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Irony eats sincerity
Jul. 24th, 2009 11:07 amSo, I went to go see Bruno the other day. I hadn't seen Borat, so I wasn't truly prepared. There were a dozen or so people in the theater with us, and 20 minutes in, as I was laughing my ass off, I saw someone get up and leave, and not come back.
I think whatmakes him so unique, is that most audiences are expecting a fool. Sacha Baron Cohen plays a grotesque. And it hit me that his comedy only works when his victims are being more sincere than he is.
... which is true, I guess, of all irony. Without sincerity, irony has no meaning. And when all the sincerity is eaten, irony will starve to death, but no one will notice, we'll be in a Wittgenstein hell, where all meaning is replaced by cold humor.
I think whatmakes him so unique, is that most audiences are expecting a fool. Sacha Baron Cohen plays a grotesque. And it hit me that his comedy only works when his victims are being more sincere than he is.
... which is true, I guess, of all irony. Without sincerity, irony has no meaning. And when all the sincerity is eaten, irony will starve to death, but no one will notice, we'll be in a Wittgenstein hell, where all meaning is replaced by cold humor.
