Wednesday, May 16, 2012

The Dictator: Not Racist Enough



Debbie Schlussel, a conservative movie critic, is disappointed in Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest The Dictator because the movie doesn’t insult Islam or Muslims. Excerpt from Schlussel review below:
Cohen’s The Dictator in theaters today–carefully avoids insulting Islam or Muslims.  In fact, neither word is ever mentioned in the 83-minute movie, even though the movie is clearly about a North African dictator who is–what else?–an Arab Muslim.  Arabs aren’t mentioned, either.  On the other hand, Jews and Blacks are repeatedly attacked.  Most disgusting:  Cohen uses the veneer of his “dictator” character to mock the massacre of Israeli athletes by Islamic terrorists at the Munich Olympics, in a very vivid video game he plays, trying to kill them, as the athletes famously try to keep the door to their dormitory closed.  This is funny?  Also, not funny:  the dictator–obviously modeled on late Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi–puts his hand up a woman’s vagina and drops his cellphone in it.  Haha, funny.