LAist: Borat Film Review: Why Aren't the Jews Protesting?

Borax

Fri, 03 Nov 2006 04:26:53 -0800

Some Jews are mad, Abe Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League said in a rather condescending tone, "Americans may not always be sophisticated enough to get the joke" By sophisticated enough do you mean goy Abe.

jerry mcclusky

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 12:05:16 -0800

From my Jewish point of view, this film is hilarious. The remarks and situations are so over-the-top that you would have to be an idiot not to understand that it is social satire and parody. No Jew will find this to be offensive; just the opposite -- it illuminates the idiocracy of prejudices. And personally, I can't wait to participate in next years Running of the Jews!

Henry David

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 23:07:58 -0800

Not to kiss ass or anything but I am on board with my editor and co-contributor. This is a blog, not a newspaper - not to say that we hold a lower standard, but that a blog exists for a different purpose. xTx wrote a review from her point of view, a blogish perspective which includes her own nuances. If you want to read a standard, English 101 churned out composition, you can turn to something else like the LA Times. There you'll find all of the boringly composed diatribes you want. Methodic and meaningless enough to satisfy your need for predictability. Whether xTx chose to go out and compile a shitload of research for a single post, or whether she intended to simply give you a review of the movie the way a friend would to another, that's her deal. But in my opinion, who gives a shit. Don't like it? Move on to another post. Or....get worked up and criticize. My editor loves it either way.

jameso

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 10:34:12 -0800

amen to "the editor." i might not have liked the review (and at the end of the day, who really gives a rat's ass), but you are dead on. if people don't like it, they can go elsewhere. i only offered my comment as construstive criticism, not because i have a stick firmly planted you know where. lighten up people! jeez!

tony

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 01:55:21 -0800

the editor thinks that the readers are entitled to their opinions just like the editor is entitled to his. the editor also believes that if the readers want to criticize, that's fine. however the editor can also criticize right back. funny how some readers don't want to allow the editor that same right. as for readers, ad revenue and all that... this editor has only increased both of those things since he started. he's never pandered to anyone, let alone readers of blogs. he's always been honest. he's not afraid of anything. and that might be the key to his success. and yes, he enjoys writing in the third person. of course the opinions of the readers matter to him, but the editor calls the shots. xTx is a writer who the editor has been reading for years and years. if the readers aren't into one of her posts, big deal. the editor wont lose any sleep over it. if the readers get bent out of shape because it looks like their whims wont be pandered to, well, get used to being bent out of shape. you get to comment all you want, and he gets to also. he also gets the final word. ultimately there are several things that you can do when you see something that doesnt float your boat regarding LAist 1) read something else - we write about 10 posts a day on average 2) write something better yourself 3) find someone better to write for us 4) explain how it could have been written better and then move on

ian

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 00:33:04 -0800

wow, that sounds like the same person over and over up there. i enjoyed it, cant wait to see it when it comes out

incredible

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 00:08:51 -0800

The "editor" seems to think his writers can do no wrong. And the readers? Unless they toe the line, they're just meatheads he needs for traffic to bring in the ad money. The condescension and insults towards commentators is just wrong, unless he really does want to drive everyone away. Boooo on Tony.

Smirk

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 15:05:21 -0800

jr, Unfortunately, if you are interested in learing about the happenings in and around LA, and thus, you decide to read LAist, you must accept that Tony Pierce (the editor) has animosity for you and any of your comments. There is no discussion here.

jr

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 14:35:25 -0800

I have to agree, and either the author was joking/sarcastic or that was one horrible piece of writing. Putting to one side the obvious stuff (misspelling, poor grammar, bad sentence structure), did the author do ANY research at all? I'm confused as to how you could write a review and not know that Cohen is himself Jewish, unless the whole review was a (poorly executed) joke. Further, in my opinion, the editor should be apologizing for the review, not insulting the readers posting comments.

xtx

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 11:31:22 -0800

xoxo

tony

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 11:10:28 -0800

"Seems as if this was pieced together from IMs and backseat bullshiting while sniffing liquid paper." xTx, your next review better involve piecing together IMs and backseat bsing while sniffing things. or eles youre fired. - The Editor

jameso

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 09:56:49 -0800

I'm sorry but I have to agree. In my humble opinion, that was not a well written review (and I'm being relatively diplomatic in saying it that way). Being a fan of both this blog and Borat, I have to say that it was hard to get through that one. I'm sure there are better reviewers out there. Sorry, I'm just trying to give some constructive criticism.

Eric

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 09:15:30 -0800

So much for content management. This has gotta be the worst piece of writing I have found on LAist. Seems as if this was pieced together from IMs and backseat bullshiting while sniffing liquid paper. Uh, we all know Borat is funny and at times offensive, but what this reviewer can't seem to do (besides sting a few sentences together) is read irony and satire, which is an essential in this day and age. Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat is drawing attention to the limited scope and perspective that most Americans have on the developing world. By displaying himself as bigoted, lecherous, and naive, he is also toying with Western expectations of developing world ignorance.

xtx

Sun, 15 Oct 2006 13:29:14 -0800

YAY! I get like, one out of four stars for my review giving Borat four out of four stars!!!

tony

Sun, 15 Oct 2006 08:02:29 -0800

fine, xTx, will be assigned a movie review a week.

Gfunk

Sun, 15 Oct 2006 00:32:07 -0800

Maybe smo assumed xTx was male because of this line from the review: "Man, if I were a woman, I would've walked out of that movie after the first 5 minutes!" I agree with smo completely. This is a terrible review.

tony

Sat, 14 Oct 2006 20:01:39 -0800

smo is a terrible commenter. I hope that was her last comment. my favorite part was when she assumed that xTx was a male. Anyway.

smo

Sat, 14 Oct 2006 13:17:28 -0800

xTx is a terrible writer. I hope this is his last review. My favorite part is, "Most of them looked either gay, straight, or like comic book characters straight out of Sin City." Did most of them also look like males or females? Anyway.

herube

Sat, 14 Oct 2006 11:37:45 -0800

idiots. he exposes bigotry in america. it's satire for christ sake.

Jewr Mahmma

Sat, 14 Oct 2006 11:26:15 -0800

The reason jews arent protesting is because Sacha Baron Cohen is a jew. If he wasnt jewish, they'd be freaking out guaranteed. Look at the 'lost' family guy episode for example. If you're jewish making fun of jews, its comedy. If you're anything else, its anti-semitism. Now thats racist. That said, Sacha Cohen's pretty hilarious.