And the FBI was assigned to follow the film team on reports of a “vaguely middle-eastern man with a bear in an ice-crem truck”, which has to be the funniest report xD
Pretty sure Kazakhstan loves Borat, he brought the name Kazakhstan into public consciousness where as before people where like ‘wtf is Kazakhstan?’
I’ve heard differing things about Kazakhstan’s reaction. Wasn’t there a time where Sacha Baron Cohen would have been a dead man if he entered Kazakh borders?
Also, Kazakhstan actually has a really nice national anthem that 100% does not deserve to be overshadowed by a satirical one that mocks their country.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
Kazakhstan actually has a really nice national anthem
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
When Borat was fresh, I was in a new hire class for a major telecom you’ve heard of if you’re in the US.
Somehow, the chatter came around to Borat, and someone challenged me on the existence of Kazakhstan.
I’m not always great with people , so I did a double take - they were serious. I shipped them a GMaps link via chat…
…and they proceeded to argue with me that said country couldn’t possibly actually exist.
Once in a while, I wonder where that person ended up - no Ill will towards the misinformed, but I’m certainly curious.
They’re really no dumber than anyone else.
They were wrong because they hadn’t heard of it (not really their fault, it’s not like we’re all talking about Kazakhstan every day).
They doubled down because that’s what people do to protect their egos. Look up the backlash effect if you want to know why they didn’t believe you even with a maps link. It’s traumatic to be wrong and have someone prove it to you.
The ability to self correct is one of the biggest differences between smart and stupid. A smart person might be wrong 1-2 times, before correcting on that point. A stupid person will value ego over truth and double down. This effect compounds over time, particularly when combined with an inquisitive mindset (another important marker).
I actually met a man from Kazakhstan in my store the other day. He gestured to me that he’d like to sleep in the parking lot and pointed, “in truck. In truck. No English.” Imagine my surprise when I said, “what language?” and this very Asian looking fellow said, “Russian. But not me Russian. Me Kazakhstan”.
I got to use the translate app on my phone for the first time and when I said, “Ah, I’ve heard of Kazakhstan. I seen Borat.” He said, “No no no, uh, he is from London. He is not really from Kazakhstan. We hate him. We’re so tired of him. That is not what we are really like.” I said, “Oh I know that Kazakhstan is a former Soviet country and you guys are nothing like that. Borat is a man from England. He’s a comedian. I know it’s a joke.” “Oh it makes me so happy you know about the real Kazakhstan.” He said.
Then I ordered him a pizza to be delivered to his truck.
It was a fun experience meeting him. He was a great guy.
We talked for hours using the Google translate app.
There were a couple of gaffs. I realized after he left when I said “nice to meet you.” It heard, “it was nice to me too.” But otherwise it worked pretty well. It amazes me that we can do that nowadays.
