borat

Borat Sagdiyev ("born" July 30, 1972) (Kazakh Cyrillic: Борат Сагдиев) is a fictional Kazakh journalist invented and portrayed by the British comedian 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 Kazakh television journalist. He is also the main character portrayed in the controversial and successful film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Borat also has an appearance in Cohen's other film, Ali G Indahouse.

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). He 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."

Sacha Baron Cohen's modus operandi

Cohen adopts the paradoxical persona of Borat, who is portrayed as a Groucho Marx-like character, but lacking all manners and given to gratuitous insults. Borat is an unsophisticated, dimwitted, boorish, sexually obsessed, misogynist who constantly reports the death of his first wife, refers to most women as prostitutes, refers repeatedly to the iron-like qualities of the Kazakhs' pubic hair, takes pride in his incestuous relationship with his sister, and denigrates the leadership and policies of Kazakhstan. He describes Jews as having horns, claws and horrible teeth, and talks of how killing Gypsies wouldn't bother him. He is openly xenophobic as he criss-crosses the world mocking people willing to submit to his "interviews" and makes fun and a mockery of any aspect of his most recent host-country. He continually arranges encounters with unsuspecting subjects (interviewees or audiences) expressing and acting out his outrageous prejudices and shocking behavior which induces his victims to reveal their hidden dark side for the world to see, and possibly laugh at.

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 antisemitism 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.

Baron Cohen (in character) promoted the Borat film with appearances on The Howard Stern Show, Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Opie and Anthony, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, 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!" Baron Cohen's TV appearances paid homage to the Tony Clifton character portrayed by Andy Kaufman in the late-1970s. During Clifton's appearances on shows such as Late Night With David Letterman many people were baffled as to whether or not he was a real person.

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." "She never hugged me," "she wished I was never born," "she doesn't love me" are some futher comments Borat makes concerning his mother.

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!"^[4]

He has been married several times, once to his half-sister's plough. His first wife was Oksana Sagdiyev, another half-sister. She was "violated" (raped) and killed by 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.

His wife died in 2002. He has a Gypsie boy named Vassilli who trims his moustache and wipes his anus.

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.

Borat brought Hooeylewis, his wife and his child to England in an attempt to sell the child to "transvestite singer Madonna".

Beliefs

Borat has a great admiration for Joseph Stalin, whom he describes as being both "strong" and "powerful". He believes politicians should be like him and have large "khram". (Russian: Храм, literally "temple," but intended to mean "testicles").

Sacha Baron Cohen is himself Jewish and says that he uses the Borat character to expose anti-Semitism and racism. By having Borat make anti-Semitic and racist statements, Baron Cohen claims to be able to show people's favourable reaction and thereby expose anti-Semitic/racist sentiment in society. For example, he was hunting and asked in an interview if it was legal to shoot Jews, to which his host replied that he would have no problem with that although others would. Sometimes people are repulsed by his anti-Semitism. At a dog pound he asked his host if he could test if a dog was trained. He had the interviewee place a finger on each side of her head (like a horn) and say Shalom, then he told the dog: "Attack! Attack the Jew." The woman was very distressed, saying "No! Jews are Jesus's children. She [the dog] probably loves Jews." Also, while taking a self-defense class, Borat asked the instructor to teach him how to defend against the "Jew Claw" (in all fairness, the instructor made it very clear that one should respect the beliefs of others; he didn't believe the "claw" to be literal), and then he made a claw with his hand and had the instructor defend himself against it.

Borat is also known for his animosity toward Uzbekistan. He has been known to talk about the fictional 'Tishniek' massacre, including during his 'Soul Motion' Dance class where he depicted the massacre and proceeded to explain how many Uzbeks were "crushed" on that day. He later told how he was "very proud" of the massacre and said it was not sad because "it is us who do the kill." In a recent press interview (which attracted more reporters than one given by the actual Kazakhstan president held at the same time) Borat threatened his country would "commence bombardment" of Uzbekistan cities with catapults if their anti-Kazakhstan propaganda did not cease. He also claimed that while he was studying "English, journalism, and plague research" to have "Made two new ones [plagues] that killed over five million goats in Uzbekistan."

