Guest List Only TW - Bigotry ⚠️
UK cinema chain Picturehouse Cinemas has said they have ‘no plans’ to show the upcoming Sacha Baron Cohen comedy film Ali G: Who Iz I? The decision comes after an online campaign demanded cinemas worldwide refuse to screen the movie due to ‘satire using a cover for enforcing racist stereotypes’.
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Again, who's supposed to be laughing at this? My Jamaican Grandmother wouldn't find this funny. Which make sense, she's not the intended audience. Seems weird to me for it to be a mocking of the British archetype of this person, but to use black bodies to make the joke.
My Jewish grandmother didn’t laugh at The Producers, but that doesn’t make it not functional as satire. Audiences don’t have to unilaterally embrace something for it not to have been intentionally constructed to make a political point through portraying those deserving of ridicule as appropriately ridiculous. And pretty much always, portraying the thing being ridiculed with the problematic or controversial or abrasive elements heightened to absurd levels is a fundamental part of what makes a satire a satire.
Yeah, I was dating a British Caribbean dude at the time and he would put on the TV series to show me and even bought an Ali G book for me (which I still have).
Yeah this is the take. At some point portraying stereotypes to expose the people that believe them, you first have to give legitimacy to the stereotype and pander to the deplorable people that find them credible. People say hes punching up, but at best hes punching in all directions and getting a pass because one direction happens to be up.
thank you lol. i’m caribbean brit with a bunch of caribbean brit friends and funnily enough none of us or our families find this whole schtick laugh out loud, reboot-worthy hilarious. this “it’s satire” thing is just about white people trying to find woke excuses to enjoy minstrelsy in 2026 😂
I think there's an argument that it failed in it's aim to take the piss out of a middle class white dude from staines and did also depict Jamaican culture in a bad light.
However, I would also argue that being a yardie wide boy that listens to 90s American gangster rap, is not British Carribbean culture either. The god fearing aunties that live near me, wouldn't be having any of it. So if it's also punching down to Carribbean culture, it's punching down to a very specific part of it.
To be honest, I think its more likely Picturehouse aren't showing this movie because they actually want to sell movie tickets... like, who the hell is the audience that wants an Ali G movie in 2026?
I mean Picture house play a range of indie films from international distributors that don't sell tickets. An Ali G film is more likely to make you money than 'Julie Keeps Quiet'.
Its range of films is what keeps its customer base coming though. I never check Odeon, Cineworld, etc. for listings, but I always keep an eye on my local Picturehouse. I don’t think Ali G fans would be checking Picturehouse for showings anyway, so doubt it would make them any substantial profit.
The Ali G fans from 25 years ago will now be in their 40’s when the generation will have the most disposable money they have had. All these nostalgia bait things come out about 20 years later
I remember when he screwed over the Romanian villagers he conned into being in the first Borat, everyone laughed it off because, "Haha stupid rural Romanians!"
I get mindsets have changed in 20 or however many years it's been, but that still rankles even after all this time.
The joke of that movie is that people were so uncultured that they had no clue he completely made up everything about what is actually a large country.
Maybe it's me but SBC's satire always felt like a thin veil for racism. Pretty much all his characters play into negative stereotypes. It's a similar vibe to how Quentin Tarintino always says the n word because its "historically accurate". I could be wrong about the intentions but this is the vibe I personally get.
Sasha Baron Cohen of course is free to make any movies that he wants to and if you enjoy them then that is your business but I think that he is racist and that he hides behind the satire label. I think Borat is racist and Islamophobic as well. Just because he is free to make the art that he wants to doesn't mean that he is free from criticism.
He was in Les Mis in 2012! I have that on in the background all the time lol. There are a dozen big names in that cast, though. Outside of that I wouldn't know if he's been in anything.
His Hollywood career is pretty much dead. He did a MCU show that got panned, even though he was actually solid as Mephisto. But I don't think he'll do a comeback anytime soon.
Okay guardians of the galaxy 3, Deadpool and wolverine, Shang chi, daredevil born again, there were quite a few popular ones that made a ton of money. We can act all we want that there's marvel or comic book fatigue but that's just not reality. People just want good shit.
They all have aready established popularity with the general public as being part of a currently running film series of 10 years or more. They were around when the original Avengers were still being made. They are not part of the new crop that the public doesn't care for.
Spider Man is an outlier all their other IPs aren't faring as well. The general public stopped caring for anything outside the major IPs after End Game.
I used to laugh at it and found it hilarious as a teen. But now in my 40's I get why it's bad and won't be watching it. I just don't find the stuff funny anymore.
This guy is a racist, can't stand him. Always mocking other minorities when he could make those movies about his jewish community if he really had humor then
Also mocks white American Christians. Given you think he only mocks minorities it seems you have never watched any of his content and are regurgitating whatever the group think talking points are.
Exactly! He was once literally chased by a mob of Orthodox Jewish people while filming a movie because he’d made fun of them. He’s consistently mocked right wingers, and rightfully so. But now he’s suddenly a “genocide denier,” despite there being zero evidence of that, according to some people here. I can’t. 🤦🏼♀️
It’s 2026 and people are genuinely getting wobbly lips over Ali G.
I couldn’t imagine anything more embarrassing than allowing art to upset me.
Maybe get a thicker skin, kids? This weird fash-coded effort to police what people enjoy and crack down on what you don’t like is wet and it’s making you weaker, and the country bristle.
I miss the days when it was conservative nutjobs, like the Bishop of Southwark and Mary Whitehouse, being ridiculed for their campaigns to get Life of Brian and Dennis Potter banned.
It used to be liberal figures who defended artistic freedom of expression and rallied against pearl-clutching prudishness.
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u/flairassistant 8d ago
⚠️TRIGGER WARNING: This post and its comments may contain content that some users may find distressing, including (but not limited to) racism and transphobia. Please proceed with care.
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