THE worldwide release of British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen’s new movie, Bruno, has already proven as popular but controversial as Borat, his smash hit of 2006. Again, it is a "mockumentary": The humor arises from confrontations caught on film between a fictional character and real people.
The character Bruno is a flamboyantly gay Austrian TV fashion presenter. His outrageous behavior shocks those he meets into revealing their deeper prejudices about gay men. But, some people are now concerned that, far from challenging or mocking homophobia, Bruno may actually be reinforcing it.
Overtly camp homosexual men are not new to comedy. In Britain, especially, there is a long stage and screen tradition of effeminate characters. Their trademark as comedians was a certain kind of veiled sexual comment. These characters were immensely popular with the public, even "loved" in a certain kind of way. But they were also despised by some.
Dangerous game
Comedy can have consequences. In 1970s Britain, schoolboys would loyally watch The Dick Emery Show on TV on Thursday evenings. They would guffaw along with their dads and older brothers at Emery’s gay character, Clarence, as he tried and failed to pick up men in streets and bars.
The next morning in the schoolyard many unfortunate young men suspected of being gay would be subjected to abuse inspired by the show. Sometimes the abuse would be just verbal; at other times it could be physical and brutal. Many had to struggle through a lonely, bullied adolescence, at least in part, as a result of the homophobia such shows encouraged.
So, the liberal, enlightened Cambridge-educated Cohen and his team are playing a dangerous game. Will viewers laugh with Bruno – or at Bruno? Will they take away a sense of the absurdity of such prejudices after seeing the movie? Or will some leave the theater with their fear and hatred of gay people renewed?
Paul Flynn, writing recently in the British newspaper the Guardian, fears that they will. He called Bruno "ammunition for bullies".
Comedy is an indispensable part of culture. Apart from the human need to laugh, it can also educate us. It is for this reason that it has long been – at least as far back as Aristotle – a favorite topic for philosophers.
But comedy, which always contains an element of cruelty, can also be destructive. We need intelligent comedy that gets its laughs at the expense of proper targets and not through picking on vulnerable minorities. Hopefully, the latter will not be the fate of Bruno.
Satirical series
BRUNO tells the story of a gay fashionista, the host of the top-rated late night fashion show. Bruno’s mission is to become the biggest Austrian celebrity since Hitler. His strategy is to cross the globe in the hopes of finding fame and love.
He interviews unsuspecting people to get them to talk about things like fashion, entertainment, celebrities and homosexuality, with an emphasis on the latter, as the interviews go on.
The film and the character grew out of a popular British satirical TV show called Da Ali G Show, starring Sacha Baron Cohen, who played three unorthodox journalists – Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, and Bruno, who did ridiculous interviews with real people who were unaware. These include celebrities and high-ranking officials. The show, together with Cohen’s comments (on sex and racism, for example), have caused a lot of controversy.
These three characters became the stars of his three films: Ali G Indahouse (2002), Borat (2006) and Bruno (2009). Borat, a satirical look at American culture, became a huge box office success.
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