Mental Fundalism

Upon seeing Borat on The Daily Show this week, it occured to me that this character is nothing more than an annoying hybrid of Father Guido Sarducci, Balki from Perfect Strangers and The Wild and Crazy Guys- The Frestrunk Brothers from SNL of old. In a nutshell, this fake Kazakh reporter - aka Ali G comedian Sacha Baron Cohen - is expected to score a box office hit by offending and humiliating real Americans in his new movie. The British comedian has perfected his act as the apparently naive reporter whose enthusiastic offensiveness either leaves his interviewees in shock or persuades them to reveal a little too much of their own prejudices. Although there is no mention of that fact that the character is Muslim, he is portrayed ironically by a jew and it would seem that Borat's comical anti-semiticism (which seems to be his only religion) is covered under that special provision of the Geneva Convention known as "the clause of the Fool." The Fool, when clearly marked as such, can do and say practically anything and be protected from abuse simply by virtue of being The Fool. Until, that is, he ceases to be funny, in which eventually he is summarily culturally executed. You all remember Andy Kaufman, right?