It was a tip of the hat to Sasha's famous cousin, autism expert Simon Baron Cohen.
http://www.holah.co.uk/images/SimonBaron-Cohen.jpg
If you think Sasha is all that much different from Simon, think again. A lot of what he does recalls psychological experiments about mindless conformism.
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it would not shock me at all if his counsion had gave sasha help on how to mkae his improve and characters really provoke people he is just way to good at doing it.
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Yes, I got it straight away. I laughed really loud, and when I saw I was the only one in the cinema laughing, I stood up and really howled with laughter, then shouted "What's the matter with you fools?? Don't you GET it?? Oh, go and watch Transformers, all of you!"
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No seriously. See my other post, below.
Yeah, I got it too, I thought it was one of the best jokes too.
shareWell, would you please explain it, because I want to laugh too. I guess I missed something obviously.
shareIn Funkyzeit he announces that autism is "in" (i.e. fashionable or funky, as is actually the case due in no small part to his cousin Simon's research and popularizing of the subject). Then Bruno proceeds to dramatize his cousin's research in the rest of the movie by acting autistic, that is, by not picking up on the strong social and emotional cues others are giving him.
It's not LOL funny, more like a wink in the direction of the psychology-minded filmgoer.
I really think you are making something out of nothing.
share>>I really think you are making something out of nothing.
If anything, I think I was making too little out of something in my OP. The main point is that Bruno's "autism" mirrors the autism of most of his subjects. So when Bruno announces that autism is "in", he is slyly introducing a running theme. (Of course I don't mean that anyone in this film has, or is implied to have, a real clinical case of autism.)
Think back on all the people who we think SHOULD have "gotten a clue" from Bruno's behavior and the context of the situation. The terrorist claims he had no idea that there was something "off" about Bruno. The gay converters, the charity consultant airheads, the stage moms, the wrestling fans, Paula Abdul and even Ron Paul are clueless to the irony of their situations. (Ron Paul is repeatedly confused with RuPaul and is subjected to Bruno's camp, yet isn't remotely alert to the humor potential.)
Bruno shows us as too fake, too conformist, too mindless, too easily programmed, when in nearly every single situation SBC cooks up, a less "autistic" more emotionally textured response would have given the subject a clue and SBC very little to laugh about.
And if we don't get what SBC is up to, isn't the last joke on us?
I wondered if he's acting autistic or if in real life he's got Asperger syndrome (or some kind of high functioning autism). Wouldn't surprise me much.
[ Dave, my mind is going. I can feel it. ]
>>I wondered if he's acting autistic or if in real life he's got Asperger syndrome (or some kind of high functioning autism). Wouldn't surprise me much.
If he had either of those, wouldn't it be very hard for him to pull this off the way he does? It looked to ME as if he picks up on social cues extremely well.
If he had either of those, wouldn't it be very hard for him to pull this off the way he does? It looked to ME as if he picks up on social cues extremely well.
>>High functioning autism doesn't mean you're unable to pick up on social cues, you just need to learn about them first so one can recognize them
That's true to a degree, but it's still quite a challenge and I have no reason to believe that SBC has any traits of Asperger's or high functioning autism. All we know for sure is that his famous cousin influenced his interest in the subject.
>>if you're going to pull that off you need to have very little inhibitions concerning social reality
the hallmark of a true cultural creative (and natural prankster)
>> In real life he seems to be a shy and quiet guy.
Those are always the ones to watch out for!
I strongly disagree with you here. The mention of austim was not to set up a running joke throughout the movie. The joke was on the dumb model that said "because its funny" when Bruno asked her why austim is in. She's an idiot and he exposed that. Autism itself is not funny. Its people's ignorance and prejudice of autism that is funny in both a humorous and sad way.
shareFiyreFly18 - I completely agree with you. That scene was not meant to set up autism as being a major theme of the movie. His goal concerning the scenes with the models were to show how superficial and dumb the models were, which SBC did perfectly with that model who said autism was "funny". I'm not sure what she thinks autism is, but she certainly had no clue and came off as a complete fool.
share>>His goal concerning the scenes with the models were to show how superficial and dumb the models were,
You didn't hear "autism" (metaphorical, not clinical) in the dialogues with the gay converters? Or see it in the hilariously estranged poses of the hunters? Seriously?
SBC is too smart to make a film that is just about one dumb thing after another.
Think harder.
No, I didn't hear "autism" during those scenes. Do you hear "autism" during all comedy entertainment or just this movie?
In an earlier post you said "Then Bruno proceeds to dramatize his cousin's research in the rest of the movie by acting autistic, that is, by not picking up on the strong social and emotional cues others are giving him."
This is a common formula used in most comedy entertainment be it television or film. This behavior of not picking up on the strong social and emotional cues others are giving a character is nothing new. Characters that behave this way are quite common in comedy entertainment.
Thanks to all who commented on this thread. I learned a lot from your dialogue about autism and Bruno. I just saw this (in)famous film on HBO, and was compelled to keep watching, transfixed by Sasha's antics with people who haven't got a clue. Being introverted by nature, i winced and cringed in nearly every scene, relieved i wasn't in a public theater. Even by myself, i was taken aback by the shock of unconventional actions and head-on confrontation Bruno makes with unsuspecting people; at the same time, i was fascinated and entertained.
