Bruno: Is It Good for the Gays?
Last Sunday’s New York Times spotlight on Sascha Baron Cohen’s upcoming feature film, BRUNO includes perspectives from the folks at GLAAD, HRC and Out Magazine pondering whether the film exposes or validates homophobia — or both. Watch the trailer right here at QMovieBlog.com and post your comments below — what do YOU think?!
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6 Responses to “Bruno: Is It Good for the Gays?”
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I saw this trailer at Century Theatres before Terminator Salvation. It was either that or Up. I think it was Terminator Salvation.
I thought it was hilarious! Especially the line “for an iPod.” I was not expecting that.
I find the question very hilarious: it is, to me, an obvious reference to the old cliché, “But is it good for the Jews?”
The funny thing about “Is it good for the Jews?” is its application to non-sequitur circumstance. It is, or was, for many people, a way of responding to any type of intellectual, political, or cultural challenge. What do you think about the Bay of Pigs? “Is it good for the Jews?” What do you think about landing a man on the moon? “But is it good for the Jews?” What do you think about the latest trend? “Is it good for the Jews?” And so on. It reframed any debate in the terms of Jewry. It was a response that said, in a typically Jewish rhetorical fashion, “I’m not sure what’s going on, but I’m interested in Jews. How does it play to that?”
Whether or not Bruno / Sasha Baron Cohen is “good for the gays” is a bit of a moot point. It’s totally gay! He may not be a true homosexual, but you can see how gay gay gay it is. In a sincere way. It doesn’t reek, to me, of gay baiting; it tests his audiences and it also seems like safe parody from within the gay community… even if Cohen is not homosexual.
However, there more to be said about Cohen. Many may recall his East Indian parodic voice for King Julian in Madagascar and Madagascar 2, which prompted a few calls of racism, such as by the New York Times. The problem there was the decontextualization by the studio. While Cohen may be an ultra-liberal, known for making fools out of conservatives and provoking people to reveal their own racism and bias, that context was removed when you hear him voice an animated character in a children’s film. All that’s left is the funny voice, and no information about Cohen and his own views or work.
I’d say there’s a lot more to be said about this question. But I predict this movie, like Borat, will be a hit with gay audiences. Now I’ve not seen the film, only the trailer, so I may eat my words. But speaking for myself, I’m in line already.
I think that “Bruno” will be a huge hit across many demographic groups. I think it will be every bit the box office hit that was “Borat”. This is 2009, not 1969 nor 1979, and GLBT people are no longer (well, bisexual people and transgender people haven’t enjoyed the broad media interpretations that have dedicated to gays and lesbians on TV and film, so there is work to be done there) invisible in the mainstream media, nor are they typically depicted as one-dimensional stereotypes. In the 21st Century, not every gay character in a movie has to be Harvey Milk. Audiences are so accustomed to seeing gay images, including many, many so-called “positive” images, that a satirical parody such as “Bruno” is a wholly appropriate piece of entertainment. The only folks who I feel critical towards are the humorless folks at GLAAD, an organization that has outgrown its usefulness in my opinion, who snipe about the depiction of gays in “Bruno”. The only people who have a problem in this matter are the people who don’t have a sense of humor.
COHEN MOVIES IS OVER THE HILL. BRUNO WILL BE A FAN FAVORITES. I WILL BUY THE DVD WHEN IT FINALLY RELEASE. GOOD LUCK TO COHEN THIS YEAR AND THE FUTURE. YOUR TRULY CHARLES DAVID HASKELL
Readers may find this interesting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aja110SNPo
(This is the text from the youtube post:)
June 13, 2008 – LIFEWORKS event honoring Dustin Lance Black
Gay celebrities Jack Plotnick (actor/comedian), Peter Paige (actor “Queer As Folk”), Nick Verreos (fashion designer), Jennifer Elise Cox (actress/comedian), and Brian Graden (LOGO network founder) express concern about the impact of Sacha Baron Cohen’s film “Bruno”, about a flamboyant Austrian Gay Fashionista who comes to America.
While some hail Cohen’s “Bruno” as a brilliant device to tackle the subject of homophobia, others see “Bruno” as a kind of gay “Blackface”. Stereotypes embodied Blackface played a significant role in cementing and proliferating racist images, attitudes and perceptions worldwide.
Sacha Cohen, who is straight, created “Bruno” as part of the Ali G Show. He has not made public his personal views on LGBT issues, leading to his having little, if any, moral standing on which to caricature an oppressed group which struggles for the right to marry, serve in the military, employment security, immigration, and even their own lives as they are killed for striving to live as part of the global LGBT community.
Reporting – Courtney K; Camera and podcast – Mike Skiff
Third Rail Media
Another interesting vid, with an unusual “making of” glimpse.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avP-qhVGZRo
Is “Bruno” good for the Gays? Well, only for the Gays with a sense of humor. Can’t Gays laugh anymore? Have we become too PC for comedy? I hope not!
As a Jewish Queer, my sense of self deprecating humor may be more established than some, but as I was brought up to believe- there’s nothing funnier than a joke that isn’t supposed to be funny. A Jewish sense of humor is one that can make jokes even in the face of tragedy. A Gay sense of humor is similar.
Suffering builds character, and the one who laughs last and loudest lives the longest.
I can’t wait to see “Bruno”- it’s a joke on stereotypes and bigotry, not on Gays. Sascha Baron Cohen is laughing with us, not at us. God bless his thong wearing soul!