Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

[Note: I have not seen Bruno (nor Borat). I am reporting things others have said that I thought sounded interesting, but am not in a position to comment on the movie myself or judge how well the folks quoted below have interpreted it.]

"It should not have taken Bruno for people to realize exactly what Cohen is about. He has always chosen 'the other' as a safe target for his so-called satire.

[...]

"Cohen is not brave, he is not transgressive, he is not cool. He picks on the 'other'. He is a bully and a bigot. His creations are modern-day minstrel shows. His shows are 'Jackass' filled with hateful stereotypes."

-- figfest (commenter at Pam's House Blend), 2009-07-11

"Cohen clearly doesn't understand the difference between satire and schoolboy nastiness. And obviously,neither do a lot of critics or a sizable section of the public." -- QScribe (also at PHB), 2009-07-11

"[...] I don't think Bruno creates more homophobia so much as exposes it a bit more precisely." -- PghLesbian (from the same comment stream as the previous two)< 2009-07-11

"I think Cohen's biggest problem is overestimating his audience, and expecting them to be sophisticated enough to get the joke and the ultimate point. You'd think he would realize that the same phobic people he skewers in the film will be the ones going to see it, but he's not American. I think our real frustration with him is that we know his audience better than he does." -- jackalope (same thread), 2009-07-11