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My Social/Moral Barometer? Sacha Baron Cohen

07/20/2010 By

sacha baron cohen My Social/Moral Barometer? Sacha Baron CohenBeing a parent of two small children, I rarely get to actually go out to see a movie in a real theater. Movie night at my house consists of some sort of alcohol, two passed out kids (not from the alcohol), the couch, and my wife. Last weekend, with the Flux Capacitor in my 1985 DeLorean filled and ready to go, I transported myself back to 2009 to view Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest creation, Bruno.

Now, I am not going to bore you with a lame ass review. I am pretty sure most of you have seen this movie by now. Like his previous film, Borat, Mr. Sacha Baron Cohen pushes the envelop pretty far with Bruno. An exercise bike powered dildo, an adopted African baby named O.J., and quasi man on man love scenes team up  throughout this  story about a shamed Austrian fashion reporter named Bruno Gehard and his struggles to regain stardom again in America. The situations Bruno finds himself in are humorous and sometimes even uncomfortable. As with Borat, most of the ordinary citizens appearing in the movie have no clue what is actually going on. So much so, at times, I found myself worrying about Sacha Baron Cohen’s safety and well being.

Mr. Sacha Baron Cohen excels at making you feel totally uncomfortable. That’s the beauty of his films. He wants you to laugh and then look around the theater to see if other people are laughing with you. Most people just shrug his movies off as nothing but shock factor and crude humor. I, for one, love these movies. I love, love crude humor. I breathe it. It’s part of my soul. As I became thoroughly enthralled in Bruno, something weird happened. I actually started to think. Normally, bad things happen when my brain turns on. When I utter the words “I’ve been thinking”, people normally roll their eyes in disgust. But as the last scene in Bruno ticked away, the humor quickly wore off and anger, hatred, and pure disdain set in. This, however, had nothing to do with the characters, writers, or acting in Bruno. No, my beef was with the small-minded, idiotic, and homophobic “Americans”.

Throughout the movie, you see and hear quit a bit of homophobic rants, stares, and all around attitude from the unsuspecting “ordinaries”. At times, Bruno tries his hardest to illicit some sort of negative response. Other times, the homophobic slurs just spew from these dumbasses. It adds a bit of hilarity, but this is where my mind starting working overtime.

During the last scene of Bruno, the shit really hits the fan. Bruno dresses up as another character he has deemed “Straight Dave”. Straight Dave is dressed in full camouflage with cut off sleeves, awesome white trash sideburns, and a cowboy hat. He appears in the center of a MMA fighting ring somewhere in Arkansas. He riles up the crowd with chants of pure macho, hetero rhetoric until they reach a frenzy. Then it happens, someone calls him a “fag”. Well, that someone is actually another actor who appears as his assistant, Lutz, during the film. What the crowd doesn’t know is about to totally hurt them. Lutz (Gustaf Hammarsten) has a huge gay man crush on Bruno. Lutz makes his way down to the center of the ring and finds himself face to face with “Straight Dave”. They lock eyes for a minute and then it begins. Right before your eyes, a mock scene of pure man on man lust unfolds. Tongues are exchange and clothes are ripped off. I bet you can guess what happens next. Bruno and Lutz are instantly met with boos, trash, and thrown beers. The cameras quickly panned the audience to find looks of terror, chants of hatred, and even a grown man with tears streaming down his face. Yes, you read that correctly. This public display of man love made a grown ass man cry real tears. Wow.

bruno My Social/Moral Barometer? Sacha Baron Cohen

After my laughter subsided, my rage set in. This is not the America I know and associate with. No. These people must be from a different planet altogether, right? Given the location of this event, I could argue that maybe homophobic values and hatred are the norm. That would be stereotypical of me to think that way, but given the atmosphere of the incident, how could I think otherwise? I mean, is this what we want the rest of the world thinks of us Americans? This gave me a big case of the sads. I know this was an over the top display of ridiculousness, but are we that sad of a society that it would be enough to bring a grown man to tears? I am willing to bet that if the situation was reversed and involved two women going at it in the ring, the outcome would be much more different. So, the next time you sit down and watch one of these silly films, don’t just brush it off as just humor. Let the hilarity and ridiculousness of Bruno teach you something about acceptance. I can’t believe I am saying this, but I certainly did.
. . . . .

TJ wants and African baby named O.J.

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Filed Under: Best Of Featured, Best Of MamaPop, Comedy, DVD, Fashion, Movies, Theater Tagged With: 1985, 2009, Arkansas, Borat, Bruno, delorean, Flux Capacitor, Gustaf Hammarsten, homophobia, Humor, Lame, Lutz, Movies, O.J., Ridiculous, Sacha Baron Cohen, Sad, Straight Dave, Thinking
About TJ Johnson

In his spare time, TJ likes to talk to Mark Wahlberg and random farm animals. When that doesn't occur, you can catch him blogging and abusing Twitter like it owes him money.

