Borat and Anti-Semitism

Is the film Borat (2006) an instance of anti-Semitism? Only if understood superficially, though Sacha Baron Cohen's Jewishness does not exempt Borat from charges of anti-Semitism. Does the film expose anti-Semitism in others, or at least uncover their indifference? Yes, partly, but while riskin...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: James, William C. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: 2008
In: The journal of religion and film
Year: 2008, Volume: 12, Issue: 1
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
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Summary:Is the film Borat (2006) an instance of anti-Semitism? Only if understood superficially, though Sacha Baron Cohen's Jewishness does not exempt Borat from charges of anti-Semitism. Does the film expose anti-Semitism in others, or at least uncover their indifference? Yes, partly, but while risking that the exposé itself will be misinterpreted. More subtly, the film ridicules Jewish worries about anti-Semitism, a strategy that undercuts moral earnestness. Finally, Borat challenges, by ridiculing more "sophisticated” social attitudes, the very basis on which one decides about the nature and existence of anti-Semitism. In short, Borat unmasks anti-Semitism to denounce it; but, even more, interrogates our concerns about its manifestations.
ISSN:1092-1311
Contains:Enthalten in: The journal of religion and film
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.32873/uno.dc.jrf.12.01.02