Scott Miller
Perspectives Assistant
Two anonymous South Carolina college students filed a lawsuit against 20th Century Fox and three other production companies responsible for the hit movie, “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” on Thursday, Nov. 9, in South Carolina.
They alleged that they were duped into appearing in the film after producers loosened them up with alcohol and subsequently portrayed them in an inaccurate manner.
This is utterly ridiculous. The whole issue comes down to personal responsibility and common sense, not litigation. If an adult chooses to drink before signing a contract, that is his or her prerogative, not the fault of the producers.
The scene in question involves three fraternity boys who get drunk with Sacha Baron Cohen’s character, Borat, and make several misogynistic and racist comments. They also break the news to Borat that Pamela Anderson is not a virgin, and proceed to show him the copy of her infamous tape with then-husband Tommy Lee.
The lawsuit also alleges that because of the film’s release, the plaintiffs suffered damage to their reputations, and loss of goodwill and standing in the community.
Of course it did — it showed them making fools out of themselves. So now instead of accepting responsibility for their moronic actions, they are electing to blame the producers, which makes them look even worse.
Part of the complaint against the producers is that they told the students that the documentary would only be shown in Europe, not in the United States. But that is probably what they told everyone who appeared in the film. The point of the film was not to have real people interact with someone they knew was an actor — it was supposed to show people’s true feelings and actions. That is exactly what it did.
This complaint, even aside from its faulty nature, should not be considered a mitigating factor for their behavior. It is no better that these guys thought that their remarks would only be heard outside the United States. These kinds of actions contribute to the image of the United States as a still socially backwards country, as already exposed by Cohen. This incident is indicative of what Cohen is trying to convey with his movie — Americans do not care how they appear in the eyes of the rest of the world.
The bottom line is that these guys made a mistake by acting the way that they did. However, it is no one’s fault but their own. By filing this suit, they are not doing themselves justice — they are just worsening their images by trying to shirk blame on to someone else for what is very clearly their actions. No one else can be held responsible for what they said or did, even if they were drunk. Consenting adults cannot blame others for drinking and then making outlandish statements. What they did was their choice.
The producers are not to blame by enabling the students to get drunk and letting them make all these comments. There is such a thing as free will — people can do what they want. Just because the opportunity to get drunk and spout off some unsavory remarks is present does not mean that one has to take it.
All of the complaints that are in the lawsuit are ultimately ways for these students to dodge their responsibility and blame others for their actions. The whole lawsuit is designed to serve as mitigating circumstances for the students’ behavior and actions. However, it does not accomplish its goal — it only illustrates their irresponsibility.
This lawsuit is baseless. It is asinine to blame the producers for what the plaintiffs did. Besides, the students trying to pass the buck makes them look even worse than before since they can’t even accept the repercussions for what they did.
This case should not even go to trial, it should just be thrown out.
11-16-2006
