Ali G character is making fun of Tim Westwood a white radio rap presenter/DJ on the BBC who tried extra hard to be black. Whatever you think about SBC this is way off the mark.
He is actually Jewish, playing a Mossad agent though.
The suggestion is a Jamaican man playing a Jewish Mossad agent to point out the hypocrisy of the Ali G character being a Jewish actor playing a black character.
The thing is I don't believe Ali G is supposed to be a black person but instead a white person raised in the culture of British Jamaicans that immigrated when Jamaica was a Commonwealth country.
Ali G is a satirical character of a white English guy assimilating to Jamaican culture to try and be cool. He is from Staines which is a fringe town on the edge of London which is almost entirely white and English so only knows about the culture from TV and music so is massively over exaggerated. I think most of the nuance is lost on audience outside of the UK tbh.
That makes even more sense. I figured he was supposed to be from somewhere with lots of immigrants like Hackney but being from somewhere mostly white and being over exaggerated is even funnier.
I only saw clips online growing up that made it online.
Yup. If you look close enough, pretty much all of his characters are designed to make middle eastern/muslim people look stupid. Almost as if he's a raging zionist trying to influence public perception of palestinians.
The complaint reads as if the person has no media literacy. The point of the character is to be ignorant and offensive because it’s satire. The movie is not a great choice and didn’t need to be made but the offensiveness is the point so the complaint won’t have any effect on sacha.
What does that have to do with what I said? Even if someone were to do that to offend him, I don’t think it would matter to him. Now there’s more attention being given to him. I wasn’t even aware that he made another shitty movie until I saw this post.
The attention being given is to the movie studios and mainstream media which are totally fine with publicly showing extremely racist tropes and earning money off them. This is to show how "woke" they really are.
I’m saying it’s not very effective to try and do a “slam dunk” on someone when your slam dunk is a comment that is just displaying poor media literacy. It’s not well thought out and doesn’t offer much in discourse in a follow up. Little sarcastic comments made in ignorance don’t lead to enlightening discussions.
I don't think you would defend a 1920s minstrel show today under the auspices of satire, but to most people that was more normalized back then, just as "haha asian" was normalized in Hollywood for decades and this guy's brand of comedic bigotry is normalized today.
I tthink the essence of your comment is pretty much the essence of Hollywood as well. Anyone can make anything to offend anyone, as long as it's hugely profitable nobody cares and it's unlikely to influence public opinion or policy whatsoever.
Most consumers will just laugh at the funny guy on the screen without even linking the actor to Israel or US foreign policy.
Critics can go hard after the movie however much they want. Worst case scenario for the movie producers is that it's not hugely profitable. The next movie they put on the silver screen could be a documentary about a child in Gaza produced by a Russian without the audience even batting an eye.
That's just completely false. We recently saw a massive antisemitsm smear campaign aganst Marc Ruffalo (who's even Jewish) for criticizing Israel. Plenty of other racist stuff that got people cancelled too. No way you're going to make anything near this movie if you're not Sasha Baron Cohen.
I’m saying it’s not very effective to try and do a “slam dunk” on someone when your slam dunk is a comment that is just displaying poor media literacy. It’s not well thought out and doesn’t offer much in discourse in a follow up. Little sarcastic comments made in ignorance don’t lead to enlightening discussions.
If only it were merely shitty & unnecessary. Cohen is a smart guy and knows what he’s doing, namely propagandizing for the Zionist state and more broadly for the imperial core. I don’t know if he has connections with Mossad, but it would surprise me.
I hope it does have an effect on Sasha, though I doubt it will be enough to stop him. Hollywood is historically willing to platform Zionism and imperialism.
45 Comments
thanksforreading@lemmy.ml · 16 pts · 2d
Ali G character is making fun of Tim Westwood a white radio rap presenter/DJ on the BBC who tried extra hard to be black. Whatever you think about SBC this is way off the mark.
sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 3 pts · 2d
I think the top text is a reaction to SBC portraying Tim Westwood, not a description of what he's doing.
I get confused about the causal chain in screenshots like this but i think that's what is happening.
geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml · -1 pts · 2d
SBC is a Zionist racist you have to do so many mental backflips to excuse this.
thanksforreading@lemmy.ml · 3 pts · 2d
Those are 2 separate things though. Making fun of Tim Westwood and Zionism are two separate concepts.
geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml · -1 pts · 2d
You think Ali G was about... Tim Westwood?
thanksforreading@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 1d
You don't!? Who else could it be?
geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml · 13 pts · 2d
More context: Closer Scrutiny Reveals How Close To State Power Sacha Baron Cohen Really Is
piyuv@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 2d
I’m not defending anyone or anything, but want to point out SBC played a mossad agent in Who is America
Mycatiskai@lemmy.ca · 13 pts · 2d
He is actually Jewish, playing a Mossad agent though.
The suggestion is a Jamaican man playing a Jewish Mossad agent to point out the hypocrisy of the Ali G character being a Jewish actor playing a black character.
The thing is I don't believe Ali G is supposed to be a black person but instead a white person raised in the culture of British Jamaicans that immigrated when Jamaica was a Commonwealth country.
ratel@mander.xyz · 12 pts · 2d
Ali G is a satirical character of a white English guy assimilating to Jamaican culture to try and be cool. He is from Staines which is a fringe town on the edge of London which is almost entirely white and English so only knows about the culture from TV and music so is massively over exaggerated. I think most of the nuance is lost on audience outside of the UK tbh.
