Is Bruno Bi-humorous?
Sacha Baron Cohen likes to have it both ways – and no that’s not a gay Brüno joke. He makes fun of bigots by confronting them with racial or sexual stereotypes and then he presents their reactions for us to laugh at. As New York Magazine’s Adam Sternbergh notes however, the person in the seat next to you might not be in on the joke and could just be laughing at the stereotype.
Says Sternbergh:
When Lenny Bruce or Richard Pryor used slurs, they were doing what comedy often does, what it exists to do: speak the unspeakable and thereby drag it into the light. But what’s unspoken in this new humor of homo-heebie-jeebies is this: We’re not all as enlightened as we’d like to think. Sometimes comedy can point that out to us, and sometimes it can simply exploit it. This current comedy two-fer-one — by which you get laughs both from the knowing ironic crowd and the insensate clods — is all too tempting, since it allows you to “bust” taboos while benefiting from your own taboo behavior.
Sternbergh is correct to a point, but I’m not so sure we can hold the artist responsible for how people respond to their work or why. It’s a gray area and I think Baron Cohen is shining a light on it. He’s not only exposing homophobia on the screen, he’s exposing it in the audience. Isn’t he? What do you think?
Brüno directed by Larry Charles minces onto big screens on July 10th.
Filed under: Opinion
Tags: Bruno, Sacha Baron Cohen
I agree with you. I see what Sternbergh means, but I think it’s a little unfair to hold SBC responsible just because some people think Brüno is the joke.
I found BORAT unwatchable because the bigger point of how nice and accepting some folks are in the face of cultural differences was lost on most, including SBC, who to me just comes off as a sociopath. I no longer think he’s trying to make some cosmic point, but rather JACKASS.
And I liked this film better when it was called ZOOLANDER…
Happy 4th!
Sociopolitics aside, there’s nothing not funny about a dude wresting with a naked hairy short fat guy. I about peed myself laughing.
Having said that, you’re right to a point. There are decent folks all over who may be ignorant, but they’re generally polite and accepting. Most people I think also have a funny way of adjusting to circumstances over time.
Christian, I agree with you to a point, but I also think Jackass can be pretty hilarious (not all the time).
Borat was amusing enough to watch once. I expect Bruno to be the same.
My favorite part of Jackass was the opening with the golf carts. I’m not sure why the wanton destruction amused me so much. Wait yes I do, because I’m still a child blowing shit up in my backyard with firecrackers. The rest of the movie pretty much delivered diminishing returns…not unlike Borat.
I agree with you to a point Christian, except when those nice, respectable, welcoming people try to impose their views on me through legislation and electing pompous, self-serving politicians. Sometimes people need their prejudices exposed to them to see how foolish they really are, but I don’t expect them to change because of a couple of comedies.
I’m not even trying to suggest that Borat or Bruno are accomplishing that. In fact, I think Borat and Bruno may in some respects be reinforcing some of those views by being such broad caricatures. But that doesn’t mean the other parts aren’t funny, especially two naked guys wrestling and chasing each other through a hotel.
There’s something even more insidious about legislation because it’s largely faceless and anonymous. You can vote to take away someone’s basic human rights without ever having to take responsibility for it.
I’m not sure what my point is here…it’s not an argument, just a tangent.
I have a feeling most people who would laugh at the stereotype won’t be going to a film with male on male kissing anyway, and if they do will walk out in short order.
All the hand-wringing about missed points is ridiculous.
The parts of Borat I was most uncomfortable with involved seemingly well meaning people mocked. But mostly I found it very funny and smart. I think SBC is extremely talented, particularly in his ability to think and create satirical humor on his feet. I also think he is doing something groundbreaking in film promotion. No one else uses performance art media events to introduce his characters to the public and offer a kind of real world prelude to his films the way he does. SBC can make me uncomfortable about what I’m laughing about and I think there is value in this kind of provocation.
I don’t really get this whole concern about bigots taking the wrong message from his films. It’s not like any film suddenly causes a bigot to transform into a tolerant individual, or for that matter take up torches and storm the streets. Anyone whose prejudices are reinforced by watching a broad satire of bigotry is going to find plenty of confirmation for their beliefs wherever they look in the world at large. And what’s wrong with the converted being happily preached to?
Yes, but we’re not worrying about the absolutist cases, but the marginal ones. That’s where things matter.
And performance art sucks.