This is a profile of the comedian Sacha Baron Cohen who stars in the feature film Borat and on the Da Ali G show. The most interesting aspect of this piece is how the author juxtaposed the characters created by Cohen and the comedian, himself. The lede of the piece shows how Strauss, the writer for Rolling Stone, was let into the world of his subject, as he described how the mustached character of Borat introduced himself as "Sacha" something never done prior to this meeting.
He contrasts the physical appearance of the two characters by describing the demeanor of the Kazahki reporter as donning a "shit-eating grin," with Ali G's riduculous questions and faux hip-hop persona to the private and preppy nature of Cohen. This article sets up an interesting perspective on a very complex man. Through usage of language in devling into Cohen's personal history, he seeks to understand and dissect the origins of his unique character comedy. Strauss was able to coherently create a character and picked meaningful details to support the character that he decided to show.
The conflict between Borat, Ali G, Bruno, and Cohen show how controversy can bring attention to greater social issues like racism. By portraying an anti-anti Semite, Borat is able to bring about awareness and expose subconscious prejudices or indifference towards anti-semitism. To explain he uses an example from an episode of Ali G, in which, Borat goes to a club in Tuscon and starts singing, "Throw the Jew Down the Well," soon to be accompanied by those in the bar.
Strauss contrasts the characters and Cohen by using dialogue about the movie, which indicates the insecurity of Cohen about the film. Throughout the entire profile, the comedian is portrayed as extremely quiet, shy, and extremely religious. This bifurcation of character reflects his desire to be "greedy" by having a private and a public life.
I really enjoyed this article. It was interesting to learn about his history; what he was like in school, the trouble he got into while in school, his family life, and personality. Strauss does a really good job of developing the character and using those supporting details to craft an interesting subject. His notoriety as Borat, has given him an opportunity to expose the darker side of American culture. It was also interesting to learn about all of the legal interworkings of his film, which have made news, because of the number of lawsuits that have followed the release of the film.
The end of the piece is the most interesting part for me because it reveals Cohen's desires to stay out of the press. Additionally, it further causes the reader to wonder with all of the pressures and coverage of his characters, if it is even a possibility to make a follow-up movie. With so much of his comedy based on shock and interviewing, one might wonder how that will be possible in the future, while maintaining the level of honesty that was portrayed in his first film.
5 comments:
This guy really hit the nail on the head. I actually read this in the magazine a while back, and found it to be a long piece, but I read every single word.
Maybe I just found the life of Borat and Sascha Cohen that enticing?
Either way, one of the best reads I've seen posted yet.
I totally agree with you Jennifer, the journalist did a great job giving details. I really like this piece. Lots of elements pull the reader in the article. There is a good description of the place where the interview takes place, Cohen is also well described physically, lots of details make us recreate the scene and almost live it. There are good dialogs too that makes the reader even closer. Through the scene in the restaurant we know more about the character’s religion; I really like this technique of using a scene and objects (here aliments) to give information on the character. This aspect made me think of the example of Harrington in “Telling True Stories” that shows that “Details matters”: “Everything in the house related to deeds they had done for others”.
I agree with everyone that this is a really strong piece. You can tell that Strauss used finesse in the length--the pace flows, but still allows us to be rooted in significant scenes and moments.
One thing I find really interesting about this piece is the transparency of reportage. I appreciated that the writer involved himself, but not in an overbearing or pretentious way. I am not completely sure how I feel about the structure of the middle section of the piece revolving around the interview questions. But I think reading about Baron Cohen's reactions, his squirms and hestitations, reveals his character in a different way. I noted too, the lack of direct quotes. The writer really controlled the piece and I liked that a lot.
The descriptions of Sasha Cohen, peppered with his own words and the words of his coworkers, help to paint a picture of what this artist really is. I really liked the pace of this article and the structuring choices by the author, as well as making it eminently clear that it was an interview... I think that was particularly poignant, especially when you take into consideration that Sasha himself has attained his success through exactly that. Modified interviews, edited to tell the story he wants to tell. That's exactly what we've been learning in the readings... that you take someone's story and make it your own. He's definitely done that, but in film rather than print.
Definitely a good article!
When watching the movie I thought that it brilliantly showed bias on many levels that humans have for their fellow human beings. When discussing the movie with friends and family I was at a loss for describing the mechanism by which Cohen was able to do this. I was very glad to read this article to read his description of this mechanism. "'Borat essentially works as a tool,' Baron Cohen says.' By himself being anti-Semitic, he lets people lower their guard and expose their own prejudice, whether it's anti-Semitism or an acceptance of anti-Semitism."
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