Drzavni problemi oko filma Borat :)
Giuliano Marinkovic
http://contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/bush%20to%20placate%20kazakhstans%20leader%20over%20borat%20outrage_1008083
BUSH TO PLACATE KAZAKHSTAN'S LEADER OVER BORAT OUTRAGE
Also see:
SACHA BARON COHEN
GEORGE W BUSH
British comedian SACHA BARON COHEN's comic creation BORAT SAGDIYEV has
caused so much outrage in Kazakhstan with his new movie, US President
GEORGE W BUSH will address the issue when he meets the Kazakh leader.
Bush is set to hold talks with NURSULTAN NAZARBAYEV over oil supply -
and disgusted Kazakhs have demanded action over BORAT: CULTURAL
LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson ROMAN VASSILENKO says, "We have made it
clear that we are unhappy with the character's representation. He does
not represent the true people of Kazakhstan." In the film Cohen plays
spoof Kasakh TV presenter Borat, who portrays his homeland as a
backward country, and the opening scene shows him sharing a passionate
kiss with his sister before he departs for the US. The trouble started
when Borat hosted the MTV Video Music Awards last year (05) and
publicly ridiculed Kazakhstan. The country's foreign ministry
threatened to sue, and Cohen - in character - said it was a good idea,
and praised his homeland's recent progress. He joked, "Women can now
travel on inside of bus, homosexuals no longer have to wear blue hats
and age of consent has been raised to eight years old."
13/09/2006 08:06
Source:
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003054676
Borat Must Be Making Happy: Kazakh Leader's Visit to U.S. on Front
Page of 'Wash Post'
By E&P Staff
Published: August 29, 2006 4:00 PM ET updated 5:00 PM ET
NEW YORK It was on the front page of The Washington Post, and bylined
by a well-known and respected name, Peter Baker, but one still had to
wonder: Did Borat have anything to do with this?
The Baker story today profiles an upcoming visit to this country by
the president of Kazakhstan, an accused thief and "autocrat" who,
nevertheless, will soon be receiving a warm welcome both at the White
House and the Bush compound at Kennebunkport. With this fresh
publicity, he may now be the second most famous Kazakh in America,
though still trailing far behind Borat Sagdiyev, the comic creation of
Sacha Baron Cohen of "Ali G" fame.
The long-awaited "Borat" movie -- with the title character in the role
of foreign journalist traveling the U.S. -- is coming out this fall,
so normally one might suspect that the Kazakh leader, Nursultan
Nazarbayev, has timed his visit to help boost the movie debut of a
favorite son. However, the Kazakh government has blasted Cohen in the
past, and threatened legal action, for allowing Borat to, among other
things, make fun of his homeland, demean women, slander gypsies and
(in a famous song) urge listeners to "Throw the Jew Down the Well."
Borat at first claimed to “fully support my government’s decision to
sue this Jew.” But on his Web site, he declared in a headline: "I
Innocent of Accusings of the Kazakhstan Government!" Last April,
President Nazarbayev's own daughter stood up for Borat, saying that
his jibes hurt the country much less than official attempts to muzzle
him.
And given her father's background, he is in no position to throw
stones at poor Borat. Baker in the Post today notes that he "runs a
nation that is anything but free and who has been accused by U.S.
prosecutors of pocketing the bulk of $78 million in bribes from an
American businessman. ... Nazarbayev has banned opposition parties,
intimidated the press and profited from his post, according to the
U.S. government. But he also sits atop massive oil reserves that have
helped open doors in Washington." Nazarbayev, 66, has led Kazakhstan
since 1990.
New York magazine recently reported that the Kazakh embassy in the
U.S. remains divided over whether to knock or boost the "Borat" movie.
Perhaps trying to make amends, Borat has offered the following
testimonial: "Kazakhstan is as civilized as any other country in the
world. Women can now travel on inside of bus, homosexuals no longer
have to wear blue hats, and age of consent has been raised to eight
years old."
Sean R. Roberts, Central Asian Affairs Fellow at Georgetown
University, recently commented on the Borat/Nazarbayev connection on
his blog, The Roberts Report. Here are some highlights:
"Having just moved back to the U.S., I have found that more Americans
are aware of Kazakhstan than four years ago when I last lived in the
United States. The increased knowledge of Kazakhstan, however, is not
due to the country’s economic successes or its role as a U.S. ally in
the war on terror.' Instead, most Americans who have heard of
Kazakhstan have heard of it through a satire of a Kazakh journalist
named Borat. ...
"Borat certainly does not promote an image of Kazakhstan that is in
sync with that which the government and its leader would like to
promote abroad. As the old adage goes, however, 'there is no such
thing as bad publicity.' If that is true, Borat is bringing much more
publicity to Kazakhstan than the hired guns of Patton Boggs have
accomplished.
"As a recent piece in New York magazine points out, there may even be
a split in the Kazakhstani elite over Borat and his role (both
positively and negatively) on the image and name recognition of
Kazakhstan in the United States. The short article also suggests,
however, that the real test of the tenuous relationship between Borat
and the Kazakhstan government will emerge in the upcoming weeks as the
public relations blitz being planned by the Kazakhstan government to
publicize the country in the U.S. in the run-up to President
Nazarbayev’s long-awaited trip to Washington clashes with the
advertising blitz ongoing to promote Borat’s new film. ..."
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E&P Staff (let...@editorandpublisher.com)