Counter-Hegemony: Borat Meets Jesus

SynchroBlog May 2007: Christianity & Film

I'm coming up on finals week, so I don't have time to write an original post, but a recent paper I wrote for my Sociology class dovetails nicely with the theme this month. I've been considering posting it anyway, so I guess it was meant to be!

There is one particular scene that this post is mainly referring to, which you can see here (it's about 4 minutes long and this clip is PG): Jesus Saves Borat


The fictional character Borat, particularly as played by Sacha Baron Cohen in the movie ”Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan”, has generated both controversy and laughter since he first started gaining widespread popularity before the movie’s release in 2006. Some people love Borat and appreciate how the movie pushed the boundaries of what is culturally appropriate in America under the guise of Borat - a foreigner who is unabashedly open about his personal, political, and culturally-influenced thoughts and ignorant of the cultural norms and “politically correct” way to express oneself in our culture. Others however have been offended by what was interpreted by them as outright bigotry, prejudice, misogyny, deception and/or exploitation, or the glorification of such behavior.

While I personally thought the movie was hilarious overall, when it came to the church scene where Borat becomes “born-again” and starts speaking in tongues, I could not help but feel offended because of my own faith, my spiritual foundation within conservative Christian beliefs (and the conservative Christian culture in which I grew up), and the church community I currently am a part of which is part of a charismatic denomination. I've known some who have been offended by the movie on a personal level based on their faith (both Christian and Jewish), but also many who found it enjoyable in its humor as I do.

Borat, the character, is everything opposite of the “approved” cultural values and norms within our society. He is politically incorrect in his words and actions, he is racist, views women objectively, has no manners (according to American standards), and shows open disdain for his wife and family – but he doesn't violate our cultural norms intentionally. In this way, he is a symbol of counter-hegemony within our society in his total openness and transparency. But is the movie progressive in its treatment of Christianity and Pentecostalism?

Many Pentecostal and charismatic churches are made fun of and derided for their physical actions: raising hands, jumping up and down, running through the aisles, being “slain in the spirit” (a spiritual phenomena that occurs when a person is so overcome by the Holy Spirit that they cannot function – often encouraged, sometimes forced, by a spiritual leader who prays over someone while touching their forehead, shoulder, or chest – that is depicted in the movie), and being vocal in their praise; all actions that the church scene in Borat highlights. Within highly Pentecostal circles, the body is used to express spirituality in a way that is outside the mainstream. On the other hand, mainstream Christianity (the hymn-singing, don't dance in the aisles variety) is typically given more respect than Pentecostal Christianity and highly respected, upper-crust members of society would more likely be seen in a mainstream church than a Pentecostal one.

The fact that the makers of Borat chose a Pentecostal revival meeting goes along with many of the themes in the movie that correspond to the body: an extended scene where Borat and Azamat chase each other around a hotel naked, multiple scenes where Borat openly ogles, propositions, or makes derogatory comments towards women, awkward situations with feces, etc. Much, if not all of the humor in Borat is related to the “lower” parts of body in some way or another, including the revival meeting. Borat utilizes crass, gross, and bodily humor to not only provoke laughter, but draw attention to the subjects that are taboo in our culture at large, as well as taboo within the specific sub-cultures in America where the character Borat finds himself throughout his journey.

However, is Borat progressive in its counter-hegemony within the context of the church revival scene? I believe it is, even within the sub-cultures of Christianity and Pentecostalism. Christians, particularly conservative ones, have a tendency to take themselves too seriously (I know because I have and still sometimes do). I consider myself a devout Christian, but it's my personal opinion that humor that mocks aspects of Christianity can be educational because it forces us to look at some of the apparently “weird” things we might believe, say or do and consider “why?” It also gives us insight as to how others view Christianity and how some people can feel very alienated if they're not familiar with the norms and values of Christian culture.

Additionally, it points out the faults of some within Christianity. As viewers, we all know that Borat isn't really speaking in tongues as the preacher prays over him. It begs the question of whether everyone else is just making it up as well. Is it necessary or beneficial in that context, or alienating? Is there a way to be true to our beliefs and values while relating to American culture? If Christians as a group would be more open to laughing at themselves and learning from what culture is telling us, we might actually find that there is something to learn, get off our high horses, and laugh at ourselves.