Site Search:
 
Speak Korean Now!
Teach English Abroad and Get Paid to see the World!
Korean Job Discussion Forums Forum Index Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

Borat the Movie
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Korean Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Off-Topic Forum
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Big_Bird



Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: Sometimes here sometimes there...

PostPosted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 12:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Alias wrote:
flakfizer wrote:
Interesting take on the movie from Slate:

http://www.slate.com/id/2153578/?GT1=8805

I think I'll save my money and time.


Clearly Uzbeki Propaganda!



LOL
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
jajdude



Joined: 18 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 6:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I wonder what all the people who thought he was for real think now that the movie is out, and doing very well. In the movie there are people angry at him and telling him to F--- off...

Well, the jig is up. It must seem funny to be misled by a funny guy. Damn he must have made a fortune for acting like a buffoon.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
flakfizer



Joined: 12 Nov 2004
Location: scaling the Cliffs of Insanity with a frayed rope.

PostPosted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 6:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hollywoodaction wrote:
flakfizer wrote:
I doubt it. I'm not 16.


Psst...Just letting you in on the joke...it's okay to laugh because it's supposed to be juvenile...although walking around and telling grown men "I kiss you" to produce a reaction is pretty lame.

The issue for me is not that it is juvenile. I can enjoy many sophomoric comedies like several of the Abrams/Zucker/Abrams movies, the Marx Brothers, The Stooges on occasion as well. The issue is that this sounds like shock/daredevil comedy which requires little to no intelligence, cleverness, creativity, or even plot. It basically requires a willingness to be a brazen, ballsy idiot in front of others. This sounds like the type of work where the conversations outside the theater go something like this:
"Could you believe he did that?"
"Could you believe he said that?"
"Did you see that guy's face when he did that?"
"Did you see that lady's face when he said that?"
"Could you believe what he said to that guy's face?"

Really, it sounds like an R-rated version of those awful European street comedy shows where a guy sneezes real loud and cleverly squirts a little water on the neck of a bystander and we get to see their hilarious reaction of disgust and dismay.

Perhaps there's more to it, I'll wait for it come out on video and take a looksee just to see what the fuss about.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Hollywoodaction



Joined: 02 Jul 2004

PostPosted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 8:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

flakfizer wrote:
Hollywoodaction wrote:
flakfizer wrote:
I doubt it. I'm not 16.


Psst...Just letting you in on the joke...it's okay to laugh because it's supposed to be juvenile...although walking around and telling grown men "I kiss you" to produce a reaction is pretty lame.

The issue for me is not that it is juvenile. I can enjoy many sophomoric comedies like several of the Abrams/Zucker/Abrams movies, the Marx Brothers, The Stooges on occasion as well. The issue is that this sounds like shock/daredevil comedy which requires little to no intelligence, cleverness, creativity, or even plot. It basically requires a willingness to be a brazen, ballsy idiot in front of others. This sounds like the type of work where the conversations outside the theater go something like this:
"Could you believe he did that?"
"Could you believe he said that?"
"Did you see that guy's face when he did that?"
"Did you see that lady's face when he said that?"
"Could you believe what he said to that guy's face?"

Really, it sounds like an R-rated version of those awful European street comedy shows where a guy sneezes real loud and cleverly squirts a little water on the neck of a bystander and we get to see their hilarious reaction of disgust and dismay.

Perhaps there's more to it, I'll wait for it come out on video and take a looksee just to see what the fuss about.


Looks like in the end we were essentially saying the same thing.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
TheFonz



Joined: 01 Dec 2005
Location: North Georgia

PostPosted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 9:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

jajdude wrote:
I wonder what all the people who thought he was for real think now that the movie is out, and doing very well. In the movie there are people angry at him and telling him to F--- off...

Well, the jig is up. It must seem funny to be misled by a funny guy. Damn he must have made a fortune for acting like a buffoon.


If I was one of the random, angry people he approached I would be sueing him for compensation. Borat is funny because of the reactions he gets. That is why the other Cohen movie, Ali G: In Da House was terrible because no one was being tricked. In a way the people who are getting duped deserve a slice of the pie. I know I would say take my likeness off your movie or give me some money.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Yahoo Messenger
jajdude



Joined: 18 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 1:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You got a point there fonz. The reason it is so humurous is because people accept him as genuine. Most people would, why not? He appears sincere even when he says ridiculous things. No one knows a thing about Kazakstan, and accepts it if he says, "how do you use a toilet". Actually that is pretty clever. I would not say his humor is juvenile or lacking in talent. Actually I think the guy is brilliant. He pulled this off for quite a while and no doubt now must be a rich man.

I doubt the locals on the street or subway or wherever will be able to get a cent from his movie. Too late to 'take my likeness off' .. the thing is out.

