Sacha Baron Cohen. A public intellectual?

I’ve never been a big fan of New Year’s Eve. In truth, I’ve always seen it as the single-most arbitrary and superficial “holiday” we celebrate as a people. It has no religious or commercial connection yet somehow manages to pack the social punch of a Kardashian Instagram post or new Beyoncé single. Like scores of others, however, I do enjoy the tradition of watching millions of people freeze their bologna ponies’ off in the sub-zero temperatures in the middle of Times Square for the thrill of watching a ball slowly plummet to the earth. While the whole ball thing is riveting, observing several hundred happy couples queue in line for hours for their “unique” and “special” moment to propose has become a New Year’s Eve tradition of my own- this annual test of human endurance and stupidity confirms that we have not evolved enough of a species.

Of all of the asinine institutions that accompany the event, however, the “resolution” is by far the most preposterous. While I admire the couch potatoes who think they can become gym rats overnight and respect the guy who decides to stop binge-watching porn and finally pay attention to his kids, the “new year, new me” people make me want to vomit. That being said, I decided to make one of my own this year. 2019 will be my year of enlightenment. The year I go from uninformed dumb shit to a slightly more informed dumb shit. The year I part from my ignorant, sheltered ways and finally read a book. The year I become a public intellectual.

Unfortunately, there are two major obstacles in my journey to becoming a public intellectual. First, I’m not public. Second, I’m not an intellectual. Statistically speaking, even with this public blog, more people have walked on the moon than have read my work or listened to my thoughts in any capacity. As for the second challenge, I’m by no means an expert on anything. Even if I was, I have found I possess little ability to articulate my knowledge to the public in any comprehensible way (think Rain Man without the whole numbers thing). I express myself with the grace of a rabid baboon and tact of President Trump at a global summit. While becoming a public intellectual may not be in my five year plan, I found the concept intriguing enough to investigate further.

A public intellectual is defined as a well-known, intelligent, learned person whose written works and other social and cultural contributions are recognized not only by academic audiences and readers, but also by many members of society in general (Wiktionary). In short, a public intellectual is exactly what it sounds like; me having to look up the precise definition is further evidence that I’ll never become one.

Upon further investigation, I realized that it is far easier to define public intellectual than to identify a good example of one. For example: Donald Trump is a public figure with millions of dedicated followers, yet is slightly less intelligent than the keyboard I type on. He spews hot garbage into the world in the form of tweets for his sycophants to eat and digest on an a seemingly hourly basis. The Kardashian clan, much like Trump, are all public figures with far more worshippers than brain cells. On the flip side, there are many intellectuals who aren’t public. They are experts in their field, but spend more time contributing to their given areas of expertise than publishing and relaying their findings to the general public. Mathematicians such as Andrew Wiles and Grigori Perelman come to mind (thanks Google!). While being public and dumb seems rather prominent in our digital age there is no shortage of private intellectuals.

This matter of classification and identification is subjective. There are countless public figures out there that are intelligent that may not fall into the category of “public intellectual.” One could argue that someone like Oprah, for example, is more of a public influencer than public intellectual. She has written several books, has a significant fan base, and is certainly intelligent in her own rite, however, it would be a stretch to say that she is somehow a groundbreaking intellectual in any specific field.

One could also argue the same for people like Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk. Both are people of power and, as a result, have an immense public reach. At first glance, both appear to be groundbreaking intellectuals in their respective fields, however, many of their achievements rest on the accomplishments of others (either working for them or with them). This is not to downplay their advancements and contributions- they are both wildly successful, however, I would argue a lot of this is due to their collaboration and management skills rather than their own personal intellect. In 2016 David Frum stated: “One of the more dangerous pleasures of great wealth is that you never have to hear anyone tell you that you are completely wrong.” In my opinion, there is a big difference being an intellect and being a person of power.

I recently did a Google search on most influential public intellectuals in the world and realized that most had one thing in common- money. Lots and lots of money. There exists a great deal of insanely rich people in this world that have somehow generated a massive public following (looking at Trump and the Kardashians again). I’m convinced that a great deal of people out there truly believe that any idiot’s opinion has weight so long as that idiot is obscenely rich (Space Force!). According to the Washington Post’s David Drezner: “Folks like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg take ideas seriously. But they are taken seriously as intellectuals because of their money. An intellectual should be able to influence because of their ideas and not because of their positions.”

With this in mind, I embarked on a mission to find an unconventional public intellectual. One that did not fit the mold in a traditional sense - not a published mathematician or physicist with their own television show. Not a college professor, head of state, or prolific writer, but rather an unexpected contender. An entertainer. A profession that while public, does not typically find itself infiltrated with intellects. Sacha Baron Cohen is an exception to this.

 

Sacha Baron Cohen is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer. The youngest of three children, he was born London in 1971 to an English father and an Israeli mother. Because his mother was a movement instructor and his grandmother was a ballet instructor he was exposed to performance from an early age. As a kid, he attended The Haberdashers’s Aske’s Boys’ School in Hertfordshire before attending the University of Cambridge (Christ’s College) where he studied history and graduated with upper-second-class honours. While attending, he became a member of the Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club as well as the Habonim Dror Jewish theatre. After college, Cohen made a jump from theater to television and film where he developed countless characters and alter egos. This includes Ali G, an uneducated and ill-mannered thug from Staines, England, Borat Sagdiyev, a sheltered bachelor from Kazakhstan, Brüno Gehard, a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion show presenter, as well as countless others.

