I am a news junkie. I love scouring the Internet for stories I find interesting and out-of-the-ordinary. Often these stories are rather ridiculous in nature and make me think about whatever the topic is in a broader scope.
I think most people would agree that a sense of humor is needed to make it through life. Who doesn’t love to laugh? Apparently, some people don’t.
Last weekend I saw the release of the new Sacha Baron Cohen movie “Bruno.” It’s the latest in a series of films based on characters the comedian has created. In 2006, he played “Borat,” an anti-Semitic Kazakh journalist, in what was probably one of the funniest movies of that year.
This time he plays a flamboyantly gay Austrian television host who makes it his goal to become famous in America.
I have seen the movie twice and I find it to be hysterical. One of his unwitting interview subjects in the film didn’t find it too comical, though. In one part of the movie, Cohen interviews Ayman Abu Aita, one of the leaders of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades; a group of Palestinian extremists from the West Bank commonly known as a terrorist organization.
Cohen, as Bruno, asks Aita some off-the-wall questions and basically offends his delicate terrorist sensibilities. Now Aita is threatening to sue and is claiming that the film “made me big damages.”
So let me get this straight; Aita, who is devoid of any sense of humor whatsoever, is threatening to sue Cohen. Aita knowingly accepted the interview and didn’t question who this “Bruno” character really was. Is this guy serious? Aita claims he was duped, and told World Net Daily that “[Baron Cohen] said this was a film going to help the Palestinian cause. When I heard (four days ago) what this film was about I really didn’t believe it.”
Aita must be unaware that the Internet exists and has been one of the major sources of buzz about Cohen’s film for months now. One simple search engine query of “Sacha Baron Cohen” or “Bruno” would instantly return hundreds of hits and clue in the unknowing masses, which Aita is among.
Aita, who served with the Brigade from 2000 to 2003, claims he is no longer a terrorist and that the movie “mislabeled” him. I’m sorry, but once you are a member of a group that, according to World Net Daily, “is responsible for scores of suicide bombings, shootings and deadly rocket attacks against Israeli civilian population centers,” the “terrorist” moniker should stick for life.
Just because you don’t happen to roll with the Martyrs Brigade currently doesn’t mean you are no longer a terrorist. Did I mention Aita served two years in an Israeli prison for being involved in shootings against Israeli soldiers?
Aita claims that Cohen is a “big liar,” which begs the obvious question: is Aita just too stupid to do a little research before being interviewed by a clearly flamboyant and seemingly fake reporter? It seems so.
Who is really the “big liar” here — a comedic genius who has created several hilarious characters lampooning society and exposing the public’s ignorance, or the terrorist leader who claims he is no longer a terrorist?
For a known terrorist to threaten a legal suit because he was duped due to his own ignorance or stupidity is appalling. Forget about the obviously ridiculous wardrobe Cohen had on during the interview and just focus on the content: Bruno claimed that he wanted to be kidnapped by the “best guys in the business” for a little international notoriety and fame.
If that doesn’t set off any warning bells that perhaps the interview is a joke, then you, Mr. Aita, aren’t entitled to sue after suffering such “damage” at the hands of a, gasp, Jewish comedian. It seems that humor just doesn’t translate in some cultures.
Good luck with that lawsuit, Ayman
Gerry Wachovsky is a graduate student and a columnist for the Summer Forty-Niner.
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