History Film / Borat

Despite the large number of lawsuits and controversies, ''Borat'', [[AndYouThoughtItWouldFail originally expected to flop]], was a [[CatchPhrase great success]] in terms of critical and financial success alongside cultural impact. It spawned a CreatorDrivenSuccessor in 2009's ''[[Film/Bruno2009 Brüno]]'', starring another of Baron Cohen's characters. In fall 2020, [[https://collider.com/borat-2-sequel-sacha-baron-cohen/ a sequel was confirmed to have been completed]]; it was eventually released in late October of that year through Creator/PrimeVideo under the name ''[[Film/BoratSubsequentMoviefilm Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan]]''.

Despite the large number of lawsuits and controversies, ''Borat'', [[AndYouThoughtItWouldFail originally expected to flop]], was a [[CatchPhrase great success]] in terms of critical, financial, and cultural impact. It spawned a CreatorDrivenSuccessor in 2009's ''[[Film/Bruno2009 Brüno]]'', starring another of Baron Cohen's characters. In fall 2020, [[https://collider.com/borat-2-sequel-sacha-baron-cohen/ a sequel was confirmed to have been completed]]; it was eventually released in late October of that year through Creator/PrimeVideo under the name ''[[Film/BoratSubsequentMoviefilm Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan]]''.

* {{Ruritania}}: Unlike Kazakhstan in real-life, which is a central Asian country dominated by the open steppe, the film's version of Kazakhstan is more like an amalgamation of the various Warsaw Pact countries with their backwardness and social problems exaggerated to ghoulish, comedic extremes. Of course, in real life, the Kazakhs are a Turkic people who have historically had more in-common with the various Mongol tribes than any Slavic culture. Reinforced by the [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign borderline incomprehensible]] mix of Polish, Hebrew, Romanian, and Armenian words in the place of any actual Kazakh language.

* ADateWithRosiePalms: Borat does this in public over some female mannequins in a Victoria's Secret display window.

* SpringtimeForHitler: The audience claps, cheers, and enthusiastically joins in with Borat's performance of "Throw the Jew Down the Well".

** The entire performance of "Throw the Jew Down the Well" definitely qualifies. His nasally voice can barely carry a tune, he's carrying a clearly detuned cheap guitar which closer inspection reveals he's not even ''playing'', many of the lines don't rhyme or carry a consistent scheme, and that's not even counting the ''[[CrossesTheLineTwice content]]'' of the lyrics. [[SpringtimeForHitler The audience enthusiastically claps along and cheers anyway.]]

* YoungerThanTheyLook: Borat's mother, the "oldest woman in whole of Kuzac", looks like a shriveled old woman but is actually only 43.

* DisproportionateRetribution: Borat claims, of the film, that "If it not success, [he] will be execute."
* {{Eagleland}}: We see a lot of Flavor 2.

.The guy who delivers the telegram about Borat's wife is clearly amused by his reaction.

.The driving instructor who visibly smirks when Borat tries drinking behind the wheel.

.The weather reporter who is barely able to speak over his laughter when Borat interrupts his broadcast.

. Borat's quip about nobody liking his neighbor manages to make AN ENTIRE CHURCH lose their shit.

''Borat: [[ShortTitleLongElaborateSubtitle Cultural Learnings of America]] [[IntentionalEngrishForFunny for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan]]'' is a 2006 {{black comedy}} {{mockumentary}} film that centers around Borat Sagdiyev (Creator/SachaBaronCohen, in one of his guerrilla commentary-style characters), a humble reporter from UsefulNotes/{{Kazakhstan}} and a [[AcceptableEthnicTargets racist, antisemitic, misogynistic stranger to American culture]], [[TheHerosJourney who travels around the United States with his manager Azamat]] (Ken Davitian) to learn about its culture.

* {{Ruritania}}: Unlike Kazakhstan in real-life, which is a central Asian country dominated by the open steppe, the film's version of Kazakhstan is more like an amalgamation of the various Warsaw Pact countries with their backwardness and social problems exaggerated to ghoulish, comedic extremes. Of course, in real life, the Kazakhs are a Turkic people who have historically had more in-common with the various Mongol tribes than any Slavic culture. Reinforced by the [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign borderline incomprehensible]] mix of Polish, Hebrew, and Armenian words in the place of any actual Kazakh language.

Despite the large number of lawsuits and controversies, ''Borat'', [[ItWillNeverCatchOn originally expected to flop]], was a [[CatchPhrase great success]] in terms of critical, financial, and cultural impact. It spawned a SpiritualSuccessor in 2009's ''[[Film/Bruno2009 Brüno]]'', starring another of Baron Cohen's characters. In fall 2020, [[https://collider.com/borat-2-sequel-sacha-baron-cohen/ a sequel was confirmed to have been completed]]; it was eventually released in late October of that year through Creator/PrimeVideo under the name ''[[Film/BoratSubsequentMoviefilm Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan]]''.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: Some people [[GlobalIgnorance did not even know Kazakhstan was a real country]].