  • http://midwesternmamah.blogspot.com/ Holly B

    Everytime I see this man, I see Bruce. The guy we put on a greyhound bus one way ( while he was drunk ) to Atlanta. Good times.

  • sarah

    Surely you don’t REALLY think that Arkansas is that different from the rest of the nation? That HATE is the norm here (yes, here, I am sitting right smack in the middle of the state, and have lived in several different towns in the state)? Arkansas has a thriving and healthy gay community! We even have several cities that regularly host Pride parades, and I know many out gays here, and none have ever been subjected to what happened in Bruno, not even when displaying affection. Yes, there are homophobes, here–but I am sure there are in San Francisco too!

    Bruno was a movie. A stupid movie! A stupid movie with lame gross out jokes. Don’t blame Arkansas, we are a lovely friendly state. Oh, and as Christian, thanks for not making me explain that we are not all homophobes as well as sounding like an Arkansan travel guide.

    • incognito

      You’re right about the “anywhere” part. I was on a date with a guy who said (audibly to fellow pedestrians) “That’s disgusting” in reference to the men walking in front of us holding hands. I was shocked, and ended the date on the spot. My date and I were in San Francisco.

  • Keli

    I completely agree with TJ. I got sad after I saw how anyone (from any state) can be so openly hateful. I spent a lot of the movie admiring his guts and fearing for Sacha’s safety.

    • http://studioeightonesix.wordpress.com TJ Johnson

      Thank you, Keli. That was really the point I was trying to get across. My intentions weren’t to single out one state in particular, but rather to wonder why that would happen at all.

  • Paige

    Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, etc etc… the MIDWEST in general spews more hate than other parts of the country. Yes it is everywhere, but lets be honest here, where do most good old boy, beer drinking, confederate flag flying, rednecks reside? HELLO MIDWEST. I’m not Midwest bashing, I live in MO for God’s sake, but I’m saying its worse here. Those chodes in Bruno in the Arkansas scene could have been my neighbors and it disgusts me. That movie made me see how so many in this country truly feel about gays and it saddens and angers me. THEY’RE JUST GAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jesus Fucking Christ, get over it already!

    • http://tm2ts.sarahsmidnightfantasy.com Sarah

      I completely agree that the Midwest is more hateful. I’m in Kansas, and from Indiana. Definitely more hateful people in those two states than I’ve ever seen in Florida.

      Hell, WBC is from fucking Kansas.

    • jen

      Minneapolis must be the exception to the Midwest “rule”. We have a huge gay community and for the most part, a pretty accepting hetero population. Lots of gay kids move from farm country move here.

      • http://studioeightonesix.wordpress.com TJ Johnson

        Maybe the upper Midwest gets and exception? I have family in Michigan and things seem to be a little bit different there too. Well, from what I can tell anyway!

  • KeriHelen

    I just saw Bruno for the first time about a month ago and it STILL weighs on my mind. It’s been so long since I’ve sat down to watch something and experienced everything from humor, to disgust, to fear. My god, the camping scene? I was so afraid that he was going to get the sh*t kicked out of him by someone. The swinger party? Ohhhh lordy, I watched that entire part peeking out between my fingers, haha!

    By the time it had gotten to the end of the movie I sooooo knew something was about to happen that was going to give me nervous butterflies and yikes, was I right! The hate being thrown around in that place was absolutely sad and appalling. What really got me though? If you’re really THAT homophobic, why stay and watch? I swear, if it’s really that gross to you to watch two men like that, LEAVE! I was actually surprised at the amount of people that stayed inside, just shaking their heads and looking disgusted. And I also agree, I’m pretty sure if that was two women in the ring doing the same thing, it would have been totally different and that, to me, is not ok.

  • http://plasticsardine.livejournal.com Becca

    Honestly, when I see his name, I just replace it with Tom Green. I see nothing original in anything Cohen does.

  • Natalie

    Bare with me for I am about to be the dissenting voice … I don’t find Sacha all that funny in general, I smirk at some of the stuff he does and it is thought provoking at times which I find more interesting but also I find his baiting pretty awful. Yes there is a lot of hate in America, everywhere for that matter but there is also this inherent argument that Sacha Baron Cohen’s comedy seems to have running through it that pushes the idea that all people should live the way they want.

    Which I agree whole heartedly with and in that case it goes FOR ALL PEOPLE. If I were christian (I am not) and a man (I am not) and from a conservative area (again I am not) and conservative myself (not me) I would want the right to live the way I want and do the things I believe in. I feel that I can empathize with the audience because they were suddenly forced into watching something they didn’t want to see/don’t agree with/weren’t prepared for etc. If I were suddenly forced to watch something that goes against my moral fiber I would be upset too, especially if I realized I had been duped.

