Bruno hit movie theaters yesterday and has already caused a frenzy in the gay community. Some argue that the movie is offensive and just plays on stereotypes associated with gay men. Others argue that the movie is a catalyst for change by showing how bigoted and homophobic the public is. Finally, some just say people need to lighten up and enjoy a good movie even if it is ridden with some insults against the gay community.
The movie is called "Brüno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt" so is it making fun of the gay foreigner, the uncomfortable hetero males, or both?
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Open Forum: Bruno Isht Been Offensive or Funny?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
19 comments:
I will weigh in first, I think there are good and bad aspects of the movie.
Bad:
The insinuation that gay men are shallow, sex-obsessed, perverted, flamboyant, liars, and dangerous.
Good:
The movie shows how 'ex-gay' therapy is a quack and doesn't work. It also exposes the intense homophobia prevalent in society.
I enjoyed the movie and don't think it is as bad as some of the critics are saying. I don't think everything has to be politically correct, there are some gay men like Bruno, (he is extreme) and most gay men don't act like that, but we don't need to pretend like some don't. Stereotypes do exist for a reason.
Plus I think the gayby shirt was awesome and I want my child to have one lol.
Very sad indeed.
[Spoiler alert here!]
I definitely think that the film has its shortcomings, but it does strike a blow against hatred by making the homophobes in the fighting ring scene the butt of the joke. The audience laughs at the crowd's repulsion, horror, and rage because they recognize that their homophobic responses are ridiculous.
I've yet to see it so I'd rather see what other folks say about it, but I kinda get the same vibes I got when everyone and their mother was telling me to see Borat :/ not just because the same people are involved, but the playing up of stereotypes for laughs didn't appeal to me...but I also had a special set of problems with Borat so maybe Bruno is better.
Considering that the film seems to have pleased and offended in equal measures the gay crowd and the homophobic crowd, I would tend to be rather positive, and look forward to seeing it.
I have yet to see it, but I can only imagine that Cohen's intent is to ridicule homophobia and celebrate gays in an entertaining way. Look at what he did with Borat. Obviously, his Bruno character is an extreme, but it has to be in order to provoke real reactions. I believe he's on our side when it comes to the debate on our social issues. Plus he just does it all so well...his improv and comedic skills are just genius.
Meh, I was neither pleased nor offended. For me it was just a boring movie.
I think Cohen is a genuis and this movie was so funny. I think it is a bit of a sterotype but you end up laughing more at the homophobes. I love what he does with Ron Paul the conservative republican asshole from Texas(that some for some reason think is this liberal libertarian),he makes Paul come off as the homophobe his voting record confirms.
He definitely exposed Ron "Ru" Paul for the homophobe he is. "Get me out of here, this guy is a queer, this queer tried to hit on me"
'Bruno' is stereotypically gay, just like 'Jack McFarland' before him. There is nothing wrong with using common stereotypes about people to make a broader point. It's called satire! And even though 'Bruno' is over-the-top, I see an element of him in many of my gay friends.
We have got to learn how to laugh at ourselves. The film was wonderfully done, well-balanced and above all, FUNNY.
Now I have to see it.
I think it's gonna be rather funny myself...
Just think, it's at the top of the box office...
But it is to each their own...If some don't like
it then they shouldn't watch it...
MISS YOU TONS!!!!!!!!!!
TACKLE YOU HUGS!!!!!!!!
Laurie
I think it's not smart enough to be satire, that people are going to misinterpret it, and that it's crude, crass and has nothing of value. If you want to watch a movie full of stupid dick jokes, fine. I don't think we should pretend it's going to do anything positive for the gay community, though.
I don't think it does anything positive and probably not anything negative. Although I did hear people saying "so gay" after the movie. I guess in this context it's ok? It was a pretty gay movie lol.
I haven't seen it but i saw the trailer and it looks very naughty so i'd say that it's a draw between funny and stupid. If i saw the movie maybe i would look at it different. By the way i'm gay.
It funny, as you are. The film looks like a real gay pride march. How can a straight guy know how to be a gay if not by copying the gays.
[SPOILER ALERT]
I happen to really enjoy this movie despite the fact that I had to cover my eyes in certain scenes. Cohen is very brave to do a film that exposes society's homophobic tendencies. It was so hard to watch people throwing chairs and trash into the fighting ring when the two male actors began to display affection. The chair that was thrown by an audience member could have seriously hurt the actors. Watching that scene made people around me realize there is no limit to the hate inflicted on the LGBT community.
I've not seen the film yet, but I plan to, but the thing you need to realise with Sacha is that he doesn't mean what his characters say. He's an updated version of Alf Garnet from the other side of the fence. He is acting as the most stereotypical of gay me, to expose the treatment lgbt people receive on a daily basis.
In Borat when he started singing "throw the jew down the well", the response he would have loved would have been utter shock and people telling him that that is unacceptable, but they sang along with him, exposig their prejudice and Bruno is about doing the same thing using a different character.
I don't know if Sacha is gay, but I do know he's Jewish. If you saw the original Ali G, only one person told him that he was wrong, and that was the Labour MP Tony Ben. Everyone else either just went with it, because they either aggreed, or just didn't know what to do, or we're too shocked to actually say anything.
was the movie suppose to keep stopping. i tried watching it last night and it just keep stopping in places.
Post a Comment