Ali G creator 'hard to criticise'

Sacha Baron Cohen’s work has become the subject of academic research, which concluded that his characters were ‘difficult to criticse’.

Dr Simon Weaver, from Brunel University London, has organised a symposium into the creator of Ali G, Borat and Bruno to be held next year.

He says ‘ethnicity, race or nationalism is a key feature in each of his character’ – but concludes that ‘it is very different to the older forms of comedy that use stereotypes in more straightforward ways.’

‘Sacha Baron Cohen is difficult to criticise,’ Weaver said: ‘His is a very complex, unstable, post-modern, ambiguous form of comedy. Different audience groups receive the comedy in different ways. It’s the relationship between stereotype and offence that I’m interested in examining.’

Weaver has conducted research into whether 18-29-year-olds find Baron Cohen funny – with the findings due to be unveiled at the event in Uxbridge, Middlesex, in March. Preliminary results suggest people react to Baron Cohen’s characters depending on their own religious and ethnic background, and their gender.

Weaver suggests that Baron Cohen may be more successful in his satirical aims than writer Johnny Speight was with Till Dead Us Do Part in the Sixties. ‘Most people took Alf Garnett literally,’ he said. ‘In that respect, it didn’t quite work.’

The papers to be presented at the Sacha Baron Cohen symposium, organised by the Centre for Comedy Studies, are: No Laughing Matter? Race, Identity And The Humour Of Sacha Baron Cohen from Dr Richard Howells of King’s College London; Sacha Baron-Cohen: Gonzo Trickster And The Art Of Comic Insurrection, by Dr Helena Bassil-Morozow from University of Essex; and Even Though It’s Sexist And Racist In Some Parts, It’s Still Funny: An Audience Reception Study Of The Comedy Of Sacha Baron Cohen by Dr Weaver.

The Centre for Comedy Studies is also hosting a symposium on Italian comedy audiences on January 19; and on comedy, health and disability on March 4, looking at representations of disability in TV programmes such as Little Britain, The Last Leg and Trollied.

Published: 5 Jan 2015