made from "ferment horse urine."[4][5]

Prejudices

In addition to being a sexist and a homophobe, Borat is prejudiced against Jews, Uzbeks, and Gypsies. Borat has said that he once suffered a "very bad Gypsy attack," in which his wife Oksana Sagdiyev's plough was stolen, and "they touch my horse in very bad way; it get depressed for very long time." He does not appear to have a prejudice against black people, though claimed that one of his wives did, and he calls black people "chocolate faces". He later married a black prostitute.

Medical history

Borat has had many diseases including gonorrhoea, syphilis, and herpes which he caught from his sister.

Religion

In the film, Borat discloses that as a Kazakh he "follows the hawk." This may be a reference to the present flag of Kazakhstan which depicts a golden steppe eagle flying under a golden sun on a blue background. Ghengis Khan flew a blue flag with an eagle when he ruled Kazakhstan. However, during the course of the film he visits a Pentecostal service, and at the end of the film, while back in his village declares that he and, ostensibly, the rest of his village are now Christians.

Lingo

Most of the "Kazakh" dialogue in the film is actually Polish or Hebrew, as Baron Cohen speaks Hebrew nearly fluently and uses the language around unfamiliar Americans when keeping up his character's foreignness. This is a list of common Borat vocabulary, with definitions:

Greetings

• Dzienkuje - "thank you." Sometimes used as a greeting in the opening of the Borat segments of Da Ali G Show (from the Polish "Dziękuję"). Also spelled as "Chenquieh" when written by Borat, e.g., his speech on the Kazakhstani embassy.

• Jagshemash - "how are you?" (from the Polish "Jak się masz?", the Czech "Jak se máš?"). Returning to Central Asia, the Uyghur greeting "yahşimusiz" means "are you well?", and in Uzbek it's "yaxshimisiz." Perhaps ironically, especially in light of Borat's views on Uzbeks, "yaxshi emas" means "not good/well" in Uzbek.

• Dzien Dobre - sometimes used in place of above greeting, is Polish for "welcome." It is also the greeting of Baron Cohen's Borat prototype character Kristo, as well as the greeting used by Borat as he opens the segment in his movie where he is about to meet Pamela.

Interjections

• Tishe - equivalent of "be quiet" or "stop it", depending on the tone on which it is used. Directed at animals.

• Wa wa wee wa - was invented by an Israeli comedian Dovale Glikman on the TV show "Zehu Ze," and is in popular use in Israel; basically, an expression of surprise equivalent to "wow". ^{[citation needed]}

Sexual terminology

• Khram - male genitalia. (from the Russian slang word "хрен" ["khrien"], of the same meaning). Used to refer to the scrotum or testicles, as well as the penis. Notice that "khrum" in Russian means temple, church, and is seen as something sacred. In a promotional segment for his movie on Comedy Central, Borat uses the term Bishkek (possibly a variant of "beefcake") to describe the same thing, referring to his "family photos" of his son Hooeylouis.

• Vazhïn (rhymes with machine) - vagina (also once referred to as Shakira).

• Hand Party - masturbation.

• Mouth Party - oral sex.

• Sexy Time - sexual intercourse.

• Liquid/Romance Explosion - ejaculation.

Fictional culture

• Korki Buchek - fictional "popular music superstar" known for the song "Bing Bang".

• Krutzouli - fictional small or insignificant animal of ambiguous identity, placed not too far below women in the fictional Kazakhstani caste system, enumerated as "God, man, horse, dog, woman, rat, and then a little krutzouli" ("Guide to Politics"). In Poland, "Krasula" ("Pretty Cow") is also a common name given to cows.

• Running of the Jew - fictional annual traditional festival in which the 300 bravest men of Kazakhstan chase large papier-mâché caricatures of Jews on the streets, and chase them into wells, while spectators break the eggs they lay, and throw stones and potatoes at the Jewish caricatures. "It is for the childrens," said Borat in his interview on "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross." It's a parody of two Spanish festivals: The "Running of the Bulls" and the "Gigantes y cabezudos".