Cohen is famous for his unique and brash brand of humor. He leverages the power and realism of documentary style interviews in most of his routines where his characters can interact with unsuspecting people who do not realize they are being set up for comic situations and self-inflicted ridicule. His characters satirize specific cross-sections or groups within society while his interviews aim to highlight prevalent social issues.

ALI G: Ali G is a satirical fictional character created and played by Cohen that parodies suburban, privileged youth acting in a way that they believe is typical of black people. The character originally appeared on “The 11 O’Clock Show” in the UK before becoming the title character of “Da Ali G Show” in 2000 before being picked up by HBO. The typical platform of the show consisted of an “innocent” Ali G interviewing experts with neither understanding each other. Those that appeared on the show include Donald Trump, Noam Chomsky, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, as well as David and Victoria Beckham, to name a few.

BORAT: Borat is a fictitious Kazakh journalist character created and played by Cohen. In 2006, Cohen released the film “Borat,” (or, Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan) where the title character travels throughout the United States recording his real-life interactions with Americans. A great deal of the film consists of unscripted interviews between Borat and Americans who believe he is a foreigner with little or no understanding of America or American customs.

BRUNO: “Bruno” is a 2009 mockumentary comedy film that features the fictitious character Bruno, a gay Austrian fashion reporter. Bruno is created by Cohen as well as played by him in the film. The film follows Bruno as he attempts an acting career after he is fired from his television show for disrupting an event during Milan Fashion week. Throughout the film he interviews parents of child models and discusses weight loss and liposuction, confronts members of the Westboro Baptist Church, and at one point even dons a Nazi uniform.

WHO IS AMERICA?: “Who Is America?” is Cohen’s most recent creation. It is a political satire television series that explores “the diverse individuals, from the infamous to the unknown across the political and cultural spectrum, who populate our unique nation.” The show incorporates a slew of newly-created characters by Cohen including Billy Wayne Ruddick Jr., PhD, a far-right conspiracy theorist, Dr. Nira Cain-N’Degeocello, a far-left lecturer on gender studies, Rick Sherman, a british ex-convict, Erran Morad, an Israeli anti-terrorism expert, as well as several others. Like most of his other work, this show is filmed as a documentary and incorporates interviews with unsuspecting guests.

With this background information I reference again the definition of a public intellectual: A well-known, intelligent, learned person who’s written works and other social and cultural contributions are recognized not only by academic audiences and readers, but also by many members of society in general (Wiktionary). Using this definition and breaking it down into its two distinct components will provide an easy way to analyze whether or not Sacha Baron Cohen can be included amongst the ranks of other public intellectuals.

1. Is Sacha Baron Cohen well-known?

In short, yes. He has a lengthy filmography with numerous wildly popular television shows to his name in addition to countless public speaking appearances.

2. Is he an intelligent, learned person who’s written works and other social and cultural contributions are recognized not only by academic audiences and readers, but also by many members of society in general?

Yes. Not only is he a graduate from Cambridge, but his humor is highly intelligent as well. Cohen’s unique brand of satire separates him from other comedians that focus on political and social issues such as John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, or even Lewis Black. While the ladder comment on issues from afar, Cohen submerges himself into the action and gets involved on a more personal level. He doesn’t make fun of people like his contemporaries, but rather cultivates situation and provides real people the opportunity to unknowingly make fun of themselves. He is able to shed light on the ignorance in society by interacting with unsuspecting people on their level through his alter egos and documentary-style filmmaking. Where most comedians comment on events after the fact, Cohen is able to invent situations where he can cover the events as they happen. Rotten Tomatoes, the American review-aggregation website for film and television, stated that Cohen’s brand of comedy is “Fleetingly funny and all too relevant.”

It takes real intelligence, control, and planning to pull off the self-damaging interviews that he has conducted over the years. To play the innocent and often times ignorant interviewer effectively, you have to be a complete expert on the topic you wish to discuss. You not only have to know the topics, but the individual you are interviewing - their history, their business, and in many instances, their triggers. Leading people into a false sense of security where they can let their true beliefs come out in front of a camera takes patience, tact, and manipulation. Cohen is masterful in this arena.

Not only is Cohen a leading expert in his brand of intelligent comedy, many of his shows, films, and interviews have had real life impacts. Jason Spencer, a Republican state representative from Georgia faced backlash after an interview with Cohen aired. Cohen was able to bait the politician into screaming the racial epithets “nigger” and “sand nigger” while speaking in a stereotypical Asian accent before baring his posterior in an attempt to ward off potential terrorists. This interview led to him ultimately resigning from office.

During interviews with the fictitious character Erran Morad in “Who Is America?”, Cohen got former Congressman Joe Walsh, as well as Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, California Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, and South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson, all to endorse a fake program titled “kinder-guardians,” which called for arming school children ages 3 to 16. He stated that arming teachers does not go far enough to curtail gun violence.

Sacha Baron Cohen is a comedian, an entertainer, and a public intellectual. At face value, he is a crass comedian with nothing more than a few off-color interviews under his belt, however, it is hard to debate the impact he has had on the film medium. He has been a pioneer in mockumentaries since Ali G, a masterful character actor and interviewer, and a leading expert in social critique and criticism. To quote Steven Mack: “...our notions of the public intellectual need to focus less on who or what a public intellectual is—and by extension, the qualifications for getting and keeping the title. Instead, we need to be more concerned with the work public intellectuals must do, irrespective of who happens to be doing it.”