''Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan'' (
Kazakh /
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
: ''Борат'') (also stylized as ''BORДT'', or simply ''Borat'') is a 2006
mockumentary
A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary.
These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...
black comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the olde ...
directed by
Larry Charles
Larry Charles (born ) is an American comedian, screenwriter, director, actor, and producer. He was a staff writer for the sitcom ''Seinfeld'' for its first five seasons. He has also directed the documentary film ''Religulous'' and the mockument ...
and starring
Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Noam Baron Cohen (born 13 October 1971) is an English actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral ...
. Baron Cohen plays the leading role of
Borat Sagdiyev
Borat Margaret Sagdiyev ( kk, Борат Маргарет Сағдиев) is a Satire, satirical fictional character created and performed by Sacha Baron Cohen. He is supposedly a Kazakh television journalist and is the main protagonist of the m ...
, a fictional
Kazakhs
The Kazakhs (also spelled Qazaqs; Kazakh: , , , , , ; the English name is transliterated from Russian; russian: казахи) are a Turkic-speaking ethnic group native to northern parts of Central Asia, chiefly Kazakhstan, but also parts o ...
tani journalist who travels through the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in an outdated 1960s
ice cream van
An ice cream van (British) or ice cream truck (North American) is a commercial vehicle that serves as a mobile retail outlet for ice cream, usually during the spring and summer. Ice cream vans are often seen parked at public events, or near ...
to make a documentary which features real-life interactions with Americans. Much of the film features unscripted vignettes of Borat interviewing and interacting with real-life Americans who believe he is a foreigner with little or no understanding of American customs.
It is the second of four films built around Baron Cohen's characters from ''
Da Ali G Show
''Da Ali G Show'' is a British Satire, satirical television series created by and starring English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. In the series, Baron Cohen plays three unorthodox journalists: faux-streetwise poseur Ali G, Kazakh reporter Borat Sag ...
'' (2000–2004): the first, ''
Ali G Indahouse
''Ali G Indahouse'' is a 2002 British comedy film written by Sacha Baron Cohen and Dan Mazer, directed by Mark Mylod, and starring Baron Cohen as Ali G, the character he originally played on the Channel 4 comedy series ''The 11 O'Clock Show'' an ...
'', was released in 2002, and featured a
cameo by Borat; the third, ''
Brüno
''Brüno'' is a 2009 mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and starring Sacha Baron Cohen, who produced, co-wrote, and played the gay Austrian fashion journalist Brüno. It is the third film based on one of Cohen's characters from ...
'', was released in 2009; and the sequel to ''Borat'', ''
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
''Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan'' (or simply ''Borat Subsequent Moviefilm'' or ''Borat 2'') is a 2020 mockumentary black comedy film directed by Jas ...
'', was released in 2020.
''Borat'' was released on 2 November 2006, in both the United Kingdom and United States, by
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
. The film was very well received, both critically and commercially; made for $18 million, it earned $262 million worldwide. Baron Cohen won the
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
for
Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, while the film was nominated for
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. ''Borat'' was also nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include stage plays, musica ...
and for
Writers Guild of America Award
The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949.
Eligibility
Th ...
in the
same category. Controversy surrounded the film prior to its release, and after the film's release, some participants spoke against, and even sued, its creators. It was denounced by the government of Kazakhstan and was banned in almost all Arab countries.
In September 2020, a sequel, titled ''
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
''Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan'' (or simply ''Borat Subsequent Moviefilm'' or ''Borat 2'') is a 2020 mockumentary black comedy film directed by Jas ...
'', was officially confirmed to have been secretly filmed, completed, and screened, a few weeks after Baron Cohen was spotted driving a pick-up truck in character as Borat around
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. The sequel was released on 23 October 2020, by
Amazon Studios
Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...
.
Plot
At the behest of the
Kazakh Ministry of Information, reporter Borat Sagdiyev leaves
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
for the "
US and A", the "Greatest Country in the World", to make a documentary about American society and culture. He leaves behind his wife, Oksana; his companions are his producer,
Azamat Bagatov
''Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan'' ( Kazakh / Russian: ''Борат'') (also stylized as ''BORДT'', or simply ''Borat'') is a 2006 mockumentary black comedy film directed by Larry Charles ...
, and a pet hen.
In
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, Borat sees an episode of ''
Baywatch
''Baywatch'' is an American action drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Gregory J. Bonann, ...
'' on TV and immediately falls in love with
Pamela Anderson
Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian-American actress and model. She is best known for her glamour modeling work in ''Playboy'' magazine and for her appearances on the television series ''Baywatch'' (1992–1997).
Anders ...
's character,
C. J. Parker
Casey Jean "C.J." Parker is a fictional character from the television series ''Baywatch''. Portrayed by Pamela Anderson, she was one of the most popular and longest serving characters who appeared in five seasons of the series. Kelly Rohrbach pl ...
. While interviewing and mocking a panel of
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
s, he learns of the actress' name and her residence in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. Borat is then informed by telegram that Oksana has been killed by a bear. Delighted, he resolves to travel to California and make Anderson his new wife. Azamat insists that they drive because of his
fear of flying
Fear of flying is a fear of being on an airplane, or other flying vehicle, such as a helicopter, while in flight. It is also referred to as flying anxiety, flying phobia, flight phobia, aviophobia, aerophobia, or pteromechanophobia (although ae ...
which stems from the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
, which he believes was "
the work of the Jews". Borat takes driving lessons and buys a dilapidated ice-cream truck for the journey.
During the trip, Borat acquires a ''Baywatch'' booklet and continues gathering footage for his documentary. He meets
gay pride parade
A pride parade (also known as pride march, pride event, or pride festival) is an outdoor event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture, queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...
participants, politicians
Alan Keyes
Alan Lee Keyes (born August 7, 1950) is an American politician, political activist, author, and perennial candidate who served as the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs from 1985 to 1987. A member of the Repub ...
and
Bob Barr
Robert Laurence Barr Jr. (born November 5, 1948) is an American attorney and politician. He served as a federal prosecutor and as a United States House of Representatives, Congressman. He represented Georgia's 7th congressional district as a Re ...