• Shurik, Festival/Feast of - fictional annual one-day festival when it is appropriate to have sexual intercourse with one's sister, animals, and minors; takes place the day following the "Running of the Jew." It is also mandatory to have intercourse with another of the same sex.

• Shurik, Sport of - fictional sport similar to 'baseballs,' in which they take a dog and shoot it in a field, and then have a party; played during Festival of Shurik.

Da Ali G Show

Borat is shown in each episode of Da Ali G Show, doing satirical interviews with often-unwitting subjects in the United Kingdom and the United States. The segment was shot in low-quality video to keep a satirical feeling of poor quality European television (similar to Chanel 9 segments on The Fast Show). Of Ali G, Borat says on his website, "I appear on Alee G shows - He idiot, but it give me lot of muney - I like ..."

In order to pass himself off as a foreigner, Baron Cohen writes his alleged notes in Hebrew, and uses occasional Polish words as explained (though rarely in the correct situations) when speaking to people—not using Kazakh or Russian (the state and official languages of Kazakhstan). He also lapsed into Hebrew while purporting to sing the Kazakhstani national anthem at a Savannah Sand Gnats game. He kept on repeating a famous Hebrew folk song: קום בחור עצל וצא לעבודה (kum bachur atzel ve'tze la'avoda - "get up lazy guy and go to work [...]" ) [...] קוקוריקו קוקוריקו התרנגול קרא (kookooriku kookooriku ha'tarnegol kara) ("cock a doodle do the cock has crowed"), and also called Kazakhstan a distant/desolate place (literally "hole" (חור)(hor)).

The hair and moustache are real, and it takes Baron Cohen six weeks to grow them. Borat has, however, made at least one public appearance with a fake moustache.^[3]

On November 3, 2005, Borat was the host of the MTV Europe Music Awards 2005 show in Lisbon.^[4]

On October 14, 2006 Borat won the German Comedy Award as the best international comedian.

Film

Main article: Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Subtitled Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, the film is a low-budget mockumentary comedy. Most appearances in the film are not paid, but are rather real people whom Borat met during his journey.^{[citation needed]} The distributor of the film is 20th Century Fox, and the director is Larry Charles. It premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival, and was released across Europe and North America on November 3, 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 re-run 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 out Fahrenheit 9/11 as the biggest opening weekend for a film released in under 1,000 theaters. Sacha Baron Cohen celebrated the release of the film with a host of promotional 'in-character' interviews, like this one with stv.tv.

However, on November 9, 2006 the Russian Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography banned the movie, citing "it could offend viewers in relation to certain ethnic groups and religions."

The film expanded its release on the second weekend to 2,566 screens, where it took in an additional $29 million. [6]

Criticism and Controversy

See also Da Ali G Show: Controversy

Criticized as unfair smear against Kazakhstan

A number of commentators have argued that the film's portrayal of the people of Kazakhstan is unfair and unjustified [7]. In fact, Kazakhstan is one of the most tolerant central asian nations because almost half its population is Russian, who are historically Orthodox, and its native Kazakhs are not particularly devoutly Muslim, usually mixing Islam with pagan rituals; the most radical Muslim elements belonging to the Uzbek population in the south. [8]

Tony Karon has alleged that the film reinforces prejudice against Muslims and asserts that "Kazakhstan is one of the least anti-Semitic polities in the Muslim world today." [9] Karon cites a U.S. State Department report suggesting that Jews are treated realitively well:

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 a single case of anti-Semitism. He praised the Government of Kazakhstan for its pro-active protection of the Jewish community.

