Borat: tendentious editing
[someone writes to another list - if this is true, well…]
I think more people are in on the joke than Ali G and Borat let on.
The controversial clip with Borat in the country bar singing “Throw
the Jew Down the Well” happened in Tucson, AZ. When an investigator
for the Jewish Defamation League [sic - DH] called the bar to talk to
the owner about the incident, he ended up speaking with the bar
manager who was working that night. The bar manager is Jewish and
basically said, “We all thought it was hilarious. This guy with an
obviously fake moustache came into the bar and starts telling jokes
in a ridiculous accent. It was like some impromptu comedy routine.
Everyone was singing along with the song because we knew it was a
joke.” Sure, many people are really duped by Cohen, and that’s what’s
really funny. And that’s also what the film makers cut the movie
around. That dawning, “this is a joke reaction” isn’t shown to the
viewing audience.