‘Ali G’ character causes near riot at rodeo

[greenpagan]

Crowd turns ‘downright nasty’ after ‘Borat’ garbles national anthem

Reuters

Updated: 1:28 p.m. ET Jan. 13, 2005

LONDON - British comedian Sasha Baron Cohen escaped a near-riot at an American rodeo while filming his satirical “Da Ali G Show.”

According to a report in the Roanoke (Virginia) Times, a man who was introduced as Boraq Sagdiyev from Kazakhstan — in reality a Cohen character named Borat — appeared at the rodeo over the weekend after organizers agreed to have him sing the national anthem.

After telling the crowd he supported America’s war on terrorism, he said, “I hope you kill every man, woman and child in Iraq, down to the lizards ... And may George W. Bush drink the blood of every man, woman and child in Iraq.” He then sang a garbled version of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

The Roanoke Times reported that the crowd turned “downright nasty.” One observer said “If he had been out there a minute longer, I think somebody would have shot him.”

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6821600/

[pilgrimm]

1. Love that show

[Love Bug]

2. They were probably more mad about the garbled song

than the statement about killing everyone in Iraq!

[Career Prole]

3. "prompting protests from the Anti-Defamation League" when Borat sang

“Throw the Jew Down the Well” at a country music bar.
I saw that episode. By the end of the song he had every redneck in the joint singing along and got it all on tape.
Cohen isn't a bigot himself...he just shines a spotlight on the bigots.

[roguevalley]

4. he to me is the tv talk show equivalent of Napolean Dynamite. I

howl with laughter and cringe to death watching him. He's so damned subversive. :-D

[Kinkistyle]

8. The actor playing him, Sacha Baron Cohen is JEWISH.

A fact which perhaps should be mentioned.

[AP]

9. And he spent a year in college in Atlanta studying civil rights...

...and I believe his thesis was on the civil rights movement in the US.

[Ratboca]

5. He's Too funny!!

I like the fact that he makes fun of EVERYBODY!! No one is immune.

[AP]

10. Unlike South Park, I think Cohen's comedy comes straight from the

left.

[fujiyama]

11. I agree

Did you see that episide where he followed that congressional candidate in MS? I also think that episode where he sang that song "throw the Jews down the well" was done more to expose the bigotry. I was surprised that they allowed him to continue singing and didn't ask him to leave.

I didn't know about him studying civil rights in Atlanta. That's interesting.

[unblock]

6. please edit the subject line to make it less offensive

and also note that du copyright rules permit only four paragraphs.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/forums/rules.html

unblock
du moderator

[MrSlayer]

7. That's pretty funny.

I can't wait to see the show.

[FlyByNight]

12. Respek!

I can't wait for the second season to come out on DVD already. I laugh real hard whenever I watch the first season. Comic brilliance.

"I love U, S and A!" Keep up the good work Sasha.

[Orangeone]

13. I used to like him

Until I thought about it. Would he be funny if a guy named Ali made fun of someone named Cohen? Or a German guy made fun of a Jewish guy?

[AP]

14. The character he's playing is a white guy who is idenetifying with

hip-hop/afro/carib/islamic culture that isn't really his (although he may be from the same working class background).

It's probably not as clear on the HBO series, but in the original series it was clear.

The part of London he says he's from is white. He goes to his nan's retirement home and spins records for the senior citizens. They're all white.

The character is making fun of people who aren't "Alis" for appropriating a culture that isn't theirs.

The Borat character is a little different. With that character he's just trying to draw out people's prejudices without being an ethnicity that is a common target of prejudice, but is one that makes people lower their guard.

The German character is just making fun of narcissism and celebrity culture.