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tophers-viewings · 3 years

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Today’s subject: Sacha Baron Cohen and hidden camera comedy

While the name may not be familiar, Sacha Baron Cohen's body of work has left its mark on popular culture over the last decades. In the wake of Cohen's most famous character return in 2020's Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, I've been compelled to revisit his previous comedies. BSM was a response to the current political climate, capitalizing on the popularity of the original to reach the widest audience.

Made famous in the 2006 mockumentary Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, the character initially debuted alongside 2 other characters played by Cohen in his hidden camera comedy program Da Ali G Show. Ali G, Brüno, and Borat embody ridiculous stereotypes concerning some of our times' most pressing social issues. Exploiting the public ignorance and prejudice, undeniably hilarious exchanges occur when people genuinely engage with Cohen's obvious absurdity. The commitment required to stay in character and the meticulous preparation put into sketches is a testament to Cohen's immense comedic talent. Considering the impact on the unsuspecting subjects who become the source of comedy for an endless stream of viewers, one can be forgiven for being off-put by the crude and offensive comedy. However, and this is true of all Cohen's character work, his ability to remain in character while seeing how far he can push people is as hysterical as it is impressive. While harassment is inherent to his comedy, Cohen's work handles the depiction of the majority of his unsuspecting guests more respectfully than other hidden camera content.

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Above I have some examples displaying the variety of hidden camera comedy over the years. Allen Funt's Candid Camera is commonly considered the first of the genre. Candid Camera spawned from Funt's Candid Microphone, a practical joke radio segment. There has always been an audience for this formula for comedy. Candid Camera's lighthearted and straightforward nature makes it an experience most can find humor. They also popularized revealing the gag with a catchphrase, "Smile, you're on Candid Camera.".

An onslaught of hidden camera shows appeared, each slightly tweaking Candid Camera's formula. Arguably the most popular being Punk'd hosted by Ashton Kutcher orchestrating pranks on famous celebrities. Most programs are centered upon regular citizens, raising genuine concerns on the ethics of fooling people for entertainment. Plenty enjoy the relief of a well-done prank being pulled on them, especially when done in good faith; unfortunately, good faith is not a guarantee. As time passed, pranksters would escalate the intrusive nature of bits to stand out amongst their contemporaries

Candid Camera never subjected anyone to a prank meant to cause distress, with the comedy deriving from the relatability between the audience and the subject adapting to their circumstances. Tracey Morgan's Scare Tactics puts unsuspecting victims into real-life horror stories at the request of a family member or friend. Here is where the harm in shows like this is most overt. The trauma one endures while under the belief their life is in danger can severely impact their mental health for years to come. Below I linked to Steven Shehori's article criticizing hidden camera shows, mainly the collateral damage that occurred offscreen, emotional and financial.

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Shoehori recounts a segment on Howie Do It, Howie Mandel's prank show from the late 2000's, in which a man is tricked into performing a goofy song while dressed as a bunny during a staged funeral, under the impression he was disturbing real people in mourning. Aside from the emotional stress, he only participated because he accepted a fake job application put out by the production. To set up this prank, a man wasted his time pursuing a job that never existed, only offered $300, which required him to sign the release for his footage to be received. Behind every prank show, countless individuals did not walk away with relief and laughter. They were harassed for literally no reason and provided no compensation for their distress.

However, the entertaining results of even poorly done hidden camera comedy can not be denied. Below, I have examples of hidden camera comedy varying in comedic talent, all of which I find fascinating. First up, I gut a link to Youtuber Quinton Reviews' video on the short-lived OJ Simpson prank show Juiced. Tapping into the sleazy home video market of the early 2000's populated with bum fight and girls gone wild DVDs; The thought processes behind Juiced's development didn't go much farther than making Punk'd with suspected murderer OJ Simpson. With an abysmal level of planning and creativity gone into the pranks, the awkwardness and sheer insanity of the show's existence entertains but probably not in the manner intended by the creators.

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In a similar vein is the endless stream of independent pranksters most commonly appearing on YouTube. Prank videos have been popular for as long as video has been on the internet. Some unforgettable videos have come from the trend, for better and worse. Lacking the direct presumption of legal consequences present in any professional production, independent pranksters have gone on to get sentenced jail time and even died in the quest for viral content. Below is an unquestionably deplorable video clip from a hidden camera Livestream. Viewers can donate to play any audio clip of their choice through speakers carried by the streamer, often something incredibly offensive. The clip below shows the streamer playing an audio clip announcing a bomb detonation to a room of crowded people, naturally causing them to flee. The blatant awfulness of the streamer poses the content creator as the bad guy, prompting his viewers' emotional response to come from a place of sympathy for his subjects and a distaste for him. Many prank videos advertise violent reactions from a person in the thumbnail of the video. The frequency of pranksters being assaulted in retaliation popularized the phrase "it's just a prank bro". For some, a simple prank costs the ultimate price. In 2021, a 20-year-old man was fatally shot while filming a "robbery" prank with a friend. While these are the worst case for pranks, they serve as irrefutable examples for the case towards the harm of hidden camera pranks. Much like Juiced, YouTube pranks are unintentionally entertaining through the pranksters' disregard for anything besides drumming up attention.