Nevertheless, there have been reports of anti-Semitism in Kazakhstan, as illustrated by Alden Oreck's article in the Jewish Virtual Library, a division of the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise:

While anti-Semitism is not a great threat, it is still prevalent in Kazakhstan. Jews are occasionally beaten and harassed because of their identity. In 1997, after Kazakh KGB agents arrested Leonid Solomin, an independent Jewish labor leader and his associates, the Kazakh newspapers published a slew of anti-Semitic charges warning against "Zionists" and "international Jewry." One even called upon the people to kill Jews. [10]

On October 19, Associated Press reported that Kazakhstan's Deputy Foreign Minister, Rakhat Aliyev, had invited Cohen to visit Kazakhstan and 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 wine from grapes, that Jews can freely attend synagogues and so on.

By comparaison, less traditional religious minorities, especially Baptist and Hare Krishna, are subject to an official policy of harassment by the government of Kazakhstan, including classification as religious extremists and extra-legal distruction of property and eviction in winter. The Norweian religious rights group Forum 18 has stated that

Kazakh authorities have also worked with local television stations to encourage intolerance against religious minorities, such as Baptists and Hare Krishna devotees. [11]

Alleged Exploitation of Roma (Gypsies)

The scenes supposedly filmed in Borat's Kazakh village were actually filmed in an impoverished Roma (also known as Gypsies, though many consider this term derogatory) village of Glod in Romania. The USA Today reports that poverty-stricken villagers were offered between $3.30 and $5.50 (US dollars) to bring animals into their houses and perform other acts which ended up degrading them for the benefit of the amusement and profit of others [12]. The studio contends that particpants were paid double the rate recommended by the Romanian film office for extras. ^[5]

Two villagers of Glod, have hired the famous holocast attorney Ed Fagan to sue the makers of the Borat film for $30 million for human rights abuses. Fagan intends to submit lawsuits in New York and Florida state courts, as well as in Frankfurt, Germany.^[6]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 the charges were too vague to stand up in court. Fagan plans to refile. ^[7]

Using people in nonfiction films

Fresh Air's critic at large (and film critic for Vogue magazine) John Powers pointed out on November 24, 2006 that the standard technique of documentary filmmakers "using" people when they have signed release can cause problems. The filmmaker takes the raw footage and edits it to portray the filmmaker's point of view and may distort the object of the people, in this case in documentary nonfiction -- real actual people, who are being portrayed. Powers related a story of how he was used when another filmmaker asked him for an interview about a movie director whom Powers admired and filmed a whole hour. But the finished film only showed a few seconds of the interview when Powers made a nasty comment about that director. Powers attributes the controversy to the nonfiction format.

Possible antisemitism

Borat has elicited some controversy, mostly related to his frequent displays of antisemitism.

Baron Cohen is himself Jewish. He explained his character's racist nature by stating that the segments are a "dramatic demonstration of how racism feeds on dumb conformity, as much as rabid bigotry," rather than a display of racism by Baron Cohen himself.^[8]

However, the Anti-Defamation League, a U.S.-based Jewish rights group, complained to HBO after Borat performed a country western song titled "In My Country There Is Problem" that called on people to 'throw the Jew down the well', warning them that 'you must be careful of his teeth' and that 'you must grab him by his horns', to applause and participation from some members of an audience in Tucson, Arizona, USA. 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."[13][14]

In one scene, Borat sings a song that was commonly called Throw the Jew Down the Well, which incited hatred to Jews as the cause of all of Kazakhstan's problems. The song was wildly supported and cheered when it is played in a bar. Another Borat scene involves his visiting the Serengeti Range ranch in Texas, where the owner of the ranch reveals himself to be so anti-Semitic as to believe that Hitler's 'Final Solution' was a necessity for Germany. He further implies (with the egging on of Borat) 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 U.S. Congress from Mississippi, caused Broadwater to receive some hateful emails after an episode of Da Ali G Show aired in which Broadwater stated that 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 Savior will spend eternity in Heaven, while everyone who rejects Him will spend eternity in Hell." Broadwater did not apologise for his comments, which were widely seen as insensitive and inflammatory. Instead, he insisted that "the liberal, anti-God media needs to be brought under the strict control of the FCC, and that as soon as possible."^[9]

In the film, he continues his anti-semitic stance, such as when he finds himself in a bed and breakfast run by an old Jewish couple, he tries to "escape", and claims that the Jews can transform into cockroaches.

