Sacha Baron Cohen

File:SachaBaronCohen.jpg

Sacha Baron Cohen shot to fame when his character Ali G started appearing on The Eleven O'Clock Show on Channel 4.

Sacha Baron Cohen (born 13 October, 1971) is a British comedian, notable for his highly successful comedy character Ali G.

He was born into a middle-class Jewish family, the second of three sons of Gerald Baron Cohen and his wife Daniella. His father, who owns a menswear shop in Piccadilly, is originally from Wales, while his mother is from Israel.

Cohen attended Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, a public school in Elstree, and went on to study history at Christ's College, Cambridge.

Cohen shot to fame when his character Ali G started appearing on The Eleven O'Clock Show on Channel 4. He has now taken Ali G to the United States, where his show, Da Ali G Show, airs on HBO. He has had some troubles because of the racist or prejudiced comments his characters make (see Da Ali G Show#Controversy), but Sacha's ultimate goal is to use the prejudices and racism of people to elicit funny reactions. HBO spokesman Quentin Schaffer has replied to the critisms with, "Through his alter-egos, he delivers an obvious satire that exposes people’s ignorance and prejudice in much the way ‘All in the Family’ did years ago." [1]

Other characters created by Cohen include Borat, a television reporter from Kazakhstan with a fervent hatred of Jews and a misogynist attitude, and Bruno, a gay Austrian fashion show presenter with a Nazi streak, advocating that ugly people be put on a train and sent to [concentration] camps. The Borat character caused some annoyance to Kazakhstan's ambassador to the UK, who complained that he neither looked or sounded Kazakh. The segments featuring Borat have titles in Cyrillic script, which are complete gibberish.

Characters

Ali G, delivering the Class Day speech to the Harvard class of 2004.

Ali G

Ali G is a satirical character invented by the comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.

History

Ali G first appeared on Channel 4's The Eleven O'Clock Show as the "voice of youth". He interviewed British public figures, who, too scared to appear "uncool", were completely wrong-footed by his idiosyncratic interviewing technique, based mostly on the simple stratagem of pretending to be stupid.

He is a member of the "West Staines Massive", and lives at 37 Cherry Blossom Close in the heart of the "Staines Ghetto". He was educated at what he calls "Da Matthew Arnold Skool". [2] Staines is a middle-class suburb of London that has been the butt of jokes for many years. Anywhere further from an American inner-city ghetto would be hard to imagine. This fact is lost on Ali G, who believes himself to exemplify "Gangsta" culture.

Ali G has subsequently become a UK media phenomenon, with his own TV show. He was featured in Madonna's music video for her song Music as a limousine driver and subsequently recorded his own record with the rap/reggae performer Shaggy. In 2002 he was the central character in the feature film Ali G Indahouse, in which he became elected to Parliament and had to foil a plot to bulldoze Staines. He is now the main character of Da Ali G Show, which also features two other characters played by Cohen.

Controversy

File:AliG.jpg

Ali G is now the main character of Da Ali G Show.

Because Sacha Baron Cohen is not black himself, but portrays a black character who is stupid, ignorant and misogynistic, he has been accused by some of racism and of ridiculing black street culture. The west-end premiere of Ali G Indahouse was met with anti-racist demonstrators protesting outside. However, others have suggested that the implication that black street culture is not a legitimate subject for parody is itself racist.

There is also some question about whether one is expected to believe that the character Ali G is black, or a parody of suburban white and Asian boys who attempt to gain credibility by adopting the paraphernalia and language of black urban culture (see also Tim Westwood). This question is cast into relief by one of Ali G's catchphrases, "Is it because I is black?" However, as with many other forms of satirical entertainment, this question may simply be the product of over-analysis. Cohen's character is an uneducated thug, with the Tommy Hilfiger and Nike shoes adding to the effect that he is a "consumer whore." Ali G does not believe he is black, and yet, does not believe he is white either. He is simply caught up in drugs, sex, and the world.

