HBO's Ali G
Tackles Racism and Classism with British Wit
Da Ali G Show
HBO
Fridays, 12:30 a.m. ET
British humor was made famous in this country by such smash hits as Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, and Black Adder. It is, in general, an understated, sardonic, subtle, and intelligent variety of humor. One of the most popular shows in England of recent years is Da Ali G Show, which has now come to HBO.
To fully appreciate Ali G, one must understand what is going on today in the United Kingdom. The main social issue that they are dealing with is that of multicultural/multiracial integration, due in large part to the massive numbers of British nationals who moved to England when their native countries were granted independence from the colonial power. A prime example of such a group is the large Indian community (who have, among other things, had the most welcome effect of making English cuisine edible!). We in the U.S. certainly have our share of unresolved issues with race and racism, but in many ways, our issues are qualitatively different from those in the U.K. In England, the racial issues are compounded by a very real class system, which is in turn compounded by the fact that the country is officially Anglican. This makes for an extremely complex set of social challenges, the likes of which we do not encounter in the United States. Enter Ali G.
Although it is virtually impossible to talk of Ali G out of character, this is what we know: Ali G's real name is Sacha Baron Cohen. He is a Jewish comedian who grew up in North London and attended Christ's College at the University of Cam-bridge. Cohen plays three main characters: Ali G, a white guy pretending to be a gangsta rapper; Borat, a TV reporter from Kazakhstan who is trying to come to grips with Western culture; and Bruno, a highly affected Austrian fashion reporter. Cohen's humor exists in the tensions between race, class, and religion. Whether he is Ali G, Borat, or Bruno, he plays his character so well that the person he is interviewing (usually a politician or some other serious public figure) almost always writes him off as a simple fool. Cohen then builds on this deception to manipulate the conversation until he has successfully exposed the inconsistencies in his subject's logic.
For example, on a recent episode, he innocently asked a rabbi why he wouldn't marry a woman who wasn't Jewish. The rabbi, who was obviously not expecting such a loaded question from so harmless a source, answered, "You have your values and that's fine, I respect your right to them, but I want to raise my children with Jewish values, so I will only marry a Jewish woman." This response highlights the very real issue of Jewish cultural elitism.
In another episode, Cohen asks an art critic, "I once painted me Julie wif chocolate -- is that art?" The art critic replied, "The question is not what, but why. That may be art, but you probably didn't accomplish what you wanted."
What Cohen accomplishes through his comedy is nothing less than a complete deconstruction of the distinctions upon which things like race, class, and religion are based. His act works remarkably well in Britain where their colonial past and class system conspire to create socially obvious differences between people. However, it remains to be seen how well this strategy will translate culturally to the very different environment of the U.S. -- I predict that a lot will be lost in the cultural translation.
Nevertheless, one of the things that actually sounds better on this side of the Atlantic is the frank and unfiltered racial vocabulary that Cohen shamelessly employs. He is not at all afraid to be brutally politically incorrect in a multidimensional, self-referential way that serves to truly deconstruct the absurd and harmful distinctions that come with racial, classist, and religious thinking. This multifaceted frankness serves as a refreshing contrast to the all-too-familiar, one-dimensional, political incorrectness that one hears from performers like Chris Rock, or Dave Chappelle.
However, whatever is lost in the cultural translation is made up for by the healing power that this brazen comic can effect, by challenging American audiences to rethink the harmful societal construction of race.