Pink pumps, toes, tattoos, and fishnets parade in sidewalk fashion show by Sparkieg
Sacha Baron Cohen and the shock doctrine
——————-
Aristotle had it right when he claimed that the secret to humour was surprise. And, with that in mind, I can’t quite remember a more surprising cinematic moment than when Sacha Baron Cohen’s character Borat introduced the Running of the Jew.
He stood still and serious in a grey suit by the side of a dusty street as a hundred angry Kazaks chased a hideous effigy, jeered along by the crowd of excitable spectators. Cohen, who could only get away with such a ridiculous snippet of comedy as he is Jewish himself, had added a twenty first century twist to Aristotle’s theory: the one thing that is better than surprise is shock.
Three years on his latest release, Bruno, is set to shock us all into laughter once again. Bruno, gay, deluded, idealistic and flamboyant is an Austrian fashion reporter abroad in the US – the perfect setting for Cohen’s comedy – a continent where he can ruthlessly expose ignorance and laugh at prejudice.
Following the criticism levelled at Borat – for being provocative, insensitive and graphic – there is little to suggest that Cohen has moderated his style this time around. Amongst other things, Bruno contains a pygmy sex scene, a pair of dancing genitalia and a continuous roll of Hitler jokes that suggests it might just cause as much of a stir as Borat, a film that was banned in every Arabic country with the exception of Lebanon.
Baron Cohen’s comedy stems from his impeccable timing and his ability to draw humour from familiar social settings. In Bruno he appears at a fashion show, he drinks beers with a group of American hunters – who he likens to the cast members of Sex in the City – and he appears on a lifestyle programme with an adopted child, where he manages to convince an indignant and outraged audience that he has swapped in return for an iPod.
There is no shock-comedy to rival that of Baron Cohen but it is hardly surprising that whilst his latest film is being labelled an ironic triumph by some, he has already alienated members of the American gay community and has been accused of clumsy and unhelpful stereotyping by many of Austria’s leading commentators.
It’s like November 2006 all over again.
————————–
image credit: sparkieg
Filed under: Films
