Talk:Ali G
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[edit] Is Ali G satire?
Is Ali G satire? I'd say he's a spoof. -- Tarquin 08:42 Jul 30, 2002 (PDT)
- Isn't spoof a form of satire? -- Oliver Pereira 17:15 Nov 10, 2002 (UTC)
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- My dictionary says " a mildy satirical parody or lampoon". let's say we're both right :-) -- Tarquin
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- Sounds good to me. :) -- Oliver Pereira
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- Respek. -- GURoadrunner
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[edit] Controversy
On what evidence are you basing your assertion that Ali G is supposed to be of Pakistani extraction? I've never seen such evidence. The name "Ali" is not proof enough. I'm not sure what color Ali G is supposed to be, but I doubt very much Cohen has ever said explicitly that he is meant to be Pakistani. Moncrief 00:22, Nov 17, 2004 (UTC)
- Most reports I've seen say Cohen is Jew pretending to be a white guy pretending to be black. I've always thought he was mocking middle class white boys, not Asians. The article should be changed, perhaps it could be mentioned that some feel he is mocking asian homeboys instead.--ZayZayEM 05:10, 17 Nov 2004 (UTC)
I alwats though the name "Ali" was the bit that made him Asian. And nothern English cities are chock full of Asians who look and act just like Ali. But I recall now that his full name is Alistair Leslie Graham -- a WASP name if ever there was one. So I stand corrected, and thank you for checking me. MichiganDan 03:50, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)
How does Ali make him seem Asian? As he says, "Is it cuz I is black?" In the US, hip-hop culture is influenced by Islam, or rather by the Nation of Islam and its offshoots. The name Ali is part of the parody of the white English guy who thinks he is/wants to be an urban black American.
Re: today's edit. I want to say that I thoroughly disagree that Ali G is meant to be Asian in any way. I think the joke works best because his full name is actually Alistair and he is in fact a white guy from Staines. I think any "reading" that imputes that Ali G is in fact meant to be Asian is a projection on the part of the person doing that assuming. Moncrief 09:41, Jan 7, 2005 (UTC)
- AFAIK it has been admitted that the choice of the name Ali was deliberate, and intended to make people wonder if he might be a Muslim. The point of this was to discourage interviewees suspicious about whether he was genuine to challenge him, as it might be taken as religious bigotry to say "this guy can't be real" if he was a Muslim. As for race, it's pretty clear he's not Asian from the colour of his skin—the humour lies in the way he says things like "Is it because I is black?" when he obviously isn't. This parodies the sort of people who might be referred to as wiggers. — Trilobite (Talk) 13:50, 6 Mar 2005 (UTC)
I cannot understand for the life of me why one editor of this page believes, despite Ali G's full having been revealed as being traditionally English; despite his creators intentionally having him live on "Cherry Blossom Close" in Staines; despite all of the indications that he is meant to be entirely a poseur and not in fact anything but English.... despite all of this, why one user insists that he is in fact Asian or Middle Eastern. The very point of him is that he isn't. This is not an "American" reading. This is just the obvious conclusion of the clues his creators have developed. Moreover, you will have to explain why you think that Arab and Asians in the UK have more in common with African Americans than blacks in the UK do. This seems a wild assumption to me; if you want to argue it, explain why you think it's true. Moncrief 20:02, Apr 11, 2005 (UTC)
- Exactly what I though as I was reading this article. Mystache 17:30, 20 July 2005 (UTC)
- Well his name might have been revealed to be Alistair but his uncle’s remains Jamal. It’s surely deliberately ambiguous. I’ve seen white and Asian Alis and the joke works the same whichever is the target: neither have much in common with African Americans. Bombot 14:35, 7 March 2006 (UTC)
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- And I have Armenian relatives - I'm still as white as they come. Uncles' names are not his name, and so don't mean squat. Ali is a more "street friendly" form of Alistair - nothing more, nothing less. He does, however, mention the Asian adoption of such "street" culture in the character Hassan B, his arch-nemesis and leader of the East Staines Massive. Dave420 15:32, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
For one thing,it's make believe and two, I think he does both, when its convienent to be British, thats what he is, when he wants to be Asian, thats what he is.it depends on what Sasha Cohen wants.
[edit] Links to Official Sites
should the page link to official sites? there's at least one official site (the HBO show in the US). anyone know how to do that? Streamless 18:54, 14 November 2005 (UTC)
Me tinks the use of the word wigger is a bit racialist- me thinks it should bes in "quotes"
Being white and a misogyny is contrverial. In the "controvery" section, I think the writer mistaken the term misogyny for racist instead of "women-hating."
