Oh, Borat
A few posts ago, I mentioned going to see the movie Borat, which I’m sure that most of you, by now, have heard about.
For those of you who have not, here’s the skinny: A comedian (Sacha Baron Cohen) posed as an international reporter trying to understand American customs. He got people to quickly sign release forms and then intentionally set them up for a number of hilarious prank conversations. For example, in one, he met with an etiquette tutor and showed her pictures of his “son”, including ones in which his son’s penis was all out there.
Ok, it was funny. I saw the movie, and I laughed at some of the people’s reactions. And it’s not really Miss Maners who’s having a problem.
It’s the drunken frat kids who said anti-feminist things. It’s the gay-bashing rodeo manager. It’s the news producer who got fired after letting Borat on her show.
Legally, these people are going to have a hard time touching Cohen. He covered his tushie and got everyone to sign waivers. Legally, I suppose that he could do whatever they agreed in the contract.
Ethically, we get to a gray area.
There’s a lot of gray areas in the Bible, if you ask me. I mean, it’s just not possible for everything to be black and white. Take, for example, the commandment “thou shalt not kill.” Is abortion killing? Some say yes, because you are killing a human life form. Some say no, because the fetus is not yet human. Gray area.
What Cohen did falls in this range in my opinion. However, what is more interesting to me is not whether he was right or wrong in pranking people, but rather the way people are reacting to everyone knowing their true feelings about things.
Take a look at your own prejudices. Imagine them being broadcast for millions to see. Big deal, right? Most people, me included, woudl squirm at the thought.
Remember, however, that your prejudices are not as secret as you think. If you believe in a Christian tradition, than remember: God knows. That’s just as bad (well, worse really) than the whole world knowing.
Work on prejudices. Work on hate. Work on fixing your own soul before accusing other people.
Sacha Baron Cohen, prank, gray area, Bible, prejudices, Christian, God
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