Da Ali G Show

[ArchAngel71857]

I think this show is hilarious. The whole premise of the show is based on Americans trying their hardest to teach a foreigner about what is appropriate in America. Needless to say, he repeatedly backs his guests into corners as he gets them to say outrageous statements (e.g., A Baptist minister says it is against the Bible to watch Will and Grace, and to "Be fabulous!"). He interviews Andy Rooney, Sam Donaldson as a white guy dressed up in "street clothes" and talking ebonics. He purposesly confuses Watergate with Waterworld and WMDSs with BLTs. As Borat, he talks about voting and how in his country women can't vote and how strange it is that women can vote here. I am in constant laughter as Da Ali G, Borat, and Bruno conduct thier interviews.

Recently, I saw the show which got Sasha Cohen (the creator, actor, writer) into a lot of hot water based on a song he wrote as Borat, which he sang in a country western bar in Tuscon, AZ during open mike night. In his song he sings the lyrics:

Throw the Jew down the well
Then our country will be free
You must grab him by his horns
We will have a big Par-tee.

Now to give background, he sang this song as a character Borat. Borat is from Kazakistan. He repeatedly brings up how the problems of his country are caused by Gypsies, Women, and Jews. Sasha Cohen is also Jewish. The Anti Defamation league is upset with him because of this song. When I first heard they were upset with him and why, my response was "Dude, he's F***ing Jewish!" After watching the show, I understand now why the ADL was upset. Borat gets the entire bar to SING ALONG with the lyrics. While I found the lyrics to be funny because I am familiar with the show and his own Jewish heritage, I think it is rather difficult to escape blame from encouraging everyone to sing along with the lyrics and then air it on HBO. So while I don't think it was wrong for Sasha Cohen to write the lyrics, it may not have been the best move to encourage the bar to sing along and put it in his show. Then again, his show is really a criticism of Americans. Part of me thinks he was sitting up there amazed at what a cold reception he was getting until he sang about throwing Jews down wells. All of the sudden, people are laughing, singing, and cheering. While it may be a hard pill to swallow, I think more and more this particular instance fits in the spirit of his show and is another one of many embarrassing (yet almost all other times incredibly hilarious) recorded behaviors of Americans.

-AA

[MaxPower]

I agree. It is a hilarious show.

I am Jewish and I thought the segment where he sang the country song about Jews was hilarious. He is making fun of anti-semitism. Borat always puts people into situations where they show their anti-semitism. The people who should be offended are the non-jews.

I also think that he is not making fun of Americans. He did this in England for many years. Americans are no more stupid and embarssing that other nationalities.

He is really playing on people's desire to be on television and their stereotypes and tries to get them to react in ways that are predictable.

The Ali G character plays into people's stereotypes of young people and older people's conceits that they can communicate with young people (or that young people care about what they have to say).

The Bruno character plays into people's desire to be on television. They will comply with anything if they think it is part of a television show. He also plays into homophobia.

The Borat character is the same. People are willing to play along with him because of the power of television. The fact that he is a foreigner allows him to say inappropriate things and get away with it.

My favorite interview from last year was when Ali G interviewed Buzz Aldrin. He called him Buzz Lightyear.

[nicky g]

"I also think that he is not making fun of Americans. He did this in England for many years. Americans are no more stupid and embarssing that other nationalities."

Yes. He went to America because there was noone left over here who didn;t know who he was, and presumably to see if he could make it big there. (He tried doing a talk show with guests who knew it was an act; it really wasn;t funny).

[Gamblor]

I saw my first episode and I was shitting myself (Buzz Lightyear (Aldrin) interview). The man is pure genius, what a manipulator.

As far as the song goes, put most Americans in a bar, give them a couple beers, and they'll do whatever the loudest, craziest guy tells them to do.

That's how Bush won Texas.

[nicky g]

"As far as the song goes, put most Americans in a bar, give them a couple beers, and they'll do whatever the loudest, craziest guy tells them to do."

There's a much worse one where he gets some old hunter to start ranting about how Hitler had the right idea because the Jews had all the money and power etc. He needs very little encouragement from Borat.

[Tuco]

[ QUOTE ]
He is really playing on people's desire to be on television and their stereotypes and tries to get them to react in ways that are predictable.


[/ QUOTE ]

To an extent this is true. Borat and Bruno play on the power of a camera, but his main character is more about testing the people he is interviewing. His main goal is trying to find the degree of tolerance for each of his interviewees. Boutros Boutros Ghali's rope is somewhat longer than Donald Trumps apparently. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

It really is the funniest thing on televsion at the moment. His interview of James Baker and the whole carrot discussion had me in stiches.

Tuco.

[beerbandit]

borat is by far the best character on the ali g show. look up his web site (http://www.hbo.com/alig/) and click on the ali g glossary.

we would watch this in college a few years ago and then it seemed to disappear for a while.

cheers
beer

[nicky g]

The person who came out of an interview with him best in the ones that I saw was old lefty politician Tony Benn. He straight away gave him a very hard time about using language that was demeaning towards women, and although he didn;t catch on (I doubt they would screen it if someone did), he took no nonsense at all.

[Oski]

I read an article about the show in Vanity Fair. When Cohen was in Arizona, he was in his Borat character when he got pulled over and arrested. He did not break character until he was actually locked up. The Tucson PD confiscated the video.

I bet that would have made for a good segment.

The article also explains how many of the guests do not realize they have been had until the next day, or soon thereafter. James Lipton (U.S. season #1) was one who called the producers and gave them a ranting diatribe.

The segment with him was very funny, by the way.

[daryn]

i think it is TOTALLY BOGUS to say that it's ok to do if he's jewish, but not ok if he's not.

it's either ok or not.

[Gamblor]

i think it is TOTALLY BOGUS to say that it's ok to do if he's jewish, but not ok if he's not.

Cyrus may take exception to this, given the number of "historians, even Jewish ones" to denounce Israeli activity.

Walk down any street in South Central LA and you'll hear "nigga" every 10 seconds.

But you walk into that conversation, say the same thing, and you'll go right down; about 6 feet, to be exact.

Doesn't make it right, but does make it a fact. So if the morality of the joke is defined by whether or not the target is offended, then I suppose it is not as bad.

[Cyrus]

Yes, Ali G wants you to sing along to an anti-semite song! And he is Jewish! What does that mean?

A) He is a crazy, self-hating, anti-semite, pinko, liberal, gay Jew,

or

B) He wants you to think. You are allowed to protest, ya know! Why, instead of singing along, don't you, the audience give him some hell? That's the point.

We live in times where prototypes of behavior (and thought processes) are all over us - and winning. A televangelist can make us fork over serious moolah for his "mission". A fashion designer can choose your wardrobe while you're looking. A demagogue can convince us that all our problems are really the faults of the Jews (or the Muslims) (or the Martians). The medium has become too strong and Ali G wants us to have a shitload of it, and more, in order to wake up to the stupidity of it all.

His main character (: Ali G) is an English white kid that imitates black-dude-from-the-hood behavior, the kind that's been promoted as THE cool attitude from everywhere, MTV etc. People have promptly accused the Jewish comedian as anti-black!

Ali G's act is cringingly, embarassingly, sweatingly good. So don't buy the hype. Fight the power.