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Critics Laugh At Brüno, So It Must Not Be Offensive
New York, 10:14 AM
Fri Dec 18
65 posts in the last 24 hours
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Critics Laugh At Brüno, So It Must Not Be Offensive |
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
07/09/09
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07/09/09
I wonder if Brüno was a straight man pantomiming oral sex with a woman or a straight woman pretending to perform oral sex on a man, would it really shock critics that the film was rated R instead of NC-17? Probably not, but if it envolves teh ghey sex we must protect the children!
07/09/09
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07/09/09
But at the same time, I do think it's clear to any viewer (as it was with "Borat") that the targets of ridicule are not really Baron-Cohen's characters (which are obviously caricatures) but the people he interacts with. And if that helps to reinforce the idea that homophobic = ignorant, bigoted, and ridiculous...in my mind that's not a bad result.
That said, I've been a fan of Da Ali G Show since it began, and I accept that while the treading-the-line-between-funny-and-deeply-offensive brand of comedy may work for me, it's definitely not for everyone.
07/09/09
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07/09/09
It's supposed to be funny because its intended viewers are in on the joke. Some of my best friends are gay, so it's all in good fun, right?
Wrong. This movie gives viewers the opportunity to indulge in their own thinly-veiled homophobia and feel better about themselves because they're not as blatantly homophobic as the rubes on the screen.
07/09/09
I don't know, this all just rubs me the wrong way.
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As far as Bruno goes, I'm sure I'll see it and find it funny - if it's anything like Borat, and it seems to be. However, I have a feeling that I'll get annoyed really quickly with folks claiming that it 'exposes' some essential uncomfortable truth about America. Beyond the fact that the scenarios are extremely contrived and controlled, I think that most of the targets of Cohen's gags are exceptionally polite to him, considering his behavior. There was a really good write-up of this in Salon yesterday: http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/feature/2009/07/09/bruno_rakoff/index.html
07/09/09
i just dont know if this is the right medium or has the right tone to have it be justified as "illuminating" the social ills of america. the same shit could be said about "dont be a menace to south central while drinking your juice in the hood", and that movie was just straight up offensive. just because it's a parody doesnt mean it's quality.
07/09/09
nevermind. i figured it out. i am so smart! s-m-r-t!
07/09/09
This is my biggest issue with these films - I feel like I should appreciate them because lord knows I love a good satire, but the fact of the matter is that they are just not good movies!
I'm going to see this tomorrow afternoon with some friends - not because I really want to, but because I feel a sense of entitlement as a "parody appreciator". I know I won't enjoy it - it'll be crass, vulgar, over the top, and embarrassingly unfunny - but I feel I must.
07/09/09
I like The Daily Show, and you could argue it does similar stuff, but it doesn't' seem quite as mean-spirited and "we're trying to shock you just to get you to react." The Daily Show actually seems to be making a point.
But I have a co-worker who thinks SBC is a genius, and I can't even talk to him about this, because I just don't see it. It seems like he's being an asshole for the sake of being an asshole.
Full disclosure: one of the scenes happened not too far from me. Not to me, but in my neck of the woods.
07/09/09
I couldn't even sit through Borat. I suspect I won't be able to sit through this one. I understand that the point is the expose homophobia, but it makes me uncomfortable to do it this way.
Instead, I'll stick to exposing homophobia other ways.
07/09/09
(1) His humor comes across as smug, as if he feels he's better/smarter/more cultured than his targets and subjects. With regard to his subjects, it's the same old *ironic* and *outrageous* hipster humor - people who are offended *clearly* are too uptight and stupid to understand that he's actually trying to save them!
(2) His humor comes across as mean-spirited. In Borat, many of his targets were kind to him, and reacted in part because of his outlandishness. Not saying that they didn't have ignorant attitudes, but many of them seemed like decent people.
(3) His humor isn't particularly innovative. It rehashes the same stereotypes for laughs (he seems to especially like the "dumb Southern hick" one), and doesn't tell us anything that we haven't heard before.
07/09/09
Among other things, Bruno's sexually predatory behavior sounds very troubling to me. It seems like that is most likely to have the effect of 1) confirming people's belief that gay people cannot control their sexual urges and/or 2) making people feel like homophobic behavior and language is okay because of that predatory behavior.
07/09/09
07/09/09
I mean, I haven't seen it yet so I don't know how it will read. But I do believe that's the intent.
The thing is, homophobic people are not going to "get" anything that points out or pokes fun at the stereotypes they perpetuate. And though this may not be the movie to do it, I think film is one of the great ways to do cultural critique that reaches a wider audience. Will everyone "get" it all the time? No.
It's like...Boys Don't Cry had a transgender character who lies, steals, and engages in sexual activity without identifying their biological gender. And eventually, he is raped and killed for being transgender. The movie is not, in any way, saying that's justifiable just because he was a flawed person. But there are plenty of people who would read it that way.
07/09/09
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07/09/09
I can't speak to Year 1, but Transformers is casually, horrifically racist...and is entirely unaware of it. Which makes it worse, to me. Because it's not trying to make a cultural point in the slightest.
It would've been bad enough if it was just 2 hours of pointlessness...but it had to add really awful racism to the mix, and for that it fails.
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07/09/09
And my decision to see this has been made. (I won't be seeing this.)