Borat backlash: Turkish Americans & Kazakh Cultural Media blows into Hollywood

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent

Has the cultural-appropriation boom finally been dropped on the BORAT franchise?  If you are Sacha Baron Cohen right now, you might be wondering. Remarkably, the Association of Turkish Americans of Southern California and the Kazakh Cultural Media Association have teamed up for a public pillorying of the most recent release, BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM.

In fact, these organizations want it banned as an award season option for Oscar voters in The Academy, as well as voting members everywhere, from Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Golden Globes to The Satellite Awards. Add BAFTA, but especially? Everyone in the DGA, impacting other Hollywood guilds.

For moral outrage, feel free to browse articles like “21 Outrageously Offensive Quotes By Borat That We’re All Guilty Of Laughing At,” and this newest trailer, of course, first.

Association of Turkish Americans of Southern California alongside multiple organizations worldwide joins Kazakhs in calling for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Directors Guild of America and British Academy of Film and Television Arts to remove this film from their respective awards consideration as the film promotes bigotry, whitewashing, racism and very importantly it also incites harassment and bullying of the Kazakh communities worldwide. 

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/14/20) – Association of Turkish Americans of Southern California joins multiple organizations from all over the world in calling on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Directors Guild of America and British Academy of Film and Television Arts to publicly bar “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” from their respective competitions this year. 

 “Since 2006, Kazakh people in America seeing increasing amount of discrimination, bullying, humiliation and dehumanizing due to movie Borat”, – said Nilay Senel-Nylund, president of ATASC. She continues: “Minorities enrich the society of each and every corner of America and no one should be afraid of self identity as a member of a minority. Your organizations should be supporting and cultivating minorities instead of empowering individuals such as Mr. Cohen to ridicule others because of their ethnic backgrounds. Our country is passing through very difficult times since Black Lives Matter movement and your decision will be exemplary to others and all minority groups with color, religion and ethnicity for the long run”.

Jointly, we are calling on the film award organizations worldwide to publicly condemn whitewashing and cultural appropriation, stand against racism and racial hatred and remove Mr. Cohen, his cast, crew and film “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” from their respective competitions this year. 

Association of Turkish Americans of Southern California (ATASC ) ATASC-SD – Association of Turkish Americans, Southern California – San Diego (atasc-sd.org)  is a charitable organization , established in 1953 with the mission to foster a strong Turkish- American Community with a common voice in promoting the Turkish culture and heritage through cultural, educational, charitable, and social activities. ATASC represents over 50K Turkish Americans with seven chapters in Southern California.

View Letters from ATASC,  Kazakh Women’s Rights Organization,  the Kazakhstan Organizations in Canada / UK / Turkey / Mongolia,  Kazakh Creative Entrepreneurs, Hungarian Turan Foundation,  Georgian Organizations ,  Kazakh-American Assn, Hollywood Film Academy and CAIR National to  The Academy, HFPA, DGA and BAFTA, and  Letter from Kazakh-American Assn and Hollywood Film Academy to Amazon

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