From International Herald Tribune, via A Glimpse of the World:
It all began with a search for “Borat.” Yes, “Borat,” the popular and somewhat controversial comedy that spoofs life in the central Asia nation, Kazakhstan.
One of the cheap pleasures of life in Shanghai in recent years has been the almost instantaneous availability of just about any Hollywood movie of any size. Hereabouts, they are hawked, together with myriad other counterfeit goods, in the impromptu bazaars that constitute some of this city’s most famous streets.
When “Borat, Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” was late in coming, my first thought was that it was a victim of political correctness. Officials in Kazakhstan had been angered by the depiction of their country, and I briefly imagined the neighborly Chinese authorities blocking the DVD, or at least delaying it’s arrival here. [Full Text]