    Now I know through history people who have been in the minority were forced into similar situations but turning the tables doesn’t seem/feel like the way to win arguments with those who would want to turn homosexuality into a crime and force people back underground.

    • Natalie

      whoops bare=bear…that wasn’t an invite to get naked!

    • http://studioeightonesix.wordpress.com TJ Johnson

      I understand your viewpoint and I totally agree that Sacha loves to bait people into doing and saying things they might later regret. Here is my beef, though. You say they were “forced” into watching that? As @KeriHelen previously stated, everyone was free to leave the arena at will. Nobody forced them to stay and watch the ridiculousness unfold. They did, however, and ended up making a whole state look like a state full of bigots and hatemongers. Do I believe that’s all Arkansas is? Not at all. I’m just saying they didn’t do themselves any favors.

  • K Best Oliver

    Meh, there’s hate everywhere. I live in Missouri, which is full of assholes, but I’m from Iowa, that has legal gay marriage. Minneapolis is pretty damn liberal, but that crazy hate spewer Michelle Bachmann got elected in Minnesota. I would say that, at least from my perspective having spent a significant amount of time in all three states, that rural areas tend to have more bigotry and prejudice, but there’s also a lot of really nice people in small towns, so you can’t really make blanket statements about anyone.

    I will say this about Iowa in general. People ask me how gay marriage became legal there. I say it’s because even when Iowans might be prejudiced, they more firmly believe that everyone having the right to their own life. Like, I know many people in Iowa who are homophobic, but they don’t believe they get to legislate that belief. Does that make sense?

    ANYWAY, I love that Sasha Baron Cohen baits people. Have you ever listened to his Fresh Air interview with Terri Gross? It will make you like him even more.

    • incognito

      I liked his Fresh Air interview as well, and think he is very thoughtful and pointed in what he does, and often very funny. But I totally understand those who don’t think his baiting is at all entertaining. My husband and I saw Borat in the theater, and squirmed and I think we got the message (people can be prejudiced, classist, disingenuously religious and closed-minded – and people will also be polite and full of faith and open their homes and be friendly to strangers) and laughed at parts…but when friends later put the video on at a party, my husband asked if we could leave. I was surprised, but agreed to leave and have since come around to his point of view. The movie is difficult to watch – spots of humor only leaven it enough to sit them out – why you’d sit through it twice I don’t know. Nobody learns anything – not the people he mocks, not the viewers. I had wanted to see Bruno because I think SBC does fantastic transformations, but I think I’ve changed my mind.

  • Dan Thomas

    Sasha, himself, has made a clear point in interviews that many of the characters he plays are intended to expose the reality of modern day ignorance and hate that still exists in America and elsewhere. No, he’s not opening anyone’s eyes to the fact that there are still stupid hick-ass redneck racists out there. We all know that. We all probably know one. His purpose is to not allow it to be forgotten, to continuously shed light on it in new ways, even if it takes acting like goofy characters and playing pranks on unsuspecting victims. Your average movie goer doesn’t care to pay money to sit through dramatic documentaries on racism, etc. Sasha has reached millions more people by getting his message across through comedy, and in my opinion, LMAO hilarious comedy at that. I’m not arguing whether he’s funny or not. That’s obviously not the point TJ is trying to make, either. Like him or don’t like him, but he’s a lot smarter than many people realize and give him credit for. He slips in important underlying messages within seemingly idiotic low-brow skits and films that intelligent people like TJ pick up on upon first viewing, and hopefully others who aren’t expecting anything more than laughs will pick up on the same messages, whether they ended up laughing or not.

    And about people commenting on region-specific hatred: Minnesota wasn’t a Confederate state, which is most likely why people there aren’t as close-minded as, say, rural Georgia, although people do move around and spread it everywhere. Many liberals moved not only west, but north, as well. People who live further from large cities tend to have less tolerance, no matter what state they live in, because they aren’t as exposed to living in closer quarters among people of other ethnicities and homosexuals. Where there is a lack of experience, there can be a lack of understanding, which leads to ignorance and ultimately hatred. No, I’m not grouping everyone together. There are bigots in cities and liberals out in the boonies. I’m just saying racist, homophobic hicks are fucking stupid and should all be shot. Yeah. That’s what I meant.

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  • http://www.crazywithasideofawesomesauce.blogspot.com andygirl

    I didn’t see Bruno. but I also don’t make it to the movies often.

    but homophobia? is still rampant, my friend. I still see it on a daily basis when people roll their eyes in disgust at a same-sex couple. or I hear it when someone says “gay” to mean something stupid. most Americans still oppose same-sex marriage and compare it to pedophilia. really? so we’re still comparing mental illnesses and criminal behavior to homosexuality? you betcha.

  • http://pennyroll.blogdetik.com jessy

    Sacha Cohen playing Freddie Mercury… can’t wait to see it! I’m sure he will Freddie justice.