, and
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
youths. Borat is also interviewed on a local television station and proceeds to disrupt the weather report. Visiting a rodeo, Borat excites the crowd with
jingoistic
Jingoism is nationalism in the form of aggressive and proactive foreign policy, such as a country's advocacy for the use of threats or actual force, as opposed to peaceful relations, in efforts to safeguard what it perceives as its national inter ...
remarks, but then sings a fictional
Kazakhstani national anthem to the tune of "
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...
", receiving a strong negative reaction.
In Atlanta, Borat finds a hotel but is kicked out when he offends the front desk worker. Staying at a
bed-and-breakfast
Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...
, Borat and Azamat are stunned to learn their hosts are Jewish. The two escape after throwing money at two
woodlice
A woodlouse (plural woodlice) is an isopod crustacean from the polyphyleticThe current consensus is that Oniscidea is actually triphyletic suborder Oniscidea within the order Isopoda. They get their name from often being found in old wood. ...
, believing they are their hosts transformed. Borat attempts to buy a handgun to defend himself, but is turned away because he is not an American citizen, so he buys a bear instead.
An etiquette coach suggests Borat attend a private dinner at an eating club in the
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
. During the dinner, he offends the other guests when he lets Luenell, an African-American prostitute, into the house and as a result, they are both kicked out. Borat befriends Luenell, who invites him into a relationship with her, but he tells her that he is in love with someone else. Borat then visits an antique shop, in which he clumsily breaks various
Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
heritage items.
At a hotel, Borat sees Azamat masturbating over a picture of Pamela Anderson. An angry Borat accidentally reveals his real motive for traveling to California. Azamat becomes livid at Borat's deception, and the situation escalates into a nude brawl which spills out into the hallway, a crowded elevator, and then into a packed convention ballroom.
Azamat abandons Borat, taking his passport, all of their money, and the bear. Borat's truck runs out of fuel, and he begins to hitchhike to California. He is soon picked up by drunken
fraternity
A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...
brothers from the
University of South Carolina. On learning the reason for his trip, they show him the ''Pam and Tommy''
sex tape
Amateur pornography is a category of pornography that features models, actors or non-professionals performing without pay, or actors for whom this material is not their only paid modeling work. Reality pornography is made porn that seeks to em ...
which reveals that she is not a virgin. Despondent, Borat burns the ''Baywatch'' booklet and, by mistake, his return ticket to Kazakhstan.
Borat attends a
United Pentecostal
The United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) is a Oneness Pentecostal denomination headquartered in Weldon Spring, Missouri, United States. The United Pentecostal Church International was formed in 1945 by a merger of the former Pentecostal C ...
camp meeting, at which
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
Chip Pickering
Charles Willis "Chip" Pickering Jr. (born August 10, 1963) is an American businessman and former politician who has been the incumbent chief executive officer of Incompas since 2014.
Pickering represented as a Republican in the United States H ...
and
Mississippi Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Mississippi is the highest court in the state of Mississippi. It was established in the first constitution of the state following its admission as a State of the Union in 1817 and was known as the High Court of Errors and Appe ...
Chief Justice
James W. Smith, Jr. are present. He undergoes a
religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliatin ...
and forgives Azamat and Pamela. He accompanies church members on a bus to Los Angeles and soon finds Azamat dressed as
Oliver Hardy
Oliver Norvell Hardy (born Norvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his c ...
. The two reconcile and Azamat tells Borat where to find Pamela Anderson. Borat finally comes face-to-face with Anderson at a book signing at a
Virgin Megastore
Virgin Megastores is an international entertainment retailing chain, founded in early 1976 by Richard Branson as a record shop on London's Oxford Street.
In 1979 the company opened their first Megastore at the end of Oxford Street and Tottenha ...
. After showing Anderson his "traditional marriage sack", Borat pursues her throughout the store in an attempt to abduct her, until security guards intervene.
Borat visits Luenell and they return to Kazakhstan together. They bring several American customs and traditions back to his village, including the apparent conversion of the people to Christianity (the Kazakh version of which includes
crucifixion
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...
and torturing of Jews) and the introduction of computer-based technology, such as
iPod
The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes ...
s, laptop computers and a high-definition television.
Cast
![Borat in Cologne](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Borat_in_Cologne.jpg)
*
Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Noam Baron Cohen (born 13 October 1971) is an English actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral ...
as
Borat Sagdiyev
Borat Margaret Sagdiyev ( kk, Борат Маргарет Сағдиев) is a Satire, satirical fictional character created and performed by Sacha Baron Cohen. He is supposedly a Kazakh television journalist and is the main protagonist of the m ...
(
Kazakh /
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
: Борат Сагдиев), a fictional
Kazakh journalist, distinguished by exaggeratedly strong
antisemitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
,
sexism
Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...
, and
antiziganism
Anti-Romani sentiment (also antigypsyism, anti-Romanyism, Romaphobia, or Antiziganism) is hostility, prejudice, discrimination or racism which is specifically directed at Romani people (Roma, Sinti, Iberian Kale, Welsh Kale, Finnish Kale, Hor ...
, which is depicted as apparently the norm in his homeland. Borat was originally created as a character for ''
Da Ali G Show
''Da Ali G Show'' is a British Satire, satirical television series created by and starring English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. In the series, Baron Cohen plays three unorthodox journalists: faux-streetwise poseur Ali G, Kazakh reporter Borat Sag ...
'' and appeared in every episode of the show, along with a cameo in the
film spin-off.
*
Ken Davitian
Kenneth Davitian ( hy, Քենեթ Դավիթյան; born June 19, 1953) is an American actor, best known for his role as Borat's producer Azamat Bagatov in the 2006 comedy film ''Borat''.
Early life and education
Kenneth Davitian was born in L ...
as
Azamat Bagatov
''Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan'' ( Kazakh / Russian: ''Борат'') (also stylized as ''BORДT'', or simply ''Borat'') is a 2006 mockumentary black comedy film directed by Larry Charles ...
(
Kazakh /
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
: Азамат Багатов), the producer of Borat's documentary. Azamat was a new character created for the film.
*
Luenell
Luenell Campbell (born March 12, 1959), known mononymously as Luenell, is an American comedian and actress.
