Word: borat
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...reason they don't take offense may be simple: They see Borat less as a reflection on themselves as it is a portrait of Americans, some of whom are shown in various unflattering situations, including threatening violence against Borat. "People in Kazakhstan are curious about Americans," says Jazin...
...Nazarbayev and one of Kazakhstan's leading cultural figures. Nazarbayeva - an accomplished mezzo-soprano who runs one of her country's TV networks - says that nothing before or since the tiny nation emerged from the ruins of the Soviet Union has given Kazakhstan anything like the recognition generated by Borat Sagdiev. That would be Borat, the comic alter ego of British actor Sasha Baron-Cohen, in his spoofy mockumentary Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Thanks to Borat, Nazarbayeva no longer has to explain where she's from: "I fly to the United States...
...world map, or to know that it sits atop about 100 billion barrels of oil and is one of the world's biggest producers of both wheat and uranium, but anyone in the West who pays even the most cursory attention to popular culture will almost certainly, thanks to Borat, have heard of Kazakhstan. Then again, the image of the country created by the movie couldn't be more appallingly crass. But it's all relative. Kazakhstan's neighbors include: Uzbekistan, which regularly makes news for its repressive crackdown on dissidents; Turkmenistan, which is best known for its former dictator...
...Still, despite the fondness for Borat among the country's elite, the movie can't be found among the action movies and thrillers that dominate Kazakhstan's DVD stores. Kaharman Jazin, director of development for the Special Economic Zone in Astana, says he recently returned home from Croatia with numerous DVD copies for friends. Jazin says "the Borat factor" aids his efforts in coaxing foreign investors to plow billions into new development projects - "Thanks to Borat," he says, "the whole world knows about Kazakhstan." And Astana tour guide Gulmira Begimbetova reports seeing a notable spike in foreign vsitors since...
...they may not always like to admit it, Americans have known for centuries that sometimes the best way to get a good picture of the U.S. is to see it through foreign eyes. Alexis de Tocqueville did a dead-on reading of the place. So did Charles Dickens. And Borat. Though he's neither French, British nor particularly funny, Robert Frank fits into that illustrious company. He was just 23 when he emigrated to the U.S. from Switzerland in 1947. After spending a couple of years as a fashion photographer in New York City, he returned to Europe to roam...