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Borat Sagdiyev (''. Humor is often derived from Borat's taboo social and cultural viewpoints, deadpan behavior, repeating phrases, overexaggerated " Third-world " status, and physical humor. Baron Cohen had played an unnamed foreign reporter with identical looks and very similar mannerisms as part of has stated that a Sequel to the popular movie is currently under consideration. BBC News TV Guide FICTIONAL BIOGRAPHY Borat Sagdiyev is said to have been born on July 30 , 1972 in the fictional village of Kuzcek, Kazakhstan , to Asimbala Sagdiyev and Boltok the Rapist (who is also stated to be his maternal grandfather). He has a 13-year-old son named Hooeylewis and 12-year-old Twin boys, named Biram and Bilak, as well as 17 grandchildren. He has an older sister, Natalya (who he says is the number four Prostitute in Kazakhstan) and a younger brother, Bilo who is mentally retarded. It is also revealed that he has two wives as well as a mistress, a girlfriend, and a prostitute with whom he has had affairs on several occasions. Borat is shown to have been married several times, after first having been betrothed to his Half-sister 's Plough while in his teens. His first wife, Oksana, was said in the ''Borat'' film to have been raped and killed by a bear while taking his brother Bilo for a walk in the forest. Borat was not negatively affected by this tragedy; he thanks the man who brought him the "good news", and on the contrary, the movie shows that he celebrated his new-found freedom by pursuing Pamela Anderson and eventually marrying Luenell, an African-American prostitute he met while filming his documentary. In his fictional, professional life, Borat is a journalist and presenter on Kazakh television. According to various in-character interviews given by Sasha Baron-Cohen, Borat attended Astana University, where he studied English , Journalism , and Plague research. During this time, he created five new plagues which he says "killed over 5 million goats in Uzbekistan."1 Prior to this he worked as an ice maker, animal sperm retriever, gypsy catcher and the person who removes dead birds from a computer.2 Borat was nominally Pagan for most of his life. However, in the film he attends a Pentecostal church service and later converts his village neighbors to Christianity. Borat greatly admires the political views of Joseph Stalin , saying that both he and Stalin are strong and have powerful "khram" (penis). He is strongly against Women's Rights and was especially stunned upon learning of Women's Suffrage . In his spare time, he enjoys playing Ping Pong , Sunbathing in a green mankini, Disco Dancing , Spitting , sitting on comfortable chairs, and taking pictures of unsuspecting women while they "make-a-toilet". ''DA ALI G SHOW'' Borat is shown in each episode of ''Da Ali G Show'', doing satirical interviews with often-unwitting subjects in the United Kingdom and the United States. The segment was shot in low-quality video to keep a satirical feeling of poor quality television (similar to Chanel 9 segments on '' The Fast Show ''). Of Ali G , Borat says on his website, "I appear on Alee G shows — He idiot, but it give me lot of muney — I like ..." The Borat segments on ''Da Ali G Show'' use the rock-rendition Russian folk tune " Korobeiniki " as their theme song for the UK version. Guide to Britain Shown as part of a six part Ali G show originally on Channel 4 (UK) in March 2000. Five Borat sketches were shown, guides to Etiquette, Hunting, Cambridge , Edinburgh and Henley . The guides to English Gentleman, Politics and Sport were also filmed at this time but released at a later date as part of Ali G DVDs. Borat Special A one off shown on the E4 launch night (UK) in January 2001 known as "The Best of Borat". Highlights included the guide to Sport and a specially filmed introduction and skits to his family and friends in Kazakhstan (actually Romania). Guide to USA 1 Shown as part of a six part Ali G show originally on HBO (USA) in February 2003. Six Borat sketches were shown, guides to Dating, Etiquette, Acting, Men, Baseballs and The (Deep) South. A guide to Animals was filmed but released at a later date as part of an Ali G DVD. Alyssa Greenfill was his co-star. Guide to USA 2 Shown as part of a six-part ''Ali G Show'' originally on HBO (USA) in July 2004. C4 was the UK channel where Ali G & Borat originally appeared and the series for America was a HBO/C4 co-production. Six Borat sketches were shown, guides to Wine Tasting, Politics, Country Music, Hobbies, Buying a House and Jobs. A guide to Hunting was filmed but only aired in the UK due to its controversial nature. ALI G INDAHOUSE Borat had a small role in Baron Cohen's film as a diplomat from Kazakastan '' Ali G Indahouse '', in which he greets Baron Cohen's character Ali G with a hug and kiss, but is rebuffed. He proceeds to call Ali G a " Cocksucker ". In the end he does a Hip-hop duet with superstar Max Allard. THE "MOVIE FILM" in San Diego, California.]] See Also: Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan Subtitled ''Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan'', the film "Borat" is Mockumentary comedy. Most appearances in the film are not paid, but are rather real people whom Borat met during his journey.3 It was distributed by 20th Century Fox , and directed by Larry Charles . It premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival , and was released across Europe and North America on November 3 , 2006 . The film follows Borat in his travels across the United States, as he commits cultural and exposes a few American ones. Over the course of the film, Borat falls in love with Pamela Anderson after watching a re-run of '' Baywatch ,'' and vows to make her his wife. However, on November 9 , 2006 the Russian Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography banned the movie, citing "it could offend viewers in relation to certain ethnic groups and religions." In 2007 Baron Cohen won a Golden Globe for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy". With a production budget of $18,000,000, the film has grossed $128,501,044 domestically and another $128,848,505 internationally, a total worldwide gross of $257,349,549 by mid-March 2007.[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=daily&id=borat.htm Boxofficemojo page on Borat's earnings LANGUAGE When ostensibly using his native language, Borat speaks neither Kazakh nor Russian (the state and Official Language s of Kazakhstan ), contrary to what would be assumed by the audience and the people with whom he interacts onscreen. Instead, he speaks mainly Hebrew intermixed with some phrases that bear a similarity to Polish and other Slavic Language s, such as "jagshemash" and "chenquieh" ("how are you", and, "thank you", respectively). He also occasionally greets people with "den dobre" ("good day"), which is similar to the Polish "dzień dobry" and the Russian "dobriy den" ("добрый день" in Cyrillic ).also, Croatian Dan He also lapsed into Hebrew while purporting to sing the Kazakh National Anthem at a Savannah Sand Gnats game. He kept on repeating a famous Hebrew Folk Song : קום בחור עצל וצא לעבודה (kum bachur atzel ve'tze la'avoda - "get up lazy guy and go to work ) [... קוקוריקו קוקוריקו התרנגול קרא (kookooriku kookooriku ha'tarnegol kara) ("cock a doodle do the cock has crowed"), and also called Kazakhstan a distant/desolate place (literally "hole" (חור)(''hor'')). CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY See also Criticized as unfair smear against Kazakhstan A number of commentators have argued that the film's portrayal of the people of Kazakhstan is unfair and unjustified. xymphora Borat: the modern cloak of prejudice In August 2004, the Chief Rabbi of Kazakhstan, addressing an international religious conference in Brussels , stated that in 10 years in the country he had never faced a single case of anti-Semitism. He praised the Government of Kazakhstan for its treatment of the Jewish community. On October 19 , the Associated Press reported that Kazakhstan's Deputy Foreign Minister, Rakhat Aliyev, had invited Cohen to visit Kazakhstan and see how inaccurate his portrayals were. In an interview, Aliyev asserted that: His trip could yield a lot of discoveries -- that women not only travel inside buses but also drive their own cars, that we make Wine from grapes, that Jews can freely attend Synagogue s and so on. Denigration of Gypsies Two villagers of Glod have hired the Reparation attorney Ed Fagan to sue the makers of the film for $30 million for Human Rights abuses. Fagan intends to submit lawsuits in New York and Florida state courts, as well as in Frankfurt, Germany .. Fagan said that he hoped to "teach Hollywood a very expensive lesson." The lawsuit was thrown out by U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska in a hearing in early December 2006 on the ground that the charges were too vague to stand up in court. Fagan plans to refile. "NYC Judge Questions Viability Of Villagers' 'Borat' Lawsuit" Denigration of Jews The character has elicited some controversy, mostly related to his frequent displays of anti-semitism and anti-zionism. When I was in university, there was this major historian of the Third Reich , Ian Kershaw , who said, 'The path to Auschwitz was paved with indifference.' I know it's not very funny being a comedian talking about the Holocaust, but it's an interesting idea that not everyone in Germany had to be a raving anti-Semite. They just had to be apathetic. Regarding the enthusiastic response to his song "In My Country There is Problem" (detailed below), he says, "Did it reveal that they were anti-Semitic? Perhaps. But maybe it just revealed that they were indifferent to anti-Semitism." However, the Anti-Defamation League , a U.S.-based group that “...combat {Link without Title} anti-Semitism and bigotry of all kinds”, complained to HBO after Borat performed a Country Western song titled " In My Country There Is Problem " that called on people to ' Throw The Jew Down The Well ', warning them that 'you must be careful of his teeth' and that 'you must grab him by his horns', to applause and participation from some members of an audience in Tucson, Arizona . The full chorus goes: "Throw the Jew down the well/So my country can be free/You must grab him by his horns/Then we have a big party."http://www.adl.org/media_watch/tv/20040809-hbo.htmhttp://www.adl.org/PresRele/Mise_00/4898_00.htm In another scene, Borat visits the Serengeti Range ranch in Texas , where the owner of the ranch confides that he believes the Holocaust was a necessity for Germany . He further implies that he would have no problem running a ranch where people can hunt, in Borat's words, "deer... then Jew." Another scene involves his decision to avoid flying while in America. Borat says that his