Career
In the early-1990s, Luenell appeared regularly on ''Soul Beat TV'' on the Oakland, California cable station KSBT, along with prom ...
as Luenell the prostitute; first seen when Borat calls her to come to the Southern dinner. She later returns with Borat to Kazakhstan and the two wed.
*
Pamela Anderson
Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian-American actress and model. She is best known for her glamour modeling work in ''Playboy'' magazine and for her appearances on the television series ''Baywatch'' (1992–1997).
Anders ...
as herself; she plays a central role in the film as the reason for the journalist's cross country journey. She also appears in person at the end of the film, in a botched abduction attempt by Borat for cultural "marriage".
* When Borat seeks advice from an etiquette coach, he goes on to show nude photos of Huey Lewis Sagdiyev, his allegedly teenaged son.
These photos actually show
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
porn star
A pornographic film actor or actress, pornographic performer, adult entertainer, or porn star is a person who performs sex acts in video that is usually characterized as a pornographic movie. Such videos tend to be made in a number of dist ...
Stonie
Adrian Cortez (July 19, 1978 – December 6, 2016), better known by the stage name Brittany CoxXx, was an American performer in gay and transsexual pornography. CoxXx had a successful career in gay pornography under the name Stonie before tra ...
,
who was chosen because producers were seeking "someone who would look 13 or 14 but was actually of legal age and would do frontal nudity".
* Politicians
Alan Keyes
Alan Lee Keyes (born August 7, 1950) is an American politician, political activist, author, and perennial candidate who served as the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs from 1985 to 1987. A member of the Repub ...
and
Bob Barr
Robert Laurence Barr Jr. (born November 5, 1948) is an American attorney and politician. He served as a federal prosecutor and as a United States House of Representatives, Congressman. He represented Georgia's 7th congressional district as a Re ...
appear in the film as two of Borat's interviewees.
Production
![Pam Anderson 2009](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Pam_Anderson_2009.jpg)
Except for Borat, Azamat, Luenell, and Pamela Anderson, none of the characters are portrayed by actors.
Most scenes in the film were unscripted.
In most cases, the film's participants were given no warning on what they would be taking part in except for being asked to sign release forms agreeing not to take legal action against the film's producers.
Principal photography was underway in January 2005 when Baron Cohen caused a near riot in what ultimately was the rodeo scene in the final cut of the film.
An interview with Baron Cohen by ''Rolling Stone'' indicated that more than 400 hours of footage had been shot for the film.
Location
The Kazakhstan depicted in the film has little or no relationship with the actual country, and the producers explicitly deny attempting to "convey the actual beliefs, practices or behaviour of anyone associated with Kazakhstan" in the
"all persons fictitious" disclaimer. The scenes showing Borat's home village were filmed in the Romanian village of
Glod, which is primarily Roma.
The name of Borat's neighbour, Nursultan Tulyakbay, is a cross between the names of then Kazakh President
Nursultan Nazarbayev
Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev ( kk, Нұрсұлтан Әбішұлы Назарбаев, Nūrsūltan Äbişūlı Nazarbaev, ; born 6 July 1940) is a Kazakh politician and military officer who served as the first President of Kazakhstan, in off ...
and opposition politician
Zharmakhan Tuyakbay
Zharmakhan Aitbaiuly Tuyakbay ( kk, Жармахан Айтбайұлы Тұяқбай, ''Jarmahan Aitbaiūly Tūiaqbai''; born 22 November 1947) is a retired Kazakh politician. He was the chairman of the Nationwide Social Democratic Party from ...
.
Language
No
Kazakh language
The Kazakh or simply Qazaq (Latin: or , Cyrillic: or , Arabic Script: or , , ) is a Turkic language of the Kipchak branch spoken in Central Asia by Kazakhs. It is closely related to Nogai, Kyrgyz and Karakalpak. It is the official lan ...
is heard in the film. Borat's neighbours in Kazakhstan were portrayed by
Romani people
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...
, who were unaware of the film's subject until after it premiered.
Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Noam Baron Cohen (born 13 October 1971) is an English actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral ...
(Borat) commonly speaks
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
(due to his mother being Israeli and being fluent in the language) throughout the film, mixing with phrases of Polish. Romanian was spoken at the beginning of the film in the Romani town. The
Cyrillic alphabet
, bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця
, fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs
, fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic
, fam3 = Phoenician
, fam4 = G ...
used in the film is the
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
form, not the
Kazakh one, but most of the words written in it (especially the geographical names) are either misspelled or make no sense at all. The English words are typed on an English keyboard with a Russian language setting. The lettering on the
Lockheed L-188 Electra
The Lockheed L-188 Electra is an American turboprop airliner built by Lockheed. First flown in 1957, it was the first large turboprop airliner built in the United States. Initial sales were good, but after two fatal crashes that led to expensiv ...
in the beginning of the film is merely the result of Roman characters on a reversed image, and promotional materials spell "BORДT" with a
Cyrillic
, bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця
, fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs
, fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic
, fam3 = Phoenician
, fam4 = G ...
letter for D substituted for the "A" in
Faux Cyrillic
Faux Cyrillic, pseudo-Cyrillic, pseudo-Russian or faux Russian typography is the use of Cyrillic letters in Latin text, usually to evoke the Soviet Union or Russia, though it may be used in other contexts as well. It is a common Western trope us ...
style typically used to give a "Russian" appearance. While Baron Cohen speaks Hebrew in the film,
Ken Davitian
Kenneth Davitian ( hy, Քենեթ Դավիթյան; born June 19, 1953) is an American actor, best known for his role as Borat's producer Azamat Bagatov in the 2006 comedy film ''Borat''.
Early life and education
Kenneth Davitian was born in L ...
(Azamat) speaks
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
.
