Bored by Borat
I haven’t seen “Borat” yet, but I’ve seen more than enough of Borat. That is, I’ve had my fill of Sacha Cohen appearing in full Borat drag on just about every television network, and in most other media outlets from magazines to the web (the guy even did a fashion spread for The New York Times Magazine). Joel “The Most Hated Man in America” Stein has a good article, in which he lambastes the media for playing along with Cohen’s game, by agreeing to interview him only in character:
They are … conducting interviews with Borat Sagdiyev, who is not a real person. Although I didn’t go to journalism school, I’m pretty sure that you’re supposed to stick to quotes from real people. Otherwise, the Bush administration could just direct all questions about Iraq to Jack Bauer.
While I get Stein’s point, I’m not that bothered by this aspect of Cohen’s publicity blitz. After all, there’s something of a winking acknowledgment that this is all an act, and it’s not like this is the first time a mockumentary star has pulled this schtick (anyone remember Spinal Tap?). What really bugs me, though, is the other thing the press has agreed to: they email Cohen questions in advance, which he answers in character. The result is that almost every Borat interview ends up sounding the same (if I hear about Kazak president Nazarbayev’s testes again, I’ll scream!). Sure, this may happen a lot in entertainment reporting, but it’s still lame. If Cohen is such a great comic talent, he should be ad-libbing these interviews. After all, it’s what he apparently did in his film. And it’s what Borat would have to do if he were real.