All of you, esp. Funkyzeit, made explicit several details about autism that are not written in texts or explained in psychology courses. At least not in the classes i attended at UCLA when i got my Bachelors with major in psychology. ;)
Thanks again for the interesting discussion of Bruno and the keen insight into Sasha Baron Cohen.
katie keene
Note: The quoted comment by the ”Psychologist“ that “the name Cohen is Jewish!” and therefore, he ”may have Jewish relatives in his background many years ago“ and ironically, SBC is a racist when he makes fun of his own Jewish blood is priceless. Forget autism, that fellow misses more than social indicators; how does he function? ;)
>>All of you, esp. Funkyzeit, made explicit several details about autism that are not written in texts or explained in psychology courses
Is that a good or a bad thing? ...
>>Forget autism, that fellow misses more than social indicators; how does he function? ;)
He doesn't. That's why he spends so much time on movie message boards.
Re: Funkyzeit's above post:>>All of you, esp. Funkyzeit, made explicit several details about autism that are not written in texts or explained in psychology courses...<-katie keene]
Is that a good or a bad thing? ... []
It's a GOOD thing, Funkyz! The psychology professor who taught the course on Autism (when i attended UCLA) was the ultimate authority at the time, having years of experience with autistic children, i.e, he wrote ”the book“ on Austism; but he didn't have the keen insight that you and others provide here on the disorder.
katie keene
Sasha Baren Cohen is actually Jewish.
He is not racist, he is making fun of peoples general apathy towards racism, and for a few people he interviews their actual racism.
Like when he interviewed the American hunter who said that they should hunt black people in Africa and that Hitler was right to exterminate the Jews.
Max
It's nothing compared to the humor of some of the autistic (or just plain dumb) comments on this board like this one, from the ironically-named "Psychologist":
"Sacha Baron Cohen made fun of jews in Borat and Bruno but the irony is that Cohen is actually a Jewish name so somewhere way back in his family history there were Jews. Don't know whether he actually realises this or not but he is actually be racist to himself. "
I agree with you. I have a child with Autism, so I know of Simon Baron-Cohen. I havn't taken offence with anything Cohen's characters have said, because I get what he is doing and he does it brilliantly. :)
share>>I know of Simon Baron-Cohen
He's a good guy. I'll bet his cousin is making it awfully hard for him to get any serious work done these days.
>>I havn't taken offence with anything Cohen's characters have said, because I get what he is doing and he does it brilliantly. :)
My only concern is allegations that the stage mom scene MAY have been staged -- a scene that don't really have any probative value if it was staged.
It still made a true point, even if it was scripted.
MorganReidSexGod and A_Christmas_Screenname no more. Shed a tear, dear.
In a mockumentary, there's a difference between a scene which merely points us to a truth and one that has genuine probative value. For the latter to be the case, it's imperative that the parents NOT be coached.
I'm not saying they WERE. It's merely an allegation that was raised on this board.
I agree, and it seems real to me. However if its not real, I think thats a testament to the quality of the acting and writing.
shareThat was one hella delicious joke!
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SEUL CONTRE TOUS
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Which almost no one seems to have picked up on.
I guess that makes it doubly funny.
"almost no one" - hehehe, like the dou**e society the film makes fun of!!
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SEUL CONTRE TOUS
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I'm going to put that on my reading list, thanks.
Of course another running theme is narcissism and hypocrisy in Hollywood, never more in evidence than now, what with some of the apparently suicidal lemmings there rushing to sign petitions to free Polanski and place him above the law.
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As a person who was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome when I was 13 and a gay woman (even though Bruno is aimed at the stereotypes of gay men) and who has read some of the stuff that Simon Baron Cohen has written. I have to say that even though Bruno is the first work of Sasha Baron Cohen's I have seen, he is brilliant.
I know what he is trying to do, and I personally think he does it really well. I was a little apprehensive about seeing Bruno at first, purely because half the time I cannot handle comedies in which the main character get put in otherwise painful situations. However, Bruno was not as painful as I was expecting. And I do find it hilarious that a lot of people were up in arms over "the penis scene".
About what was mentioned above about someone on the Autism spectrum being able to learn social cues as they get older. I was diagnosed at 13 and I'm 25 now. One thing that I would have to say that really helped in that area was not only my sisters and thier friends letting me sit with them and just watch conversation and how people interact but the use of internet chat as well. I personally believe that those two things combined has helped greatly. That and I may be better off then some in my position. However, thats not to say that it wasn't difficult. I just don't think it is as difficult as some make it out to be.
@Funkyzeit
I'm laughing at that comment about SBC not being a Jew.
Sacha is indeed Jewish and his fiancee Isla is converting to Judaism.
Sacha attended Ya Shiva College when he was a teenager and was one year ahead of British comedian Matt Lucas (of Little Britain fame). When he finished school he spent a few years in a Kabutz in Israel.
When he did Borat much of his Kazy language was in fact Hebrew.
Good post, joisepeterson.
You might be thinking of these:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_study