Deleted scenes
The DVD included several deleted scenes from the film, including Borat being questioned by police at a traffic stop, visiting an animal shelter to adopt a dog that could protect him from Jews, getting a massage at a hotel, and visiting an American doctor. There is also a montage of scenes cut from the film, including Borat taking a job at
Krystal
Krystal may refer to:
People
* Krystal Ann Simpson (born 1982), American poet, fashion blogger, DJ, reality television personality, and musician
* Krystal Ball (born 1981), American political commentator
* Krystal Barter, Australian activi ...
and taking part in an
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
reenactment. The menu of deleted scenes also includes an intentionally tedious supermarket sequence with an unusually patient supermarket owner (Borat repeatedly asks about each product in the cheese section of the store and the owner responds the same way: "That's cheese"), an actual local TV news report about Borat's rodeo singing, and a final "happy ending" scene about Borat appearing in a Kazakh show titled ''Sexydrownwatch'', a ''
Baywatch
''Baywatch'' is an American action drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Gregory J. Bonann, ...
'' clone that also starred Azamat, Luenell and
Alexandra Paul
Alexandra Elizabeth Paul (born July 29, 1963) is an American actress, activist, health coach, and former model. Paul began her career modeling in New York before landing her first major role in John Carpenter's horror film ''Christine'' (1983). ...
. A scene in which Borat "started pretending he was being arrested" was filmed, but was removed under the threat of legal action by prison officials when they learned that the "documentary" was a satire.
In an interview, one of the film's writers,
Dan Mazer
Daniel Gideon Mazer (born 4 October 1971) is a British screenwriter, producer, and comedian. Mazer is best known as the long-time writing and production partner of comedian Sacha Baron Cohen and worked with him on his three unorthodox characters ...
, confirmed that there was a scene filmed but cut in which Borat observed the shooting of actual pornography with actress Brooke Banner. Mazer stated that the scene was deleted so as not to compete with the naked hotel fight, but hinted it might be included in future DVD releases.
In a 2016 interview on ''
Conan'', Cohen elaborated on the deleted scene in which he was featured in the pornographic film.
Release
Previews
''Borat'' was previewed at the 2006
Comic-Con International
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is c ...
in
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
, on 21 July 2006.
Its first screening to a paying audience was during the 2006
Traverse City Film Festival
The Traverse City Film Festival is an annual film festival held at the end of July in Traverse City, Michigan. The festival was created as an annual event in 2005 to help “save one of America's few indigenous art forms—the cinema". The event ...
,
where it won the Excellence in Filmmaking Award.
The film's official debut was in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
on 7 September 2006, at the
Ryerson Theatre
Kerr Hall is a series of four buildings in a square, surrounding Ryerson Community Park, on the campus of Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) in Toronto, Canada. Kerr Hall is on the site of the former Toronto Normal Sch ...
during the
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
. Baron Cohen arrived in character as Borat in a cart pulled by women dressed as peasants. Twenty minutes into the showing, however, the projector broke. Baron Cohen performed an impromptu act to keep the audience amused, but ultimately all attempts to fix the equipment failed.
The film was successfully screened the following night, with
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is th ...
in attendance.
In
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, a proposed poster depicting Borat in a
sling bikini
The bikini has spawned many stylistic variations. A regular bikini is a two-piece swimsuit that together covers the wearer's crotch, buttocks, and breasts. Some bikini designs cover larger portions of the wearer's body while other designs provid ...
was rejected by the film's advertising firm in favour of one showing him in his usual suit.
The film helped popularize the term "
mankini
The sling swimsuit is a one-piece swimsuit which is supported by fabric at the neck. Sling swimsuits provide as little coverage (or as much exposure) as, or even less than, a bikini. Monokini types also exist. The sling swimsuit is also known by ...
".
Scaled-back U.S. release
The film opened at No. 1 in the box office, maintaining first place for two weeks straight. The film earned more in the second week ($28,269,900) than in the first ($26,455,463), due to an expansion onto 2,566 screens.
Theatrical release
''Borat'' had its public release on 1 November 2006 in Belgium. By 3 November 2006, it had opened in the United States and Canada, as well as in 14 European countries. Upon its release, it was a massive hit, taking in US$26.4 million in its opening weekend, the highest ever in the United States and Canada for a film released in fewer than 1,000 cinemas
until ''
Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert'' in 2008.
However, its opening day (approximately $9.2 million)
was larger than that of the ''Hannah Montana'' concert (approximately $8.6 million),
leaving ''Borat'' with the record of the highest opening day gross for a film released in fewer than 1,000 cinemas. On its second weekend, ''Borat'' surpassed its opening with a total of US$29 million.
Reception
Critical response
''Borat'' received widespread critical acclaim. On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
the film has a score of 91% based on reviews from 222 critics, with an average rating of 8.02/10. The website's consensus for the film reads, "Part satire, part shockumentary, ''Borat'' gets high-fives almost all-around for being offensive in the funniest possible way. Jagshemash!"
On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a score of 89 out of 100 based on 38 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Audiences surveyed by
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film a grade B+ on scale of A to F.
Ty Burr
Ty Burr (born August 17, 1957) is an American film critic, columnist, and author who currently writes a film and popular culture newsletter "Ty Burr's Watchlist" on Substack. Burr previously served as film critic at ''The Boston Globe'' for two ...
spoke positively about the film in his review for ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'', calling it "silliness at its most trenchant" and declaring it the funniest film of the year.
Michael Medved
Michael Saul Medved (born October 3, 1948) is an American radio show host, author, political commentator, and film critic. His talk show, ''The Michael Medved Show'', is syndicated from his home station KTTH in Seattle. It is syndicated via Gen ...
gave it 3.5 out of 4 stars, calling it "simultaneously hilarious and cringe-inducing, full of ingenious bits that you'll want to describe to your friends and then laugh all over again when you do."
Peter Travers
Peter Joseph Travers (born ) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film interview prog ...
of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' wrote: "You won't know what outrageous fun is until you see Borat. High-five!"
In an article about the changing face of comedy, ''
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' said that it "may be the funniest film in a decade".
''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' included the film in its list of ten 'Best Films of the Noughties' (2000–09).
One negative review came from American critic
Joe Queenan, who went as far as to call Baron Cohen an "odious twit".
In an article for ''
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
'', writer
Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was a British-American author and journalist who wrote or edited over 30 books (including five essay collections) on culture, politics, and literature. Born and educated in England, ...
offered a counter-argument to suggestions of anti-Americanism in the film. Hitchens suggested instead that the film demonstrated amazing tolerance by the film's unknowing subjects, especially citing the reactions of the guests in the Southern dinner scene to Borat's behaviour.
