Ali G
Ali G is a satirical alias invented and played by the comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.
History
Ali G first appeared on Channel 4's Eleven O'Clock show as the "voice of da youth". He interviewed various public figures in the United Kingdom, who, too scared to appear "uncool", were completely fooled by his idiosyncratic interview technique, based mostly on the simple stratagem of pretending to be stupid.
One particularly memorable interview was with a fashion designer. He suggested that the Wonderbra should be banned as it misleads men into thinking that a woman's breasts are larger than they are; he retold a story of having been disappointed when a girl he'd "pulled" proved to have been wearing a Wonderbra. He also asked his interviewee if he was pleased Gianni Versace was killed, because it meant less competition, and he suggested that he'd heard a rumour that Calvin Klein did it. (This was a clear satire on the feuding which followed the deaths of the rappers Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G.)
Other examples of his style of interviewing include coaxing a bishop into saying that he believed God created the Universe, and then asking "And since then, he's just chilled?". He also suggested that film censorship should be done by a younger person who understands the crude terms being used after asking James Ferman whether a succession of his made-up vulgarities would make a film an 18. One public figure who was not 'taken in' during a TV interview was the veteran socialist politician Tony Benn, who gave G short shrift and berated him for his apparent ignorance.
Ali G has subsequently become a media phenomenon in the United Kingdom, starring in his own TV show. He was featured in Madonna's music video for her song "Music" as the limousine driver, and subsequently recorded his own record with the rap/reggae performer Shaggy. In 2002, he was the central character in the feature film Ali G Indahouse, in which he became elected to the United Kingdom's Parliament and had to foil a plot to bulldoze Staines. He is now the main character of HBO's Da Ali G Show, which also features two other characters: Borat Sagdiyev, a foreign correspondent from Kazakhstan; and Bruno, a fashion reporter for Austria's fictional Gay TV.
Controversy
Sacha Baron Cohen is not black himself, but because he portrays a character who purports to be black, and who is stupid, ignorant and misogynistic, he has been accused by some of racism and of ridiculing black street culture. The West End premiere of Ali G Indahouse was met with anti-racist demonstrators protesting outside. However, others have suggested that the implication that black street culture is not a legitimate subject for parody is itself racist. His catchphrases (see below) suggest that Baron Cohen's character is an uneducated thug, and that the Tommy Hilfiger and Nike shoes add to the effect that he is a "consumer whore."
Harry Thompson, a former producer of the Eleven O'Clock show, has said the character was given the name Ali G so he would have "a whiff of Islam about him," but Ali G's full name has since been revealed to be Alastair Leslie Graham.
Ali G in Academia
The character is very interesting from a sociological perspective, and in recent years has become central to academic discussion in British and American high schools and universities concerning topics related to a black urban "subculture" and social class-based differences. There is some question about whether one be expected to believe that the alias of Ali G is black, or is, in fact, a parody of suburban white people who attempt to gain credibility by adopting the paraphernalia and language of black urban culture.
Ali G's popular catchphrase "Is it 'cos I is black?" was used as the title of an Oxford University thesis [1] into black underachievement, with research published by BBC News and The Guardian.
Ali G can also be seen as a commentary on the adoption of American black street culture by both non-Americans and non-blacks. Because Baron Cohen is a middle-class, Cambridge University-educated Jewish actor portraying a suburban, presumably middle-class Briton of undetermined extraction who is, in turn, styling himself on American street life, the show maintains a certain Victor/Victoria quality. To many critics, Ali G is not satirising black urban culture, but those non-blacks and non-urbanites who appropriate it.
Fictional background
He is a gang member of the "West Staines Massiv", and lives in a bungalow at 36 Cherry Blossom Close, in the heart of the "Staines Ghetto". He was educated at what he calls "da Matthew Arnold Skool". Staines is a middle-class town to the west of London that has been the butt of jokes for many years, and it is demographically very distant from the American inner city ghetto that Ali G makes it out to be; still, he believes himself to exemplify gangsta culture.
Famous People Interviewed by Ali G
- Political commentator Pat Buchanan
- Former US Surgeon General C. Everett Koop
- Andy Rooney of the CBS program 60 Minutes
- Former FBI Director Thomas J. Pickard
- Multi-Millionaire Donald Trump who shrugged him off after a few minutes because of Cohen's apperent stupidity.
Ali G Quotes
- "you may be honky, but you can still be hung like a donkey"
- "Boyakasha!"
- "Respek"
- "Innit?"
- "Is it cos I is black?"
- "Selekta!"
- "Wesside"
- "Me Julie"
- "I is ere with non other than me main man"
- "Aaight!"
- "Big up yo'self!"
- "Hearmenow!"
- "Speak to the 'and cause tha face it ain't listenin'"
- "Ain't dat a bit racialist."
- "Diggity Check yo self befo' ya wreck yo self"
- "Restekpa"
- "Fo Real"
- "Boka"
- "But whaf's dat got ta do wif da youf in Asia?" (Euthenasia)
- "That's an awfully sexist way to be talkin' about dem bitches!"
- "Does Class A absolutely guarantee that they is better quality?"
- "Me can get you a bag o skunk dis big"
- "Is you on crack?"
- "Well I put it to YOU!!, dat you sucked off an Orse"
- "Increase da peace!"
- "Can we see the muff please!!!"
- "Safe"
- "Shake shake shake yo'self like a polaroid picture!"
- "Chekit!"