He also asked the Oklahoma City Traffic Commission to stand in silence for ten minutes to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the massacre, but only got about a minute and a half. In the meeting, which was broadcast live on local TV, he thanked them for letting him join the meeting and then asked to give "short speech" which lasted 17 minutes. The speech covered traffic and American democracy. He made several comments that dumbfounded the commission, including how the only women allowed into government buildings in Kazakhstan are prostitutes.Audio of news coverage

He was shocked to discover that American women have the right to vote, while horses do not, whereas in Kazakhstan, the opposite holds true. On said discovery, he recited the "chain of importance" — "God, man, horse, dog, woman, then rat, then small krutzouli" — to a female voter. When looking for a home in the US, Borat stated that his wife was afraid of "men with chocolate face," referring to black people.

Some of Borat's interviews carry homoerotic undertones. Interviews can involve discussion of "khram" or the sexual preferences of the interviewee or other celebrities, such as Freddie Mercury. Borat enjoys touching and holding men, but has a noticeable aversion toward women. Often he will kiss men on the cheek (and occasionally the lips) but when approached by a woman he will shy away or merely offer a handshake, an example of this being his report on Henley Royal Regatta where he kisses all the male members of a winning crew but not their female coxswain.

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.

He also has a cow in his home.

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 and 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.

On Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Borat claims his khram is "thick like a can of Pepsi".

Hobbies

Borat's hobbies are making "sexy-time", ping pong, 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 "fermented horse urine."^[5][6]

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. Alternatively, this may be the reference to al-Haqq - "the truth" in Arabic. In Hebrew, Hoq (חוק) is a Divinely-ordained Law that is above reason. 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 with a faux-Russian accent 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 Kazakh 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 "Good Day!." 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 a popular Israeli comedian on a variety TV show "Zehu Ze," and is in popular use in Israel; basically, an expression of surprise equivalent to "wow".^[7]

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" (храм) 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 Hooeylewis.
• Vazhïn (rhymes with machine) - vagina (also once referred to as Shakira).
• Hand Party/Relief/Dirty - masturbation.
• Mouth Party - oral sex.
• Sexy Time - sexual intercourse.
• Liquid/Romance/ Explosion, also Sexy Time Explosion - ejaculation.
• Babraboosh - A compound of two words referring to pubic hair and oral sex.

Fictional Kazakh 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 Kazakh 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.
• Potassium - main Kazakh export
• Eleven years old - the figure the Kazakh age of consent has been recently raised to
• Purple shirts - what Kazakh's comitted for sex crimes wear
• Blue hats - what gay Kazakh's had to wear until recently
• Fifteen gallons of insecticide - the going rate for purchasing a Kazakh bride
• You find me woman with brain, I find you horse with wings - a 'famous' Kazakh saying

Genuine Kazakh references

• Tenge - the Kazakh monetary unit

Other Signature Phrases and Boratisms

• I excite
• Isa very nice
• Happy time
• Hi five
• Retard
• Youra fat
• She have anus of seven year old
• In the U S and A...
• I like very much
• Ladies with nice physiques
• I would like to make a romance inside of her
• Fermented horse urine - a fictional Kazakh wine
• Gypsie tears - a fictional medicinal cure for diseases as well as impotence
• Big nose people - Jews
• Chocolate faces - Black Americans
• Do a toilet - go to the washroom
• Cage - a place to store one's wife

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 Kazakh 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.^[8]

The Borat segments on Da Ali G show use the Russian folk tune, Korobeiniki, as their theme song.

Guide to Britain

Shown as part of a six part Ali G show originally on Channel 4 (UK) in March 2000.

Five Borat sketches were shown, guides to Etiquette, Hunting, Cambridge, Edinburgh and Henley. The guides to English Gentleman, Politics and Sport were also filmed at this time but released at a later date as part of Ali G DVDs.

Borat Special

A one off shown on the E4 launch night (UK) in January 2001. Highlights included the guide to Sport and a specially filmed introduction to his family and friends in Kazakhstan (actually Romania).

Guide to USA 1

Shown as part of a six part Ali G show originally on HBO (USA) in February 2003.

Six Borat sketches were shown, guides to Dating, Etiquette, Acting, Men, Baseball and The South. A guide to Animals was filmed but released at a later date as part of an Ali G DVD.

Guide to USA 2

Shown as part of a six part Ali G show originally on HBO (USA) in July 2004.