Mycatiskai@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 2d
That makes even more sense. I figured he was supposed to be from somewhere with lots of immigrants like Hackney but being from somewhere mostly white and being over exaggerated is even funnier.
I only saw clips online growing up that made it online.
ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca · 6 pts · 2d
Ali G is playing wiggas not a black character.
It's making fun of white people trying to be black.
dx1@lemmy.ml · 7 pts · 2d
Fuck Sacha Baron Cohen, full stop. Piece of shit, racist propagandist.
davetortoise@reddthat.com · 4 pts · 1d
Yup. If you look close enough, pretty much all of his characters are designed to make middle eastern/muslim people look stupid. Almost as if he's a raging zionist trying to influence public perception of palestinians.
ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml · 5 pts · 2d
Closest we got was that guy who pretends to be zionist piece of shit Jerry Seinfeld, who dated a highschooler
Smug_Marmot@lemmy.zip · 5 pts · 2d
So we're just going to sit here ignoring Adam Sandler?! /s
Sandouq_Dyatha@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 2d
Brown face
Amuro_eat@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 2 pts · 2d
I feel like the point is being missed
geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml · 6 pts · 2d
The point of?...
Amuro_eat@lemmy.blahaj.zone · -8 pts · 2d
The complaint reads as if the person has no media literacy. The point of the character is to be ignorant and offensive because it’s satire. The movie is not a great choice and didn’t need to be made but the offensiveness is the point so the complaint won’t have any effect on sacha.
geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml · 19 pts · 2d
You do realize Sasha is a massive Zionist who supports the genocide in Palestine right?
Amuro_eat@lemmy.blahaj.zone · -6 pts · 2d
What does that have to do with what I said? Even if someone were to do that to offend him, I don’t think it would matter to him. Now there’s more attention being given to him. I wasn’t even aware that he made another shitty movie until I saw this post.
geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml · 14 pts · 2d
The attention being given is to the movie studios and mainstream media which are totally fine with publicly showing extremely racist tropes and earning money off them. This is to show how "woke" they really are.
Amuro_eat@lemmy.blahaj.zone · -3 pts · 2d
I’m saying it’s not very effective to try and do a “slam dunk” on someone when your slam dunk is a comment that is just displaying poor media literacy. It’s not well thought out and doesn’t offer much in discourse in a follow up. Little sarcastic comments made in ignorance don’t lead to enlightening discussions.
geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml · 7 pts · 2d
I don't think you know who Dr Rameh Aladwan is
RiverRock@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 2d
I don't think you would defend a 1920s minstrel show today under the auspices of satire, but to most people that was more normalized back then, just as "haha asian" was normalized in Hollywood for decades and this guy's brand of comedic bigotry is normalized today.
Vinny_93@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2d
I tthink the essence of your comment is pretty much the essence of Hollywood as well. Anyone can make anything to offend anyone, as long as it's hugely profitable nobody cares and it's unlikely to influence public opinion or policy whatsoever.
Most consumers will just laugh at the funny guy on the screen without even linking the actor to Israel or US foreign policy.
Critics can go hard after the movie however much they want. Worst case scenario for the movie producers is that it's not hugely profitable. The next movie they put on the silver screen could be a documentary about a child in Gaza produced by a Russian without the audience even batting an eye.
geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml · 7 pts · 2d
That's just completely false. We recently saw a massive antisemitsm smear campaign aganst Marc Ruffalo
(who's even Jewish)for criticizing Israel. Plenty of other racist stuff that got people cancelled too. No way you're going to make anything near this movie if you're not Sasha Baron Cohen.zeezee@slrpnk.net · 7 pts · 2d
Just to point out – Mark Ruffalo is being smeared for being anti-zionist but he's not Jewish
Amuro_eat@lemmy.blahaj.zone · -6 pts · 2d
I’m saying it’s not very effective to try and do a “slam dunk” on someone when your slam dunk is a comment that is just displaying poor media literacy. It’s not well thought out and doesn’t offer much in discourse in a follow up. Little sarcastic comments made in ignorance don’t lead to enlightening discussions.
geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml · 6 pts · 2d
You didn't explain what you were talking about nor what point is being missed. Go ahead and explain what poor media literacy you're talking about.
davel@lemmy.ml · 6 pts · 2d
You got fooled by Cohen’s “satire” schtick, as many of us did.
Sacha Baron Cohen was Racist the Whole Time… We Just Didn’t See it
Amuro_eat@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 3 pts · 2d
That’s a good read. I agree with what they’re saying that he’s problematic but he’s still doing satire, it’s just shitty, unnecessary satire
davel@lemmy.ml · 4 pts · 2d
If only it were merely shitty & unnecessary. Cohen is a smart guy and knows what he’s doing, namely propagandizing for the Zionist state and more broadly for the imperial core. I don’t know if he has connections with Mossad, but it would surprise me.
Amuro_eat@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 2 pts · 2d
Yeah more like shitty, unnecessary, and potentially extremely dangerous as well.
davel@lemmy.ml · 4 pts · 2d
I hope it does have an effect on Sasha, though I doubt it will be enough to stop him. Hollywood is historically willing to platform Zionism and imperialism.
kokesh@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 2d
They?