Comedian or Comedic Actor?

Borat is a mass comm teacher's dream. Every once in a while something comes along in the mass media that is truly different and gets us thinking about the nature of entertainment, comedy, fact versus fiction, bigotry, and damage control.

Today's medianote is based on a Los Angeles Times interview with Sacha Baron Cohen, AKA Borat. Times Entertainment Reporter Patrick Goldstein pointed out that by immersing himself into the Borat character, Mr. Cohen has been able to protect himself from the sometimes career-ruining fallout faced by celebrities that say or do something hateful. After all, Borat's anti-Semetic views don't sound much different than what one might hear out of a drunken Mel Gibson.

The MC101s had some very interesting things to say on this topic. I found myself thinking that Mr. Cohen was able to get away with saying the things he said because audiences viewed him as a comedic actor playing a part in a movie. But if the comedian Sacha Baron Cohen had said some of these same things as a guest on "The Tonight Show" he would come under much more criticism.

Gabcast! Club MediaNote #4