He also shows us how crummy people can be, how too many people take themselves so seriously. He even revealed some people's true opinions in some of his little videos. Some people are real jerks, racist or idiots otherwise. He brings this out very cleverly by playing along in some of his work, saying "high five" yes, women are dumb, I agree, killing animals is great, Jews are stupid etc...

The guy is well educated and just making a joke. Not everybody gets that.

Why he chose Kazakstan who knows? But the fact they censor him shows how liberal that country is. Hate to say it, but Korea is like that still, cannot take jokes from Jay Leno and others, lacking the western idea of satire and ability to laugh at themselves. Well they may laugh at themselves, but dislike a foreigner to make a joke about them. Touchy, no?

British humor is great, in my opinion. I doubt anyone from any other country could pull off such a stunt.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
millsy99



Joined: 20 Oct 2006

PostPosted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 11:34 pm    Post subject: Borat Reply with quote

Quote:
jajdude wrote:
I wonder what all the people who thought he was for real think now that the movie is out, and doing very well. In the movie there are people angry at him and telling him to F--- off...

Well, the jig is up. It must seem funny to be misled by a funny guy. Damn he must have made a fortune for acting like a buffoon.


If I was one of the random, angry people he approached I would be sueing him for compensation. Borat is funny because of the reactions he gets. That is why the other Cohen movie, Ali G: In Da House was terrible because no one was being tricked. In a way the people who are getting duped deserve a slice of the pie. I know I would say take my likeness off your movie or give me some money.


Once again, everyone who appears in the film SIGNED A RELEASE. And some of them were compensated. The Romanian villagers posing as Khazaks made a great deal compared to what the typical daily wage is, and signed releases, yet some of them still complain. According to the article in Entertainment Weekly, there was also a ton of footage left on the cutting room floor, hopefully it'll be an awesome DVD.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
wormholes101



Joined: 11 Mar 2003

PostPosted: Thu Nov 16, 2006 1:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's a really good Ali G youtube clip. Farm Confusion.
The volume is quite low on the clip so turn up our speakers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAmWbJgHsHQ

Some times I feel like I'm in an Ali G clip when I talk to my K-coteacher! Crying or Very sad
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
TheFonz



Joined: 01 Dec 2005
Location: North Georgia

PostPosted: Thu Nov 16, 2006 9:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

jajdude wrote:

British humor is great, in my opinion. I doubt anyone from any other country could pull off such a stunt.


I don't know about that. Andy Kaufman comes to mind as do others. Larry the Cable guy has a Wisconsin accent when out of charachter. People thought Pee Wee Herman was a genuine person instead of just a charachter. I think comedy has become more charachter based. More like theatre than just stand-up jokes. Its gimick driven and pulling stunts on people has been around for a while. Candid Camera comes to mind. Don't get me wrong the guy created a great charachter and the reactions he get are hilarious, but I wouldn't deem his humor untouchable or revolutionary.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Yahoo Messenger
The King of Kwangju



Joined: 10 Feb 2003
Location: New York City

PostPosted: Thu Nov 16, 2006 12:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

flakfizer wrote:
The issue is that this sounds like shock/daredevil comedy which requires little to no intelligence, cleverness, creativity, or even plot.

No, it's not like that at all.

The genius of it is that he reveals people's pomposity, racism and homophobia simply by giving them a comfortable atmosphere to express themselves.

And by "people" you could argue "society."

See the movie for yourself before you pass judgment on it.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Green Tea



Joined: 04 Nov 2006

PostPosted: Thu Nov 16, 2006 12:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It is hilarious how a bunch of the Americans in the movie are now trying to sue Sacha Cohen for making them look stupid. That just says so much about American culture right there. Rolling Eyes
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Hollywoodaction



Joined: 02 Jul 2004

PostPosted: Thu Nov 16, 2006 8:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

TheFonz wrote:
jajdude wrote:

British humor is great, in my opinion. I doubt anyone from any other country could pull off such a stunt.


I don't know about that. Andy Kaufman comes to mind as do others. Larry the Cable guy has a Wisconsin accent when out of charachter. People thought Pee Wee Herman was a genuine person instead of just a charachter. I think comedy has become more charachter based. More like theatre than just stand-up jokes. Its gimick driven and pulling stunts on people has been around for a while. Candid Camera comes to mind. Don't get me wrong the guy created a great charachter and the reactions he get are hilarious, but I wouldn't deem his humor untouchable or revolutionary.


Don't forget Silvia Nott (Silvia Night), the "singer" that represented Iceland at the 2006 Eurovision contest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3nx88r_RBs&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snG2V-PtpB8


The actress who plays her, �g�sta Eva Erlendsd�ttir, is actually a very talented singer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMOwm1okZ-U&mode=related&search=
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Korean Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Off-Topic Forum All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3
Page 3 of 3

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling.
Contact Dave's ESL Cafe
Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved.

Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group

TEFL International Supports Dave's ESL Cafe
TEFL Courses, TESOL Course, English Teaching Jobs - TEFL International