By Alec DavisThe Daily Northwestern
Last weekend, “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” opened in theaters nationwide. And despite being pitted against the third installment of the “greatest Christmas trilogy ever,” it managed to grab the top spot at the box office. The popularity of Borat is good to see because it spreads the message of being able to laugh at oneself. This is something that is crucial to society, yet it is often neglected.
Borat is the creation of British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, who stars as the bumbling Kazakh journalist documenting the lifestyles of foreigners. Cohen, who is Jewish, often makes anti-Semitic remarks in skits for comedic gains. While many of the things he says are self-defaming, he is not bothered by such things and even laughs off further anti-Semitic comments that he is sometimes able to goad out of the people he talks to.
The ability to laugh at yourself is so important in life. Without it our society would become even more of a tinderbox than it already is. To be able to perceive things as funny even when they are at your own expense is a skill that makes it much easier to get through life. This is one of the most important things I have learned from my family. Years of sitting through family events where my dad and grandma accused each other of being alcoholics while pouring drinks and laughing has taught me a lot. “The best thing about this family is that we can laugh at our problems,” my dad used to say.
Just imagine how great politics would be if politicians were able to laugh at themselves. Or think of how many fewer fights and arguments there would be in the world if people were able to take jokes as funny observations instead of personal attacks.
Being able to laugh at our own expense helps put things into perspective. Our problems and differences seem less striking if we are able to laugh and joke about them. Sure, they are still there, but they don’t appear as serious when put into comedic form.
If anything, many jokes can educate people about the differences and problems between them. I’m a Catholic, but I don’t take Catholic-bashing jokes as threats. To me they are chances to see how people with different beliefs view who I am and why they might think that way. And seriously, who doesn’t enjoy a good priest joke once in a while?
I applaud Cohen’s effort in spreading the message of comedy across the country, and I only hope that people will actually understand what he is trying to do and say. And he’s not alone in the world. Jon Stewart of “Daily Show” fame is out spreading the same message – and doing it by attacking the aforementioned sense-of-humor-lacking politicians.