By posting scenes from the film on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
, ''Borat'' was also exposed by viral communication. This triggered discussions on different national identities (Kazakh, American, Polish, Romanian, Jewish, British) that Baron Cohen had used in creating the Borat character.
Box office
American audiences embraced the film, which played to sold-out crowds at many showings on its opening, despite having been shown on only 837 screens. ''Borat'' debuted at No. 1 on its opening weekend, with a total gross of $26.4 million,
beating its competitors ''
Flushed Away
''Flushed Away'' is a 2006 computer-animated adventure comedy film directed by David Bowers and Sam Fell, produced by Cecil Kramer, David Sproxton, and Peter Lord, and written by Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Chris Lloyd, Joe Keenan and W ...
'' and ''
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause''. The cinema average for the film's opening weekend was an estimated $31,511, topping ''
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith'', yet behind ''
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'' and ''
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
''.
It retained the top spot in its second weekend after expanding to 2,566 theatres, extending the box office total to $67.8 million.
In the United Kingdom, ''Borat'' opened at No. 1, with an opening weekend gross of £6,242,344 ($11,935,986),
the 43rd best opening week earnings in the UK as of March 2007.
Since its release, ''Borat'' has grossed over $260 million worldwide.
Accolades
Controversies
Participants' responses
After the film's release, Dharma Arthur, a news producer for
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
affiliate
WAPT
WAPT (channel 16) is a television station in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, affiliated with ABC. The station is owned by Hearst Television, and maintains studios and transmitter facilities on Channel 16 Way (off MS 18) in southwest Jackso ...
in
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...
, wrote a letter to ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' saying that Borat's appearance on the station had led to her losing her job: "Because of him, my boss lost faith in my abilities and second-guessed everything I did thereafter. How upsetting that a man who leaves so much harm in his path is applauded as a comedic genius." Although Arthur has said she was fired from the newscast, she told the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
that she resigned from the station.
She said that she checked a public relations website that Borat's producers gave her before booking him.
In news coverage that aired in January 2005 of the filming of the rodeo scene, Bobby Rowe, producer of the
Salem, Virginia
Salem is an independent city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,346. It is the county seat of Roanoke County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combin ...
rodeo depicted in the film, stated that he felt he had been the victim of a hoax. He said that "months" prior to the appearance, he had been approached by someone from "One America, a California-based film company that was reportedly doing a documentary on a Russian immigrant"; he agreed to permit the "immigrant" to sing the U.S. national anthem after listening to a tape.
After the film's release, Rowe said, "Some people come up and say, 'Hey, you made the big time'; I've made the big time, but not in the way I want it."
Cindy Streit, Borat's etiquette consultant, subsequently hired high-profile attorney
Gloria Allred
Gloria Rachel Allred ( Bloom; born July 3, 1941) is an American attorney known for taking high-profile and often controversial cases, particularly those involving the protection of women's rights. She has been inducted into the National Women's ...
, who demanded that the
California Attorney General
The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the Government of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Section ...
investigate fraud allegedly committed by Baron Cohen and the film's producers.
The ''
Salon
Salon may refer to:
Common meanings
* Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments
* French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home
* Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment
Arts and entertainment
* Salon (P ...
'' Arts & Entertainment site quotes the Behars (a Jewish couple at whose guest house Borat and Azamat stay) as calling the film "outstanding", referring to Baron Cohen as "very lovely and very polite" and a "genius".
''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' also interviewed the couple, saying they considered the film more anti-Muslim than anti-Semitic and had feared that Baron Cohen and his ensemble might be filming pornography in the house.
The feminists from
Veteran Feminists of America
Veteran Feminists of America (VFA) is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization for supporters and veterans of the second-wave feminist movement. Founded by Jacqueline Ceballos in 1992, Veteran Feminists of America regularly hosts reunions for secon ...
(VFA) felt that they had been duped, having "sensed something odd was going on" before and during the interview with Borat. ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' later reported at least one of the women felt that the film was worth going to see at the cinema.
The ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'' had reported in November 2006 that
Pamela Anderson
Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian-American actress and model. She is best known for her glamour modeling work in ''Playboy'' magazine and for her appearances on the television series ''Baywatch'' (1992–1997).
Anders ...
filed for divorce from her husband
Kid Rock
Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock (also known as Bobby Shazam), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. His style alternates between rock, hip hop, country, and metal. A self-taught musician, ...
after he reacted unfavourably to the film during a screening. ''The Post''s article specifically claimed he had said of her role in the film, "You're nothing but a whore! You're a slut! How could you do that movie?"
In an interview on ''
The Howard Stern Show
''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The show has aired on Howard 100 a ...
'', Anderson confirmed that Rock was upset by her appearance in the film, but did not confirm that this was the cause of the separation.
Legal action by participants
The villagers of
Glod, Romania, took legal action against the producers of ''Borat'', complaining that they were lied to about the nature of the filming and they were portrayed as
incest
Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...
uous and ignorant. Some said they were paid only three
lei (about $1.28 in 2004) each, while others stated they were paid between $70 and $100 each, which did not cover their expenses.
The residents asked for $38 million in damages.
One lawsuit was thrown out by U.S. District Judge
Loretta Preska
Loretta A. Preska (born January 7, 1949) is an American federal judge who is currently a senior U.S. District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Born in Albany, Preska received law degrees from F ...
in a hearing in early December 2006 on the ground that the allegations in the complaint were too vague. Despite this, the litigants planned to refile.
In April 2008, the case was dismissed again, citing insufficient evidence.
Two of the
University of South Carolina fraternity brothers who appeared in the film, Justin Seay and Christopher Rotunda, sued the producers, claiming
defamation
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
.
The suit by Seay and Rotunda was dismissed in February 2007.
The students had also sought an injunction to prevent the DVD release of the film, which was denied.
