Post: What to Do About Borat
What to Do About Borat
Fake documentary Borat continues to create controversy. First, a pair of frat boys complained that they were, um, tricked into looking like drunken misogynistic racisists -- and now poor Romanian villagers who comedian Sacha Baron Cohen used to portray Kazakhs in his movie's opening scene are feeling pretty angry.
Did Sacha Baron Cohen cross the line?
Here's our two cents: Even if you can't muster up much sympathy for the frat boys, it's pretty hard not to feel for the exploited Gypsies. We're talking about extremely poor people who don't have running water and whose children play among trash. Maybe they deserved something more than a few dollars a day for humiliating themselves on screen.
Especially when there is money to be had. Borat made 67 million at box offices in the United States alone in just two weeks. It's a certifiable hit. And while there is some dispute between a 20th Century Fox spokesperson and the villagers about how much compensation has already been paid, the studio can certainly do more. How about helping get some clean running water going through Glod, for example?
Making a big goodwill gesture will certainly ease tensions in Romania -- and it will make us feel a whole lot better about laughing at the movie's offensive antics. And letting our kids laugh along, too. Isn't it nice when everybody wins?