Borat, Steppe, and Russia - An Identity Crisis Tale Narrated By The Kazakh Youth

If every time I were to receive a cent from someone - quite outwardly, and far more often than not, wrongly - guessing my nationality, I could have easily afforded my Bocconi education. The short dialogue after an innocent “Where are you from” usually follows a very similar, well-rehearsed script. Hint: you’ve probably heard of my country, but not in the way any of us - Kazakh people - would have liked. If, however, you’ve reached this part of the article, and are still oblivious to what on earth is “Borat”, congratulations! You have my respect, and also an honest recommendation to give it a watch. For the sake of brief context, “Borat” - a 2006 mockumentary starring Sacha Baren Cohen– presents Kazakhstan, where I’m from, to the world as a ‘country of rapists’ and a home to Borat’s sister, “4th best Prostitute in all of Kazakhstan”. Needless to say, it’s not on most Kazakh people’s watchlists. Nevertheless, it also hit 262.2 million in the box office, won numerous awards, and became a cultural phenomenon, gaining a reputation going far beyond what Kazakhstan could likely have achieved on its own by this point. Despite the issue being rather local, the very existence of the Borat situation resurrects a debate of whether the stereotypical misrepresentation of different national, ethnic, and cultural groups in cinema should be welcomed with a good dose of humor, or on the contrary, an offense and a lawsuit. In the case of “Borat” and Kazakhstan, there were both.

 The examples of different social groups being portrayed in the film through a lens of stereotypes are countless. Starting with a typical “Russian man”, with his love for vodka and riding bears, going all the way to overly mannered French people and loud, passionate Italians. Certain prejudices are unavoidable when coming to how different nations are shown to us in movies, TV-shows and other popular forms of media. Most of the stereotypes are to a certain extent based on truths. Italians are, indeed quite loud and passionate, but in all the good ways. French people do not lack manners, and while it’s almost universally agreed, that extreme biases and chauvinism have no place to be in modern society– most learned not to take these things to heart–treating stereotypes with nothing more than an ‘eye-roll’ and well-intended humour. When Borat first came out in 2006, however, the reception in Kazakhstan was quite different. The movie got banned, and with a sequel premiering this year, a nation-wide “CancelBorat” campaign was started, (although, it got quickly replaced by a more positive outlook and a brand new ‘Very Nice!’ touristic campaign.) Although the film can be categorized as a ‘comedy’, most people in Kazakhstan were outraged, rather than laughing. The release of a sequel has separated the Gen-Z (and not only) Kazakh population into two warring camps. Can’t Kazakh people take a joke? The situation is a bit more complicated than that.

“Problems arise, when the general public misses the satiric point, taking the movie at its face value, mistaking it for an accurate portrayal of our country, as it often is the case with stereotypical portrayals of social groups in movies - which in turn results in waves of mediocre, and often offensive jokes.”

As a Kazakh person living abroad, I often meet people whose knowledge of Kazakhstan end on ‘sister jokes’, Kazakhs living in a Steppe, and being somehow related to Russia. Unsurprisingly, I have my eye-roll practiced to a point of perfection, and my Borat speech prepped and rehearsed. In short, the movie has nothing to do with our country, culture, or traditions; it was not filmed in Kazakhstan, it features no Kazakh people, and it was never intended to be so. Problems arise, when the general public misses the satiric point, taking the movie at its face value, mistaking it for an accurate portrayal of our country, as it often is the case with stereotypical portrayals of social groups in movies - which in turn results in waves of mediocre, and often offensive jokes. Quoting Sacha Baron Cohen himself, the movie was not intended to represent Kazakhstan in a particular way, but rather to expose people who believe that Kazakhstan, as it was shown by Borat in the movie, could exist. If anything, the franchise can be called more anti-American and antisemitic, than anti-Kazakh, and yet it’s still the first thing that comes to mind of most internationals when they hear where you’re from. In a way, despite most of the millennials accepting it for what it is - a satire, which has nothing to do with our actual country - it can’t help but sting. 

 Post-soviet mentality, conservative traditions, Western ideals - what does an average Kazakh person actually look like?

“Much like the movie itself, although in all the different ways, Kazakhstan is a cultural phenomenon. In the unique mix of cultures and traditions, trends, and mentalities you could never possibly see going together, Kazakh people are slowly, but steadily learning to narrate their own tales of national identity; and it does in fact look, very nice.”

Brought into a highly Westernized world by our post-soviet parents, in a country that has conservative, religious traditions at its core, and as a cherry on the top, being granted with an Asian appearance, Kazakh millennials can often struggle to self-identify with one particular group. That’s why, trying to “explain” Kazakhstan to your international friends, who have only heard of us through Borat, can often just yield more confusion. Not only for them but sometimes, for ourselves. After all, with only 30 years of independence, it can be difficult to feel strongly connected to your culture and traditions, especially if they were purposefully suppressed, crimped, and prosecuted over the course of the last centuries. To provide you with a snapshot, despite Kazakhs having ethnically little to nothing to do with Russia, it’s the language that by official records, is spoken by more people in Kazakhstan than the Kazakh language itself. Some of our parents might know more about biographies of Stalin and Lenin, and be more familiar with works of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy (Russian writers, you should give them a read), than with any of our own important political figures or authors. The sense of patriotism, as a result, is often hindered by an utter lack of national identity. Borat, being the most well-known piece of popular media about Kazakhstan, and yet having nothing to do with Kazakhstan itself, certainly doesn’t help. However, and this is a personal opinion, it also doesn’t do more harm. 

 So what is actual Kazakhstan like?

 Any of you familiar with Borat might ironically note that it must be “Very nice!”. But as someone, who has lived there for a good 19 years, I can unironically confirm. Much like the movie itself, although in all the different ways, Kazakhstan is a cultural phenomenon. In the unique mix of cultures and traditions, trends, and mentalities you could never possibly see going together, Kazakh people are slowly, but steadily learning to narrate their own tales of national identity; and it does in fact look, very nice.