Extreme pro-Iraq war stance

In January 2005, after convincing the authorities that he was shooting a documentary, Borat managed to infuriate a crowd at a rodeo in Salem, Virginia, USA. The crowd first cheered his statements of support for the Iraq war, including statements as "May George W. Bush drink the blood of every single man, woman, and child of Iraq" and "May you destroy their country so that for the next thousand years, not even a single lizard will survive in their desert". The cheers died out and turned to loud boos when he rendered a mangled version of the US national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner" that was presented by Borat as the Khazak national anthem.^[10]

"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, Borat was escorted from the venue. Much of the event appears in the movie. ^[11]

Conflicts with Kazakhstani government

Sacha Baron Cohen (who plays Borat) has also been accused of his character being a derogatory portrayal of Kazakhstanis.^[12]

In November 2005, following Borat's hosting of the MTV Europe Music Awards in Lisbon, the Kazakhstani Foreign Ministry voiced their concerns about the character. Foreign Ministry spokesman Yerzhan Ashykbayev told a news conference: "We view Mr. Cohen's behavior 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 behavior of Kazakhstan's people", concluding "We reserve the right to any legal action to prevent new pranks of the kind."^[13]

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 civilised 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 consent has been raised to eight years old. Please, captain of industry; I invite you to come to Kazakhstan where we have incredible natural resources, hardworking labour, and some of the cleanest prostitutes in whole of Central Asia. Goodbye! Dzienkuje!"

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."^[14] 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 advert carried testimonials about the nation's democracy, education system and the power and influence enjoyed by women. On a previous occasion, Borat responded to official Kazakhstani complaints by issuing his own "press release", which consisted of randomly arranged Cyrillic characters. He would make another response when promoting his movie in front of the Kazakhstani Embassy in Washington, roundly denouncing the advertisements as "Uzbek propaganda". ^[15]

On December 13, 2005, the right to use the domain name www.borat.kz was suspended, and the site attached to it was closed down.^[16] 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 Kazakhstani 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.^[17] Meanwhile, the "Official Borat Homesite" was moved to the .tv domain, where it remains. (As of November 10, 2006, the former domain name was still suspended.)

Borat has, however, recently been defended by Dariga Nazarbayeva, a politician and the daughter of Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev. She stated on a national news program Karavan that Baron 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."^[18]

White House "visit"

On September 29, 2006, Baron Cohen appeared in character as Borat at the White House gates to give a press conference ^[19] and 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." Secret Service agents would not admit him to the grounds. The apparent publicity stunt was likely timed to coincide with an official visit by President Nazarbayev the following day.

Complaint by Roma in Germany

On October 18, 2006, European Center for Antiziganism Research, which pleads against discrimination of gypsies (e.g. Roma and Sinti people), filed a complaint (PDF file, in German) with prosecutors based on Borat's comments about gypsies in his film. The complaint accuses him of defamation and inciting violence against the ethnic group.^[20]

At a press conference 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.

Hoax victims

WAPT (Jackson, Mississippi) TV news producer Dharma Arthur claims in Newsweek she lost her job as a result of her booking Borat on a local afternoon news program, because she did little more than cursory research on the guest she had booked. At the time of the appearance, she was unaware of Baron Cohen's act. During an interview with anchor Brad McMullan, Borat made sexual and scatological references, kissed McMullan, and later disrupted a live weather report.^[21] She said: "Because of him, my boss lost faith in my abilities and second-guessed everything I did .... I spiraled 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.

