After watching the first season of Ali G in Da USAiii all I can say, in the words of Ali G himself, is "booyakasha."
After a successful run on European airwaves, Sacha Baron Cohen's alter ego Ali G, along with Borat and Bruno, found a new home here in America on HBO.
Each episode is divided into three sections corresponding to the three characters.
Ali G is a British "gangsta" from a middle-class suburb of London whose grammatically flawed sentences are riddled with British slang -- calling people "geezers" or "cheeky" and telling them to "big up themselves."
Cohen's persona conducts interviews to explore the different topics of his shows, which include such arbitrary concepts as law, science, religion and art, among others.
The interviews are usually conducted with high-profile people. For instance, Ali G interviews Donald Trump about the process of inventing in one episode of Ali G's show.
The interview starts off with Ali G asking Trump what the most popular thing in the world is, and after Trump replies "music," Ali G quickly corrects him and says, "ice cream." He subsequently proceeds to propose an invention he has thought up -- the ice cream glove -- which is used to protect one's hand from dripping ice cream cones.
Needless to say, the awkward, broken interview cannot be reconstructed here in print, but it ends up with Trump simply walking out.
That is how Ali G gets his information -- by asking really stupid questions which usually bemuse his sometimes irritated guests and provide much hilarity.
Borat, the second of Cohen's characters, films his guide to America for a state-run TV station in his home country, Kazakhstan.
Cohen puts Borat in even more awkward situations which arise when the Americans involved don't know how to handle the Kazakhstani.
In one section, he explains to a woman on film that in his country, "a horse is like a man" for well over five minutes only by saying that if a horse is tall, it is like a man is tall.
He then repeats himself, substituting short/dead/sad/happy/hungry/etc. in the place of tall for what seems like an eternity.
I marvel at how Borat kept a straight face during the lengthy interview, because Lord knows I didn't.
Thirdly comes Bruno, a young, dishy Austrian fashion TV host on his show where he profiles models, designers and fashion fanatics.
This is the most caustic of the three sections, as Bruno points out the mutually exclusive explanations people at the fashion shows come up with.
In one section, he asks a show's designer why she picked the theme of cardboard, to which she replied that there was no theme of cardboard. Bruno then interviews people at the show who give in-depth explanations on why the show did feature cardboard, pointing out they have no idea what they are talking about.
In another interview, Bruno asks a designer why he made the show so heavy feeling, saying it just weighed him down. The man gave a lengthy response, only to later give an equally long one answering another of Bruno's questions on why the show was so light, and it made him feel like he was floating.
All in all, the show does critique American culture in some ways. For example, how we appear very inviting to foreign visitors, but then very intolerant and uncomfortable after the initial smiling and handshaking is over. Bruno also exposes the fakeness of the fashion world, and Ali G ... I'm not really sure what he critiques, but it sure as hell is funny.
Commenting on American culture really doesn't seem to be the main focus of the show, though. Ali G just puts people in hilarious situations, and it is funny to see their reactions.
At times, I feel guilty watching the show, as if it's some sort of Tom Green re-incarnation, but nevertheless, I can't help laughing and am now looking forward to downloading the second season.
