Borat Subsequent Moviefilm was always going to stir up plenty of controversy; it’s a huge part of Sascha Baron Cohen’s brand of humor that aims to expose real life American personalities almost as over the top as his own characters. However, Borat is no stranger to pushback abroad too. After all, Borat Sagdiyev himself is a joke made of fake and ignorant stereotypes about Kazakhstan and its people.
Among the long list of controversial moments spawning from Borat Subsequent Moviefilm are: a lawsuit from the estate of Holocaust survivor Judith Dim Evans; a highly commented scene with former New York Mayor and President Donald Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani; and even a fundraiser on behalf of Jeanise Jones, one of the few endearing people duped by Borat.
Now, over in France, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is firing up new debates, as the film’s “naughty naughty” poster plastered in buses all over Paris is sparking outrage among the country’s Muslim minority. Aside from Borat’s excessive exposure, the poster features Baron Cohen wearing a ring with the Arabic inscription “الله”, which translates to Allah.
Borat’s promotion unfortunately coincides with signs of protests and unrest in France, due to rising religious tension. So far, out of the two French public transport companies involved with the ads, RATP has refused to take down the posters from their buses; while TICE did concede to demands, calling the posters “inappropriate”.
French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo has been at the center of all this with the magazine suffering yet another attack this late September, after republishing the same cartoons of Muhammad that motivated gunmen terrorists to storm their headquarters in 2015; in October a French teacher was murdered over similar circumstances. France’s president Emmanuel Macron denounced both incidents and has vocally defended the magazine’s right to publish the cartoon, under the flags of freedom of speech and expression which are a core component of French society.
It’s hard to judge Baron Cohen’s humor sometimes. The actor has always condemned the public figures that he ridicules and everything that Borat represents, but it’s not hard to see how it still might rub some people the wrong way. Considering Borat’s success, perhaps the best approach is that taken by Kazakhstan’s tourism board, who simply embraced the catchphrase “Very nice!” as their new slogan.
Source: Le Figaro
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