Borat

Borat

Borat Sagdiyev is a fictional Kazakhstani media figure, created as satire by Sacha Baron Cohen. He is featured in each episode of Da Ali G Show, doing satirical interviews with various people who do not realize the show is fake. He has visited Britain and the USA.

Family

Borat often discusses his family members with the people he interviews. Borat's sister is a prostitute, and his brother is mentally ill and must be locked behind a metal door. His relationship with his mother seems to be unpleasant, and Borat has commented that "she wishes she was raped by someone else."

In one episode Borat reveals that he suffered a "very bad gypsy attack," in which his wife and plough were stolen. He has also told stories of his wife dying in a field due to an accident. During a trip to Kazakhstan, it was revealed that Borat has numerous wives.

Beliefs

Borat in the South

Borat in the South

Borat's beliefs are mostly based on his experiences in Kazakhstan. He strongly dislikes Jews, and was shocked to discover that American women have the right to vote, reciting the chain of importance as "God, Man, horse, dog, woman, then rat" while talking with a female voter. He has visited a bar in Arizona where he sang a song about problems in his country. The subject quickly changed from transportation to Jews, with the lyrics "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." While taking a self-defense class, Borat asked the instructor to teach him how to defend against the "Jew claw," and then made a claw with his hand and had the instructor defend himself against it.

In some cases, Borat's guests embrace his anti-Semitism and misogyny by answering his questions and sometimes agreeing with him. Other guests attempt to explain American values and equality instead.

Borat also exhibits a tendency to breach sexual privacy, giving naked pictures of his wife to a female passerby, and asking men about the size of their testicles.

Controversy

Borat has been the cause of some controversy, mostly related to his frequent displays of anti-Semitism. HBO spokesman Quentin Schaffer replied to the upset in the Jewish community by saying, "Through his alter-egos, he delivers an obvious satire that exposes people's ignorance and prejudice in much the way ‘All in the Family’ did years ago." [3] Sacha Baron Cohen, who plays Borat, is himself Jewish. Defenders use this to justify his character's racist nature, 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 Cohen himself. [4]

An interview with James Broadwater, a Republican candidate for U.S. Congress, caused Broadwater to receive some hateful emails after an episode of Da Ali G Show aired in which he stated that Jews will go to Hell. He was told that the interview would be played in Kazakhstan and other foreign countries to teach others about the American political system. Broadwater later posted a letter on his website denouncing Da Ali G Show. [5][6]

Borat has also caused a stir in Kazakhstan, where the Kazakhstani embassy wrote a formal complaint to HBO to remove Borat. [7]

Quotes

• "But if she cheat on me, I will crush her!"

—Speaking with Jenny Noel from Great Expectations Dating Agency

• "I love baseballs, do you love the baseballs?"

—At a Savannah Sand Gnats baseball game, speaking to the crowd

• "It's nice... It's good, but I have seen bigger!"

—Speaking with a man on the street about his penis, after touching it

• "She was voted by Almaty Chamber of Commerce for best sex in mouth. She is number 2, or 3, best prostitute in the country of Kazakhstan."

—Speaking with singer and country musician Porter Wagoner about his sister while asking for song ideas

Bruno

Bruno

Bruno is the third, and least often used character of Da Ali G Show. He claims to be the voice of Austrian youth television, and makes others uncomfortable by flaunting his apparent homosexuality. Bruno also interviews fellow fashion aficionados and exposes their extreme views of how unfashionable people should be treated. He sometimes asks interviewees if these people should be put on a "train to camps," to which the interviewee often agrees.

External links

• "Mutha of invention" – an article about Sacha Baron Cohen by Jay Rayner in The Observer, Sun 24 Feb 2002
• The unofficial Sacha Baron Cohen homepage
• Da Ali G Show on HBO
• Ali G website
• Da Ali G Show on HBO
• An article in the Guardian
• Borat Online
• Borat Soundboard
• Da Ali G Show on HBO
• Throw the Jew Down the Well
• Throw the Jew Down the Well video (WMV)
• Borat with James Broadwater (Quicktime)
• Article on Disruption in the Jewish community