colleague "insists we not fly in case the Jews repeated their attack of 9/11 ". An interview with James Broadwater , an Evangelical Christian and Republican candidate for U.S. Congress from Mississippi , caused Broadwater to receive some hateful Email s after an episode of ''Da Ali G Show'' aired in which Broadwater stated that Jews will go to Hell . He was told that the interview would be played in foreign countries to teach others about the American Political System . Broadwater later posted a letter on his website denouncing ''Da Ali G Show,'' explaining that his statement referred to a theological belief that anyone that "accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour will spend eternity in Heaven , while everyone who rejects Him will spend eternity in Hell ." Broadwater did not apologise for his comments. Instead, he insisted that "the Liberal , anti-God media needs to be brought under the strict control of the FCC , and that as soon as possible."http://www.webgeordie.co.uk/borat/broadwater.htm In the film, Borat continues his anti-Semitic stance, such as when he finds himself in a bed and breakfast run by an old Jewish couple, he tries to "escape", and throws money at two cockroaches that have crawled into his room, apparently fearing that the Jewish owners have and the woman openly displays her paintings of Jewish people all over the house, but Borat does not understand until the woman explicitly tells him "I'm Jewish." Cohen later joked, upon receiving a British comedy award, that Borat was guest of honour at the International Conference To Review The Global Vision Of The Holocaust in Tehran . Iraq war sarcasm In January 2005, after convincing the authorities that he was shooting a , 2006 "If he had been out there a minute longer, I think somebody would have shot him," said one witness. "People were booing him, , 2005 . A credulous news report about the incident, aired on a local television station, is included in the DVD extras. Conflicts with Kazakhstan's government In November 2005, following Borat's hosting of the , 2005 . Baron Cohen has since posted a video on the "Official Borat Homesite" where Borat responds to Ashykbayev in character. In the video, Borat states, in part: In response to Mr. Ashykbayev's comments, I'd like to state I have no connection with Mr. Cohen and fully support my government's decision to sue this Jew. Since the 2003 Tuleyakiv reforms, Kazakhstan is as civilized as any other country in the world. Women can now travel on ''inside'' of bus, Homosexual s no longer have to wear blue hats, and Age Of Consent has been raised to eight years old. Please, Captain Of Industry ; I invite you to come to Kazakhstan where we have incredible Natural Resource s, hardworking labour, and some of the cleanest prostitutes in whole of Central Asia . Goodbye! Dzienkuje!http://www.borat.tv/response.htm The next week, the government hired two Western Public Relations firms to counter Borat's claims, and ran a four-page advertisement in '' The New York Times ''. The advert carried testimonials about the nation's democracy, Education System and the power and influence enjoyed by women. On a previous occasion, Borat responded to such official complaints by issuing his own "press release", which consisted of randomly arranged Cyrillic characters. He would make another response when promoting his movie in front of the Kazakh Embassy in Washington, roundly denouncing the advertisements as " Uzbek propaganda". "Borat denounces Uzbek propaganda" College Humor , issued December 14 , 2005 . Meanwhile, the "Official Borat Homesite" was moved to the .tv domain, where it remains. As of March 20 , 2007 , the former domain name was still suspended. The 2006 annual human rights report released by the US State Department cited the loss of the .kz website as evidence of the Kazakh government's efforts to curb free speech.[http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070307/film_nm/rights_usa_borat_dc White House "visit" On September 28 2006 , Baron Cohen appeared in character as Borat at the White House gates to give a Press Conference and invite "Supreme Warlord Premier George Walter Bush " to a screening of his forthcoming film, along with " O.J. Simpson ", " Melvin Gibsons " and other "American dignitaries", after which they would join him for drinks at Hooters . Secret Service Uniformed Division Officers would not admit him on to the grounds. The apparent Publicity Stunt was likely timed to coincide with an Official Visit by President Nazarbayev the following day. Complaint by Gypsies in Germany On , October 18 , 2006 . Avian Flu "Gift" At a Press Conference just hours before the live broadcast of the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards , he shocked local and international journalists in Lisbon, Portugal by bringing a bag of birds from Romania (the first European country to detect Avian Influenza ) as a gift, then proceeded to say he was sorry that they had all died. Victims of Borat hoaxes The broadcast, including the initial interview, the disrupted weather report, and several behind-the-scenes shots made by Borat's own Film Crew , is seen in the ''Borat'' movie. Litigation
IN POPULAR CULTURE In the 2007 film ''''. The 30-Second Bunnies Theatre has produced a parody of Borat, although in this case, he is from Bunzakhstan (a parody of Kazakhstan ). SEE ALSO
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