Borat in Tajikistan

Lola reports from Dushanbe:

I’ve watched [Borat] recently. I didn’t assume that I could find it at the ordinary DVD shop. Why? Because this movie was banned to be screened in Russia and any films production come from there that’s why I was in surprised to find it. Anyway, there is a lot of pirate production here and I’ve got one.

I laughed a lot. It’s really funny and vulgar film which I ever seen. First of all, there is nothing with real Kazahstan in term of external side. Seems to me they wanted to say Russia rather than Kaz. Maybe it was kind of fears to point Russia. People depicted from Borat’s village do not look like Kazakhy people. They reminded me Russians very much. Ok, but it’s not a core.

It is depicted an inside of backward and ignorant people. Film reveals the misery sides of people from the Central Asia, Kaz. and Russia. Like Dostoevsky did. Though Dostoevsky didn’t laugh at all but this author did. Seems to me the author wanted to tell many things in this film concerning not only anti-Semitism issues but the American arrogance toward the other countries. You probably know the primitivism technique in the arts. Seems to me there is such kind school in the cinema as well. It’s very a primitive and obscene movie. I don’t want to tell that I didn’t like it at all but it’s not impressed me by the idea. This movie leads to nothing. Dirt and other disgusting things are common everywhere. Why it should be depicted? Only to collect money? Or to teach people to keep themselves away from misery? I wonder why this film was banned in Russia. To me there is nothing to be banned. It’s not an offence to me. There are such kind people not only in Central Asia. They can be found everywhere but maybe here more than the other countries. So, this film is farce to my region. I can’t believe that the author wanted to disgrace our people but maybe it was his idea to reach it. I don’t know.

There are lots of interesting insights in what Lola offers, but perhaps most important is her suspension of judgment and subsequent inquisitiveness. That, I believe is Cohen's raison d'être: for us to see parts of our society that we may not otherwise see, especially in how we react to the absurity that is Borat and his movie.