''Borat: [[ShortTitleLongElaborateSubtitle Cultural Learnings of America]] [[IntentionalEngrishForFunny for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan]]'' is a BlackComedy {{Mockumentary}} that centers around Borat Sagdiyev (Creator/SachaBaronCohen, in one of his guerrilla commentary-style characters), a humble reporter from UsefulNotes/{{Kazakhstan}} and a [[AcceptableEthnicTargets racist, antisemitic, misogynistic stranger to American culture]], [[TheHerosJourney who travels around the United States with his manager Azamat]] (Ken Davitian) to learn about its culture.

His odyssey -- which includes stops in such diverse places as [[BigApplesauce New York City]], UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC, a live Morning Show, a Virginia rodeo ([[StylisticSuck where Borat attempts to sing the national anthem with his own lyrics]]), a confederate antique shop, a [[ScareChord Jewish couple's]] [[InnSecurity bed and breakfast]], a born-again Christian revival tent service -- ends up being framed by his final destination in California, where he plans to find and wed Creator/PamelaAnderson, having grown [[PerverseSexualLust completely enamored with her]] after catching an episode of ''Series/{{Baywatch}}'' on TV.

The government of Kazakhstan was none-too-pleased with it either, due to all the "No, we're not really racist homophobic {{Ruritania}}ns" phone calls their foreign relations department had to deal with. Despite this, [[MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales the film has a cult following in the republic]], helped by the First Daughter Dariga Nazarbayeva, who told their government to lighten up and enjoy the joke, and other government officials who appreciated its treatment of a rare subject. Reportedly, it's done wonders for their tourism sector[[note]]But be warned: Kazakhstan does not, in fact, have the world's greatest potassium production[[/note]].

Despite the large number of lawsuits and controversies, ''Borat'', [[ItWillNeverCatchOn originally expected to flop]], was a [[CatchPhrase great success]] in terms of critical, financial, and cultural impact. It spawned a 2009 SpiritualSuccessor ''Film/Bruno2009'', starring another of Baron Cohen's characters. In fall 2020, [[https://collider.com/borat-2-sequel-sacha-baron-cohen/ a sequel was confirmed to have been completed]]; it was eventually released in late October of that year through Creator/PrimeVideo under the name ''[[Film/BoratSubsequentMoviefilm Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan]]''.

** When practicing for the dinner, Borat shows a picture of his son Hooeylewis, played by transsexual porn star Stonie. The tutor is disturbed when Borat starts showing picutres of his son with no clothes on, especially when one of the pictures shows Borat with his head next to his son's penis.

* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist

* AccentuateTheNegative: This is actually what most critics did with the movie rather than what the film did to its victims. While Borat gets a lot of people to reveal their hidden bigotry, at least an equal amount of the people featured are amazingly accommodating and polite to someone who is apparently a clueless backwater weirdo.

-->'''Borat:''' Sometime, my sister, she show her vazhin to my brother Bilo and say "You will never get this, you will never get it, la la la la la la!" He behind his cage, he cries, and everybody laughs. She goes "You will never get this," but one time he break cage, and he get this, [[BlackComedyRape and then we all laugh]].

* NWordPrivileges:
** Borat would not have been written as an intense Anti-Semite if his actor, Sacha Baron Cohen, were not a practicing Jew himself. Baron Cohen's portrayal of Borat is still controversial with the Jewish demographic, however.
** Parodied when Borat tries to check into a hotel after getting a ghetto makeover. He, a white man, walks into the lobby wearing his pants low, and starts speaking to the (also white) manager in stereotypical Black colloquialisms, even straight up calling the manager the N-Word itself.

* MadmanInTheAttic: Borat apparently has a mentally disabled brother named Bilo who they keep locked up in the cage. [[BrotherSisterIncest Their sister]] made [[BlackComedyRape the mistake]] of taunting him through the bars.

* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Before departing on his journey, Borat acknowledges that Kazakhstan's glory is held back by many problems: economic problems, social problems, [[DeliberateValuesDissonance and the Jews]].

* AccentuateTheNegative: This is actually what most critics did with the movie rather than what the film did to its victims. While Borat gets a lot of people to reveal their hidden bigotry, at least an equal amount of the people featured are amazingly accommodating and polite to someone who is apparently a clueless backwater weirdo.

* GreedyJew: Spoofed, [[UpToEleven especially]] with "[[RefugeInAudacity The Running of the Jew]]."

* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Borat and Azamat are both extremely racist and misogynistic. This leads to many instances of CringeComedy with the real-life people that Borat meets, especially those that are [[UpToEleven even more racist and misogynistic than he is]].

* {{Corpsing}}: The weather reporter, after Borat interrupts his segment.
* CrazyCulturalComparison: Lots and lots.

* CringeComedy