Two members of the Chi Psi fraternity, also featured in the movie, have brought a lawsuit against Baron Cohen and 20th Century Fox. The lawsuit asserts that the film made plaintiffs the "object of ridicule" and caused "emotional and physical distress".^[22]

However, not all hoax victims threaten to sue. Behind-the-scenes interviews with Randall Shelley (Guide to Baseball), Danny Passmore (Guide to Hobbies USA), Jennifer Defrancisco/Charles Di Cagno (Guide to Acting), Ken Goldberg (Guide to being a real man) and Peta Heskell (Guide to English Gentlemen) have all decided not to press charges. ^[23]

Litigation

• The state prosecutor in Hamburg, Germany, filed a complaint against Mr. Cohen, accusing him of slander, inciting violence against the Sinti and Roma gypsy groups, and violating Germany's anti-discrimination law.[15]

• Two fraternity men featured in the movie have filed an anonymous complaint against corporations and persons affiliated with Mr. Cohen in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, California, for fraud, rescission of contract, common law false light, statutory false light, appropriation of likeness, and negligent infliction of emotional distress. [16] One of the plaintiffs has been revealed as Justin Seay, a graduate of the University of South Carolina and former Vice President of the Chi Psi Fraternity. [17] On December 11 2006, an L.A. Judge denied the pair a restraining order to remove them from the film. ^[24]

• Cindy Streit, the owner of Etiquette Training Service in Birmingham, Alabama, has claimed mistreatment and fraud after "Borat" attended a dinner party and subjected her and the other guests to "ridicule and humiliation". Ms. Streit has hired attorney Gloria Allred, who is demanding an investigation by the California attorney general. Allred says her client agreed to be filmed as part of a documentary for Belarus 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 Fox denied the claims and stated that there was nothing in writing about only being shown in Belarus; they also asserted that the release form clearly stated the footage could be distributed worldwide.[18]

Notes

External links

• Official Borat Homesite, formerly at www.borat.kz
• Borat on MySpace
• Very extensive Borat fan site
• HBO:Da Ali G Show
• Borat at the Internet Movie Database
• Borat at Rotten Tomatoes
• Video interview with Borat on Movies.com
• Borat film review at Mansized
• The Best of Borat on YouTube
• The Borat Soundboard
• Watch scenes from the Borat movie and show!
• Borat Sign Generator
• Make Your Own Borat Generator

Articles

• SuicideGirls interview with Borat co-writer/co-producer by Daniel Robert Epstein
• Interview with Dan Mazer about Borat, Producer of Da Ali G Show on April 23, 2003 on boratonline.co.uk
• "Did Ali G Go Too Far?" on August 13, 2004 in The Jewish Week
• "The Borat Doctrine" posted Sept. 13, 2004 in The New Yorker
• "'Ali G' Comedian Riles Rodeo Crowd" on January 14, 2005 on CBS News
• "No Joke" by Kenneth Neil Cukier on December 28, 2005 in Foreign Affairs, on what the removal of the Borat site from the .kz domain portends for the administration of the global domain name system
• Borat on Google Video
• Borat on Gotuit Video
• "Borat in Paris" on October 9, 2006
• "Offensive and unfair, Borat's antics leave a nasty aftertaste" by Kazakhstan Ambassador Erlan Idrissov on October 4, 2006 in The Guardian
• "Taking Stupid Seriously" October 15, 2006 in the LA Times
• "Behind the Schemes", Newsweek, October 16, 2006 (profiling several people who became unwitting Borat punch lines)
• "Borat vs. Kazakhstan", brandchannel, October 30, 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)
• "New Borat Book Contains 100 Photos of Naked Kazakhstan Women", Russian Spy, November 2006
• Scaled Back Borat Opening Costs Fox $53 Million
• "We survived Stalin and we can certainly overcome Borat's slurs" by Kazakhstan Ambassador Erlan Idrissov on November 04, 2006 in The Times

Sacha Baron Cohen
Characters
Ali G | Borat Sagdiyev | Bruno
Films and TV series
The Eleven O'Clock Show (1998-1999) | Da Ali G Show (UK: 2000, US: 2003-2004) | Ali G Indahouse (2002) | Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)