Another lawsuit was filed by a South Carolina resident who said he was accosted by Baron Cohen (as Borat) in the bathroom at a restaurant in downtown
Columbia, with the actor allegedly making comments regarding the individual's genitals, without signing any legal waiver. The lawsuit also sought to have the footage excluded from any DVD releases and removed from Internet video sites.
The
Macedonian Romani
Romani may refer to:
Ethnicities
* Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia
** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule
* Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
singer
Esma Redžepova
Esma Redžepova-Teodosievska ( mk, Есма Реџепова-Теодосиевска, ; 8 August 1943 – 11 December 2016) was a Macedonian Romani vocalist, songwriter and humanitarian. Because of her prolific repertoire, which included hund ...
sued the film's producers, seeking €800,000 because the film used her song "Chaje Šukarije" without her permission.
But since Redžepova’s production house had failed to inform her that they had granted permission to use the song, she instead received a €26,000 compensation from it.
Felix Cedeno, a 31-year-old American, sued
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
for $2.25 million, after he was filmed as part of a scene where a live chicken fell out of Borat's suitcase on the subway. Cedeno later dropped the suit and received nothing.
Baltimore resident Michael Psenicska sought more than $100,000 in damages from Baron Cohen, 20th Century Fox, and other parties. Psenicska—a high school mathematics teacher who also owns a driving school—was reportedly paid $500 in cash to give Baron Cohen's bogus Kazakh journalist a driving lesson. In his action—filed in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan—the driving instructor said that he had been told the film was a "documentary about the integration of foreign people into the American way of life", and that if he had known the film's true nature, he would have never participated. Psenicska said he was entitled to damages because the defendants used images of him to advertise the film.
The case was dismissed on 9 September 2008.
Jeffrey Lemerond, who was shown running and yelling, "Get away" as Borat attempted to hug strangers on a New York street, filed a legal case claiming his image was used in the film illegally, and that he suffered "public ridicule, degradation and humiliation" as a result. The case was dismissed.
Baron Cohen reacted to these suits by commenting: "Some of the letters I get are quite unusual, like the one where the lawyer informed me I'm about to be sued for $100,000 and at the end says, 'P.S. Loved the movie. Can you sign a poster for my son Jeremy?'"
Reception in Kazakhstan
The government of Kazakhstan at first denounced ''Borat''. In 2005, following Borat's appearance at the
MTV Movie Awards
The MTV Movie & TV Awards (formerly the MTV Movie Awards) is a film and television awards show presented annually on MTV. The first MTV Movie Awards were presented in 1992. The ceremony was renamed the MTV Movie & TV Awards for its 26th editi ...
, the country's Foreign Ministry threatened to sue Sacha Baron Cohen, and Borat's
Kazakh-based website, www.borat.kz, was taken down.
Kazakhstan also launched a multi-million dollar "Heart of Eurasia" campaign to counter the Borat effect; Baron Cohen replied by denouncing the campaign at an in-character press conference in front of the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
as the propaganda of the "evil nitwits" of
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...
.
Uzbekistan is, throughout the film, referred to by Borat as his nation's second leading problem, with the first being the Jews. In November 2006, Kazakh TV personality Jantemir Baimukhamedov travelled to London with the stated aim of presenting Baron Cohen with horse meat and horse urine, which were claimed by Borat to be the national food and drink of Kazakhstan, although he was unable to organise a meeting with him.
In 2006, Gemini Films, the
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
n distributor of 20th Century Fox, complied with a Kazakh government request to not release the film.
That year, Kazakh ambassador to the United Kingdom
Erlan Idrissov
Erlan Abilfayizuly Idrissov ( kk, Ерлан Әбілфайызұлы Ыдырысов, tr, Erlan Äbılfaiyzūly Ydyrysov, ; born 28 April 1959)[ ...]
, after viewing the film, called parts of the film funny and wrote that the film had "placed Kazakhstan on the map".
By 2012, Kazakh Foreign Minister
Yerzhan Kazykhanov
Erzhan Hozeuly Kazykhanov (born 21 August 1964) is a Kazakh politician who serves as diplomat. Kazykhanov holds a newly created position in the presidential administration with the title of Special Representative for International Cooperation. Prio ...
attributed a great rise in tourism to his country—with visas issued rising ten times—to the film, saying "I am grateful to 'Borat' for helping attract tourists to Kazakhstan."
According to Yerlan Askarbekov, a Kazakh public relations professional who worked with both the
British Council
The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...
and the Kazakh government who wrote a piece for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
website in 2016, ten years after the film's release, many of his colleagues in the Kazakh media saw the character of Borat as a valuable PR opportunity. According to him some of the Kazakhs who were most upset by the film were students studying in the US and the UK, who understood the film's satirical intent but felt that their non-Kazakh peers were taking the film at face value as an accurate portrayal of the country. He suggested that interest in the character inside the country faded once Kazakhs grasped that the film was designed to "get an outsider's view of the US and reveal the prejudices of the Americans who Borat interacts with... functioning as a sort of 21st Century
Alexis de Tocqueville
Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (; 29 July 180516 April 1859), colloquially known as Tocqueville (), was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his works ...
".
The Kazakh tabloid ''Karavan'' declared ''Borat'' to be the best film of the year, having had a reviewer see the film at a screening in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
. The paper said that it was "certainly not an anti-Kazakh, anti-Romanian or anti-Semitic" film, but rather "cruelly anti-American ... amazingly funny and sad at the same time."
Another favorable word came from Kazakh novelist Sapabek Asip-uly, who suggested Baron Cohen be nominated for the annual award bestowed by the Kazakh Club of Art Patrons. In a letter published by the newspaper ''
Vremya
''Vremya'' (russian: Вре́мя, lit. "Time") is the main evening newscast in Russia, airing on Channel One Russia (Russian: , Pervy kanal) and previously on Programme One of the Central Television of the USSR (CT USSR, Russian: ). The program ...
'', Asip-uly wrote, "
orathas managed to spark an immense interest of the whole world in Kazakhstan—something our authorities could not do during the years of independence. If state officials completely lack a sense of humor, their country becomes a laughing stock."
Amazon UK
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...
has also reported significant numbers of orders of ''Borat'' on DVD from Kazakhstan.
