Ok, this is it. Sacha Baron Cohen is paying Kazakhstan for all the publicity right? It’s not possible they are just too stupid to stop giving it to him.
Kazakh invite for Borat creatorA top official from Kazakhstan has invited comedian Sacha Baron Cohen – who pokes fun at the country as his character Borat – to visit the country. “I’d like to invite Cohen here. He can discover a lot of things,” said deputy foreign minister Rakhat Aliyev.
In the film, Cohen’s character Borat portrays Kazakhs as a nation of misogynists, racists and anti-Semites. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan is released next month.
Yes, I’m sure Cohen really believes that his own character accurately represents Kazakhstan. This justifies inviting him publicly and making Kazakhstan look even stupider than before.
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COMMENTS / 10 COMMENTS
Curzon added these pithy words on 20 Oct 06 at 1:27 amWhat’s wrong with this? As the one contributor at ComingAnarchy who has visited Kazakhstan, I’d like to voice my hope that this will be a welcome change in the Kazakh’s government handling of the Borat character.
First, Kazakhstan is an unfair target. It is undeniably the most progressive country within a several thousand mile radius. It’s open, diverse, peaceful, and growing. Need I ask readers what would happen if Cohen had picked, say, Iran, Pakistan, or some other Islamic country? (Kazakhstan is about half Orthodox Christian and about half Muslim.)
Second, this would seem like a welcome change of strategy for the Kazakh government—bring Borat to Kazakhstan! The character is on its last legs as to its creative limits, so it might be a good way for Cohen to go out with a bang: ‘I poked fun at Kazakhstan for years, but I’d like to finish the Borat character by actually showing you Kazakhstan.’
Third, here’s a fun fact for you: where are all the “Kazakhstan” scenes filmed in Borat’s show and the movie? Romania!
Curzon added these pithy words on 20 Oct 06 at 1:29 amAdditionally, I’d like to invite readers interested in the real Kazakhstan to visit my photos of my 2004 trip here, or see a few below.
Nathan Hamm added these pithy words on 20 Oct 06 at 5:50 amI’m not sure what about this makes Kazakhstan look stupid. There are a great many things that Rakhat Aliyev has said that make Kazakhstan look worse. (He said recently, for example, that Kazakhstan should be a constitutional monarchy. That works great for him as his wife is Dariga Nazarbaeva.)
Kazakhstan’s handling of this has improved quite a bit since their freak out last December. The foreign ministry is doing a great job sticking just to the “Kazakhstan is a pretty nice place” message rather than the “This man is a jerk who must be punished” one. And I certainly have a hell of a lot more sympathy for them after the Borat press conference in front of the DC embassy.
Personally, I think the invitation to him is also an invitation to all those who only know Kazakhstan through the character. They might as well try to make the best of the situation.
Oliver added these pithy words on 20 Oct 06 at 6:24 amThere’s no such thing as negative publicity. They are making the best of it.
von Kaufman-Turkestansky added these pithy words on 20 Oct 06 at 1:24 pmKazakhstan has been pushing tourism on ads shown on Euronews lately. Check this out: http://photoalbum.kz/en/index.php?PHPSESSID=d92b54c7ebd43d83e7cc5d032c9e6357
Chris added these pithy words on 20 Oct 06 at 7:12 pmI can’t wait to see this movie. In the preview, they have a shot where the camera pans to show mules pulling a car. My goodness. Perfect.
von Kaufman-Turkestansky added these pithy words on 21 Oct 06 at 9:14 amChris – interestingly, the shot you were referring to (all the backward Eastern village stuff) was not done in Kazakhstan or anywhere in the former USSR, but in a newly-minted EU member state… Romania!
Nathan Hamm added these pithy words on 21 Oct 06 at 5:15 pmI just heard that a regional newspaper in Kazakhstan is reporting that Borat took up the offer and was promptly arrested upon arrival. Priceless!
Nathan Hamm added these pithy words on 21 Oct 06 at 5:15 pmI just double-checked. It was actually a regional television news program that made the report.
LazyNomad added these pithy words on 01 Nov 06 at 9:19 pmThey will never learn
Moreover it gets even more hilarious.
When I read this article I could not stop laughing.Here is one little pearl:
“Our way of thinking is mostly European,” Tuyakbai said. “For 70 years we lived in a totalitarian state, and successfully transformed our society in just 15 years of independence.”
His tone changed when the conversation turned to Borat. “If I see him, I’ll hit him in the face,” he said.
