San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

The Daily Aztec

San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

The Daily Aztec




San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

The Daily Aztec

Borat laughs at us, not other way around

I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but the concept of “political correctness” has gone from merely ironic to flat out surreal. Just when my everyday language was beginning to reach the borderline of inoffensiveness, society went out and changed the rules again without dropping me a memo. Apparently, it’s now perfectly acceptable to say anything, no matter how asinine, ignorant or insulting about ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or any other of the silly ways we define ourselves as long as we belong to the group that we’re ridiculing. Jews can make Jewish jokes, blacks can make black jokes, blondes can make blond jokes, etc.

For example, under this exception I’m allowed to say that as a Turkish person, I find my country’s music impossible to listen to, its government unethical and its bathrooms unhygienic. I’m sure many Turks would be offended by my comments, but it’s not socially frowned upon for me to make them.

You see, political correctness has been a farce all along. Just because we can put all manners of laws – both official and unofficial – to stop people from saying racist, sexist or otherwise prejudice things, it won’t make us any less ignorant on the inside. All the PC rules do is make one more careful of the audience they’re addressing.

One person who understands the distinction between acting prejudiced and being prejudiced is British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, or as everyone knows him these days, Borat Sagdiyev. In his new movie, “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” Cohen portrays a man who’s offensive in almost every possible way one can be. He’s basically a misogynist, homophobic, racist and anti-Semite, who also happens to be fond of slavery, rape, prostitution and incest.

Among the jaw-dropping statements Borat makes in his mockumentary is, “In Kazakhstan, it is illegal for more than five women to be together unless it is a brothel or a grave,” and a proud boast that his sister is, “the number four prostitute in all of Kazakhstan.” There’s also a scene that has to be seen to be believed where he and his friend are terrified by a couple of cockroaches and throw money at them to beg for mercy.

I wonder, though, how many people who see this movie will get the joke. Cohen isn’t really making fun of Kazakhs. In all likelihood, he’s never been to the country. He’s actually lampooning Americans for being so na’ve about other cultures that they’ll believe anything a man who claims to be a Kazakh tells them about his so-called homeland. Cohen playfully gives the impression of Kazakhstan being a Luxembourg-sized wasteland when it’s actually the ninth biggest country on Earth and has a population of more than 15 million.

The genius of the controversial Cohen, who is Jewish, isn’t that he can sing a country western song called, “Throw the Jew Down the Well.” It’s that he can perform the ditty in a crowded bar in Arizona and get everyone to shamelessly sing and clap along.

It’s hard to decide what’s more offensive: when Borat explains to an American man at a rodeo that, in his country, all the homosexuals get hung, or when his interviewee replies that if it were up to him, that law would be practiced in the United States as well.

Naturally, some Kazakhs don’t appreciate being the unwitting guinea pigs in Cohen’s practical joke on America. Svetlana Chuikina, an anchorwoman on Kazakh television, said Borat didn’t even look the part, according to The Associated Press.

“He might look like a Turk, but definitely not like a Kazakh,” she said.

And as a Turk, I completely agree.

-Michael Erler is a political science senior.

-This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec. Send e-mail to letters@thedailyaztec.com. Anonymous letters will not be printed – include your full name, major and year in school.

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San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913
Borat laughs at us, not other way around