Accidental use of its parody national anthem
In 2012, the parody national anthem from the
film's soundtrack, which acclaims Kazakhstan for its high-quality potassium exports and having the second-cleanest prostitutes in the region, was mistakenly played at the medal ceremony of
Mariya Dmitriyenko
Mariya Dmitriyenko ( kk, Mariia Dmitrienko; russian: Мария Дмитриенко, Mariya Dmitriyenko, born 24 March 1988) is a Kazakh sports shooter. She competed in the women's trap event at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
In March 2012, she w ...
at the Emir of Kuwait International Shooting Grand Prix. The incident apparently resulted from the wrong song being downloaded from the Internet.
For similar incidents, see
list of wrong anthems incidents
This is a list of incidents when the wrong national anthems were played, sung or performed.
List
See also
*List of national anthems
* List of former national anthems
*List of regional anthems
:''Soviet republics and U.S. states are omitted; ...
.
Accusations of ethnic defamation
The
European Center for Antiziganism Research, which works against negative attitudes toward
Romani people
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...
, filed a complaint
with
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
prosecutors on 18 October 2006, based on Borat's references to Gypsies in his film. The complaint accuses him of defamation and inciting violence against an ethnic group.
As a consequence, 20th Century Fox declared that it would remove all parts referring to Romani people from trailers shown on German television as well as on the film's website.
Before the release of the film, the
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
(ADL) released a statement expressing concern over Borat's characteristic
anti-Semitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
.
Both Baron Cohen (who is Jewish) and the ADL have stated that the film uses Borat to expose prejudices felt or tolerated by others,
but the ADL expressed concern that some audiences might remain oblivious to this aspect of the film's humor, while "some may even find it reinforcing their bigotry".
Censorship in the Arab world
The film was banned in the entire Arab world except for
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
and the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
(which released the film heavily censored).
Yousuf Abdul Hamid, a film censor for
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
in the United Arab Emirates, called the film "vile, gross and extremely ridiculous". The censor said that he and his colleagues had walked out on their screening before it had finished, and that only half an hour of the film would be left once all the offensive scenes were removed.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for ''Borat'' was released on the
iTunes Store
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
on 24 October 2006, and in shops on 31 October 2006. The album included music from the film, five tracks entitled "Dialoguing excerpt from moviefilm", as well as the controversial anti-Semitic song "
In My Country There Is Problem
"In My Country There Is Problem", also known as "Throw the Jew Down the Well" after the song's key line, is a song written by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen for his comic character Borat Sagdiyev. It features in the episode "Peace" of the ser ...
" from ''Da Ali G Show''.
The
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
included in the soundtrack has no connection to the authentic
music of Kazakhstan
Music of Kazakhstan refers to a wide range of musical styles and genres deriving from Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is home to the Kazakh State Kurmangazy Orchestra of Folk Instruments, the Kazakh State Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kazakh National Opera ...
. The album features songs by
Romani
Romani may refer to:
Ethnicities
* Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia
** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule
* Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
and Balkan artists (mostly
Emir Kusturica
Emir Kusturica ( sr-cyrl, Емир Кустурица; born 24 November 1954) is a Serbian film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and musician. He also has French citizenship.http://www.serbia.com/emir-kusturica-artist-builder-and-anti-glo ...
and
Goran Bregovic
Goran may refer to:
Ethnic groups
*Gorane, or Goran, an ethnic group of northern Africa
*Goran (Kurdish tribe), an ethnic group of the Middle East
*Gorani (ethnic group), an ethnic group of the southeastern Europe
Other uses
*Göran, a Swedis ...
) and includes music by
Erran Baron Cohen
Erran Boaz Baron Cohen (born May 1968) is an English composer and trumpet player known for collaborations with his younger brother, Sacha Baron Cohen.
Life and career
Baron Cohen is a founding member of the world music group Zohar who are sig ...
, founding member of ZOHAR Sound System and brother of ''Borat'' star Sacha Baron Cohen, as well as songs sung by Sacha Baron Cohen himself in character as Borat.
Home media
The
Region 2 DVD
DVD region codes are a digital rights management technique introduced in 1997. It is designed to allow rights holders to control the international distribution of a DVD release, including its content, release date, and price, all according to ...
was released 5 March 2007, with the
Region 1 release the following day.
Special features include
deleted scenes
A deleted scene is footage that has been removed from the final version of a film or television show. There are various reasons why these scenes are deleted, which include time constraints, relevance, quality or a dropped story thread. A similar o ...
, faux advertisements for the soundtrack album, and a complete
Russian language
Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the First language, native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European langua ...
translation audio track using a professional dubbing cast, along with the English,
French, and
Spanish language
Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...
tracks common on Region 1. There is also a choice of
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
, but this is merely a joke; choosing the Hebrew language option results in a warning screen reading "You have been trapped, Jew!" which warns the viewer not to change his shape and to keep his claws where they can be seen, again playing on the anti-Semitism supposedly prevalent in Borat's version of Kazakhstan. It also includes footage of Borat's publicity tour for the film, with Baron Cohen in character as Borat on ''
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014.
The fourth incarnation of the ...
'', ''
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and music ...
'', the
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
, and ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
''. The bonus features conclude with a news segment from
a Virginia TV station about Borat's night at the rodeo, complete with an interview with rodeo owner Bobby Rowe.
As a play on the
copyright infringement
Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...
common in the former
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, the packaging of the Region 1 (United States/Canada), 2 (Europe/Japan/South Africa/Middle East), and 4 (Latin America/Oceania) editions mimics a foreign
bootleg
Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to:
* Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially
* Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence:
** Moonshine, or illicitly made ...
DVD. The slipcover is in English but the case itself has all-Cyrillic text (a majority of which is in legitimate Russian, not faux Cyrillic) and is made to look poorly photocopied. The disc itself is made to look like a "Demorez"
DVD-R
DVD recordable and DVD rewritable are optical disc recording technologies. Both terms describe DVD optical discs that can be written to by a DVD recorder, whereas only 'rewritable' discs are able to erase and rewrite data. Data is written ('burne ...
with the slogan "Is life? No. Demorez.", a parody on "Is it live, or is it
Memorex
Memorex Corp. began as a magnetic tape, computer tape producer and expanded to become both a consumer media supplier and a major IBM plug compatible peripheral supplier. It was broken up and ceased to exist after 1996 other than as a consumer ele ...
