In 2006, I was 17 when the first Borat movie, known formally as Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, was released. At that point, I’d only traveled to the United States once. Like most British people who “went to America once,” that trip was to Orlando, Florida…
As a teenager, the first Borat movie was beyond hilarious. For the average British citizen whose knowledge of the United States is provided by such supposed “exposés” of American culture, the movie seemed to align perfectly with what we already “knew” about our trans-Atlantic cousins. While most of the jokes were fairly inoffensive, even the political scenes — such as the implication that overt racism is greeted with casual and enthusiastic cheers during rodeos — didn’t raise any eyebrows.
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