I saw Borat. I liked Borat. In fact, Borat made me laugh, sometimes. Especially the scene where he asks his dinner host to show him how to use toilet paper. Hilarious! But Sacha Baron Cohen's new creation, Bruno, is looking for trouble. Oh I'm not talking about him flying into the MTV Movie Awards and giving Eminem booty, or acting out at a Bingo game; I'm talking about his new movie Bruno and the black baby in the box.
In the movie trailer, Bruno, the gay reporter from Austria, is having a good time poking fun at American homophobia and fundamentalism, but there's a black baby in a box and I'm not sure what I think. I get that Sacha Baron Cohen loves to rattle the nerves of conservatives and people-phobes in general. I love him for that. I also get he's only an actor and he's only making movies and the black baby in the box is a means to put light to celebrities and African adoption. But is the black baby too far? He's already being accused of physically attacking a Bingo player. I love that Sacha puts adults in awkward positions, but the babies? Has he gone too far, or is all in fun?
Keith Josef Adkins is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter and social commentator.