?" ad campaign, and the word "BOЯAT" appearing to be crudely written in marker with the "R"
written backwards.
The
UMD version is similar to the DVD, even being labelled a "UMD-R" (which do not exist). Even the
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
in-cover advertising is written in broken English that appears poorly printed, indicating that there are "More movie discs available from US&A" and "Also legal to own in Kazakhstan".
There are further jokes within the DVD itself. The menus are styled as a worn, static-laden film on an erratically functioning projector, with more Cyrillic writing accompanied by translations in broken English. The DVD is described as a "prerecorded moviedisc for purpose domestic viewing of moviefilm", and the viewer is warned that "selling piratings of this moviedisc will result in punishment by
crushing". The DVD's collection of
trailers
Trailer may refer to: a
Transportation
* Trailer (vehicle), an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle
** Bicycle trailer, a wheeled frame for hitching to a bicycle to tow cargo or passengers
** Full-trailer
** Semi-trailer
**Horse trailer ...
promises that the depicted films are "coming Kazakhstan in 2028". By April 2007, the DVD had sold over 3.5 million copies, totaling more than $55 million in sales.
''Borat'' was released on
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
in the US on 9 November 2009 as a region-free disc.
Sequel
In 2009, the film ''
Brüno
''Brüno'' is a 2009 mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and starring Sacha Baron Cohen, who produced, co-wrote, and played the gay Austrian fashion journalist Brüno. It is the third film based on one of Cohen's characters from ...
'' was released. Co-written, co-produced by, and starring Baron Cohen, the film was based on another of his characters:
Brüno
''Brüno'' is a 2009 mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and starring Sacha Baron Cohen, who produced, co-wrote, and played the gay Austrian fashion journalist Brüno. It is the third film based on one of Cohen's characters from ...
, a gay
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n fashion reporter.
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
is reported to have produced the film with a budget of $42 million.
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
announced in early February 2007 that Baron Cohen had signed on to do another Borat film with Fox.
However, this was contradicted by an interview in which Baron Cohen himself stated that Borat was to be discontinued, as he was now too recognizable to prevent detection as he did in the original film and on ''Da Ali G Show''.
A spokesman for Fox later said that it was too early to begin planning such a film, although they were open to the idea.
Baron Cohen subsequently announced that he was "killing off" the characters of Borat and Ali G because they were now so famous he could no longer trick people. Even though he decided to retire the characters, on 26 February 2014, he brought them back for the
FXX
FXX is an American basic cable channel owned by the Walt Disney Television unit of The Walt Disney Company through FX Networks, LLC. It is the partner channel of FX, with its programming focusing on original and acquired comedy series and fe ...
series ''
Ali G: Rezurection'', a collection of the sketches from all 18 episodes of ''
Da Ali G Show
''Da Ali G Show'' is a British Satire, satirical television series created by and starring English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. In the series, Baron Cohen plays three unorthodox journalists: faux-streetwise poseur Ali G, Kazakh reporter Borat Sag ...
'', including new footage of Baron Cohen in-character as Ali G, who is portrayed as the presenter of the show.
Baron Cohen revived the character of Borat in December 2015 on the late night talk show ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...
'' to premiere the new trailer for his movie ''
Grimsby
Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of Linco ...
''.
In September 2020, a direct sequel, titled ''
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
''Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan'' (or simply ''Borat Subsequent Moviefilm'' or ''Borat 2'') is a 2020 mockumentary black comedy film directed by Jas ...
'', was officially confirmed to have been secretly filmed, completed and screened during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
a few weeks after Baron Cohen was spotted driving a pick-up truck in character as Borat around
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.
That same month,
Amazon Studios
Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...
acquired distribution rights to the film and released it on 23 October 2020.
See also
* ''
Molvanîa
''Molvanîa'' (subtitled ''A Land Untouched by Modern Dentistry'') is a book parodying travel guidebooks. The guide describes the fictional country Molvanîa, a post-Soviet state, a nation described as "the birthplace of the whooping cough" and ...
''
*
Elbonia
''Dilbert'' is an American comic strip written and illustrated by Scott Adams, first published on April 16, 1989. It is known for its satirical office humor about a white-collar, micromanaged office with engineer Dilbert as the title characte ...
*
Lower Slobbovia Lower Slobbovia (also sometimes Outer, Inner, Central, Upper or Lowest Slobbovia) is a fictional country portrayed as underdeveloped, socially backward, remote, impoverished or unenlightened. First coined by Al Capp in 1946, the term has also been ...
*
Anti-Americanism
Anti-Americanism (also called anti-American sentiment) is prejudice, fear, or hatred of the United States, its government, its foreign policy, or Americans in general.
Political scientist Brendon O'Connor at the United States Studies Centr ...
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
Borat official website(Archived)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borat - Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan
2006 films
2006 comedy films
American comedy films
American parody films
American mockumentary films
American satirical films
British comedy films
British satirical films
Cultural depictions of Pamela Anderson
Armenian-language films
2000s Hebrew-language films
Film spin-offs
Films featuring a Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe winning performance
Films set in Alabama
Films set in Atlanta
Films set in Dallas
Films set in Kazakhstan
Films set in Los Angeles
British films set in New York City
Films set in Washington, D.C.
Films shot in Alabama
Films shot in Atlanta
Films shot in Dallas
Films shot in Los Angeles
Films shot in Massachusetts
Films shot in Maryland
Films shot in New York City
Films shot in Romania
Films shot in Virginia
Films shot in Washington, D.C.
Incest in film
Films with screenplays by Peter Baynham
Films with screenplays by Sacha Baron Cohen
Films with screenplays by Dan Mazer
Films with screenplays by Todd Phillips
British road movies
American road movies
2000s road movies
20th Century Fox films
Dune Entertainment films
Films directed by Larry Charles
Film controversies in Russia
Political controversies in film
Obscenity controversies in film
Censored films
Films scored by Erran Baron Cohen
Works subject to a lawsuit
2000s English-language films
2000s American films
2000s British films