[edit] Ali G
It has is not yet come your way so here it goes. If you and only you can prepare a state then and there will you and only you will be able to prepare a contry.
[edit] Racism
The line "Sacha Baron Cohen is not black himself, but because he portrays a character who purports misogyny, he has been accused by some of racism and of ridiculing black street culture." would seem to be accusing black men of being generally mysogenistic. I'm thinking this might be a result of succesive edits, so could someone who knows more about the history of this article rectify it? Damburger 17:52, 7 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Removed potential copyright violation
I removed a couple of paragraphs that appeared to be lifted almost verbatim from a linked Slate article. These should be re-written with original text if they are to be included. Article: http://www.slate.com/id/2106886/ PxT 22:11, 4 August 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Reference to white English boys
The use of the word English in this sentence has been incorrectly used, if you are referring to white boys in the United Kingdom you should use the term 'British', as it is NOT only English boys who immitate black people. I find the fact that you have solely implicated in the article that it is only English boys who display this behaviour as in fact, RACIST! Please change this word to British because Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish white boys also immitate black people and can also be chavs, or in Scotland, Neds. Do not single out English peopel because they are the majority race in the United Kingdom because it si not fair and it IS a form of racism. TammiMagee 10:00, 7 September 2006 (UTC)Tammi
You can't be racist against a nationality. --TopGear 19:00, 26 September 2006 (UTC)
- Exactly. To talk about all the white British kids, use the term "white British kids", as nothing else is even approaching accurate. As Scottish, Welsh, English, Irish and even the French are all genetically identical, it can't be racism. As TopGear said, they're nationalities, not races. Dave420 15:36, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
Actually, i work for the racial equality council and nationalities ARE included in the Race Relation Acts, so therefore, it IS possible for someone to be racist against a nationality.TammiMagee 14:50, 21 December 2006 (UTC)
- Tammi, while this could definitely be the case (As an American, I'm not familiar with the Race Relations Act), I think it is more appropriate to say "bigoted", "discriminatory", "intolerant" or "biased" when referring to nationality... whereas "racism" should generally refer to race, although it can be attributed to ethnicity in certain circumstances. It's all a matter of terminology though. Apart from this, I generally agree with your statement. The generalization that only "English boys" are imitating hip-hop and street culture is pretty ridiculous, because I live in rural Plymouth, New Hampshire and such behavior exists here as well. But Ali G is clearly lampooning the suburban British wannabe-gangster, and his character is primarily English with a few hints at a possible Jamaican background. So when concerning his character, I think it's fine to use both British and English labels... but when referring to the kids he lampoons I would suggest "British" as the best term... since such behavior is not exclusive to England, Wales or Scotland. That's just my 2 cents. -Prezboy1 15:03, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Malcolm X (pure speculation)
Regarding the claim that the Ali G name was supposed to have a "whiff of Islam" at the same time as the character has black american influences... would that be a reference to Malcolm X ? Bwithh 18:30, 7 September 2006 (UTC)
- I doubt it :) If it was to have a whiff islam, Ali would be a surname, not a first name. As it is, Ali G's real name is Alistair, and his surname begins with a G. Dave420 15:38, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
[edit] YouTube links
This article is one of thousands on Wikipedia that have a link to YouTube in it. Based on the External links policy, most of these should probably be removed. I'm putting this message here, on this talk page, to request the regular editors take a look at the link and make sure it doesn't violate policy. In short: 1. 99% of the time YouTube should not be used as a source. 2. We must not link to material that violates someones copyright. If you are not sure if the link on this article should be removed, feel free to ask me on my talk page and I'll review it personally. Thanks. ---J.S (t|c) 04:22, 8 November 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Ashwin Betrabet
Ashwin Betrabet does not appear on the Ambassadorial lists for the United States to India[1] nor for India to the United States[2]. He also doesn't appear in a Google search relating to India or to Ali G; in fact, he appears to be a student. Cleaning up after this hoax is getting irritating. Stop putting his name into this article. Wittyname 04:18, 11 January 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Spam Removed
This seems to be spam and otherwise irrelevant even if true as far as I can tell.67.161.77.15 09:59, 28 March 2007 (UTC)
While interviewing Everett Koop, former Surgeon General under U.S. President Reagan, Ali G sings the world's most played melody -- Intel's famous mnemonic, commonly known as the "Intel bong" -- composed in 1994 by audio branding expert Walter Werzowa, founder of the music and audio branding company, Musikvergnuegen, based in Los Angeles, CA.
