Borat

How can I be so torn? I saw Borat tonight, and I think it's the first movie that I've ever seen where I walked out not knowing how I truly felt about it. Let me walk through it. I'll try not to give too much away for those who haven't seen it yet.

Good: Borat is hilarious. It's well made and well thought out, and the fact of the matter is: I couldn't stop laughing. Until I cried.

Bad: I cried. Almost. Seriously. Not from laughter either. I know this isn't the first movie ever made where people use hidden cameras and try to draw out the most explicit reaction they can from individuals, but it's certainly one of the most in-your-face. It catches people giving their open and honest opinions about gays, jews, gypsies, blacks; none of which are good, as you might guess.

Good: Maybe this will open some eyes. Some of the things said in this movie are so bad that, as an American, you can't help but hold your head in shame. Example: A discussion on homosexuals brings this up "In my home country, we take them out back and finish them." "That's what we've been trying to do here." At that point, everyone in the theater stopped laughing. A collective gasp resounded in the theater. These are real people saying this. Borat is just there to help out. But when something like that comes up, that one man, whether he knew he was being filmed or not defined an entire country.

Bad: This movie sets Americans back. No. Americans set themselves back in this movie. Big time. The fact is: I would be a lot more comfortable watching this movie in America. Being here in a foreign country, I couldn't help but hide my face in my hands as some of the situations unfolded. I actually felt embarassed to be an American at points, and that's why I have the lump sitting in the bottom of my stomache even now. But that's exactly how people in other countries view Americans. Up until tonight, I thought everyone just thought that we were greedy SOBs, but now they have this to add. We're racists. Sexists. Alcoholics. ABSOLUTE Jesus FREAKS!!! We're total assholes.

It's just... ah... man... I don't even know how I feel about it. I want so badly for the world to think differently about us, but we're not even helping ourselves out by trying to change our actions and thoughts. This is one of those posts where I'm absolutely torn. I guess I'll leave it with this: if you've seen the movie, go ahead and write in and let me know what you thought. And then let me know if you thought that the movie set Americans back. That's really the only thing I can think of.