Six Borat sketches were shown, guides to Wine Tasting, Politics, Country Music, Hobbies, Buying a House and Jobs. A guide to Hunting was filmed but only aired in the UK due to its controversal nature.

Ali G Indahouse

Borat had a small role in Cohen's film Ali G Indahouse, in which he meets with Cohen's character Ali G.

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.^[9]

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.^[10]

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.^[11]

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."^[12] Karon cites a U.S. State Department report^[13] 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.^[14]

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.

In contrast to this, 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 destruction of property and eviction in winter. The Norwegian 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.^[15]

Denigration 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. 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.^[16] The studio contends that participants were paid double the rate recommended by the Romanian film office for extras. ^[17]

Two villagers of Glod, have hired the famous Holocaust 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^[17]

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.

Denigration of Jews

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

Baron Cohen is himself Jewish, and is reported to be observant of Orthodox Judaism.^[18][19] 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.^[20] "Borat essentially works a tool. By himself being anti-Semitic, he lets people lower their guard and expose their own prejudice," Cohen explains to Rolling Stone.^[18] Cohen, the grandson of a Holocaust survivor, says he wishes in particular to expose the role of indifference in that genocide:

"When I was in university, there was this major historian of the Third Reich, Ian Kershaw, who said, 'The path to Auschwitz was paved with indifference.' I know it's not very funny being a comedian talking about the Holocaust, but it's an interesting idea that not everyone in Germany had to be a raving anti-Semite. They just had to be apathetic."^[18]

Regarding the enthusiastic response to his song "In My Country There is Problem" (detailed below), he says, "Did it reveal that they were anti-Semitic? Perhaps. But maybe it just revealed that they were indifferent to anti-Semitism."

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."^[21][22]

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."^[23]

In the film, he continues his antisemitic 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.

Cohen later joked, upon receiving a British comedy award, that Borat was guest of honour at the Holocaust denial conference in Tehran.

Extreme Iraq war sarcasm

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 . The cheers died out and turned to loud boos when he exclaimed "May you destroy their country so that for the next thousand years, not even a single lizard will survive in their desert" and sung the (fictional) Kazakh national anthem to an off-key version of the "US national anthem".^[24]

"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. ^[25]

Conflicts with Kazakh government

Sacha Baron Cohen (who plays Borat) has also been accused of his character being a derogatory portrayal of Kazakhs.^[26]

In November 2005, following Borat's hosting of the MTV Europe Music Awards in Lisbon, the Kazakh 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."^[27]

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!"^[28]

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."^[29] 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 Kazakh 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 Kazakh Embassy in Washington, roundly denouncing the advertisements as "Uzbek propaganda". ^[30]

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.^[31] 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 Kazakh 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.^[32] 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 daughter of Kazakh 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."^[33]

White House "visit"

On September 28, 2006, Baron Cohen appeared in character as Borat at the White House gates to give a press conference ^[34] 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", after which they would join him for drinks at Hooters. 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,^[35] which pleads against discrimination of gypsies (e.g. Roma and Sinti people), filed a complaint^[36] 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.^[37]

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.

Victims of the hoax

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.^[38] 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.

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. ^[39]

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.^[40]
• 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.^[41] 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. ^[42] On December 11, 2006, an L.A. Judge denied the pair a restraining order to remove them from the film. ^[43]
• 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.^[44]

Miscellaneous

Lyrics to fictional Kazakh national anthem

Kazakhstan, greatest country in the world.

All other countries are run by little girls.

Kazakhstan number one exporter of potassium.

Other countries have inferior potassium.

Kazakhstan, home of Tinshein swimming pool.

Its length thirty metre, width six metre.

Filtration system a marvel to behold.

It remove eighty percent of human solid waste.

Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan, you very nice place,

from plains of Tarashek to northern fence of Jewtown.

Kazakhstan, friend of all except Uzbekistan.

They very nosey people with bone in their brain.

Kazakhstan, industry best in world.

We invented toffee and trouser belt.

Kazakhstan's prostitutes, cleanest in the region.

Except of course for Turkmenistan's.

Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan, you very nice place,

from plains of Tarashek to northern fence of Jewtown.

Come grasp the mighty penis of our leader

from junction with the testes to tip of its face!