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Taking a look at work of quality for a change, I'm gonna highlight Impractical Jokers. Starring four friends, Joe, Sal, Murr, and Q, one must perform whatever embarrassing act requested by the others or else they will be punished in a large-scale prank at the end of the episode. Impractical Jokers operate under the reality that it is not fun to harass people, but it's fun to watch. While the jokers do mess with unassuming people, they are the butt of the joke. Mostly filming in public areas, the people caught in the show's filming are inconvenienced to a small degree. Impractical Jokers is perhaps the best modern equivalent to Candid Camera's comedic effect. However, as mentioned in the clip, their antics do not come without collateral damage to people's privacy and freedom.

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Nathan For You might be my favorite hidden camera tv show. Perfectly parodying the business rescue reality tv genre, Nathan Fielder pitches wacky ideas designed to drum up revenue for struggling businesses. Fielders’ masterful performance can even convince an unfamiliar viewer into believing he truly behaves so awkwardly. Featuring business owners believing him to be an experienced consultant, absurd suggestions are fully realized and often find unlikely success. Nathan for You does a great job at being funny while not maliciously interfering with people's livelihoods.

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One of Adult Swim's most popular shows, The Eric Andre Show features the titular Eric Andre as he conducts hidden camera segments in public and interviews with celebrities who under the pretense of being featured on a serious program. Due to the episodes 15 minute run time, some gags last mere seconds. A simple premise is established and almost always proceeds to show Andre obnoxiously disrupting the peace. Andre satirizes the hidden camera genre by intentionally performing pranks so intrusive that he is joking hardly justifies his actions. While just comparisons can be made to the harmful pranks of YouTube, Andre's bits prove to be vastly superior due to his artistic vision and self depreciating nature. The Eric Andre Show's interviews are undeniably derivative of Cohen's formula from Da Ali G Show when it comes to their interviews. The key difference between Andre and Cohen is Andre merely tries to make the most uncomfortable experience possible for his guest. At the same time, Cohen's gags are often designed with social commentary in mind.

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Cohen's work in the early 2000's brought significant changes to the established hidden camera format. Bringing in consenting participants under the guise of a legitimate interview and subjecting them to the antics of his imbecilic performance. Often he will be met with immediate hostility or his apparent stupidity disarms the subject eliciting some insane responses while proceeding under the assumption that they are participating in a low profile project that will never reach a large audience. While the camera is not hidden in the traditional sense, people are fooled into participating in a gag. I feel this should exist as a sub-genre within hidden camera comedy, as it certainly hits the same beats but can not be considered hidden camera by definition. Cohen's use of subterfuge, along with the offensive nature inherent to his segments, raise genuine concerns about the ethics of recording people in this manner. Although hopefully, I've illustrated there are far worse offenders than Cohen, he has performed plenty of objectively problematic gags well deserving of criticism. Still, his ability to draw mainstream attention to important issues over the decade has given profound insight into the ugly truths of American culture.

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Above include some of my favorite bits from Cohens' work over the past couple of decades. First is the climax to his 2009 film Brüno. Rewatching it today is a sobering reminder to see just how homophobic the country was only a decade prior. Gay marriage was still illegal during the time. While some might find Cohen's caricatures of a gay man offensive, he effectively sparked a conversation on the topic during a turbulent period. In the clip, Brüno is hosting an ultra heterosexual wrestling match as Straight Dave, hyping up his largely rural audience by declaring his sexual orientation. All is well until Brüno's former lover challenges him to a fight which descends into a passionate display of affection. The audience erupts into a rage as they witness Straight Dave make out with a man, attempting to injure the pair with whatever object at hand. While it is an ugly display of bigotry, there is immense satisfaction in watching these people meltdown over the sight of an admittedly excessive gay-kissing session.

Second, I have a clip from Cohens 2018 miniseries, Who is America, (with writing credits from Nathan Fielder), featuring a diverse cast of characters all played by Cohen poking fun at all sides of the political spectrum. Posing as an ultra-liberal, Cohen organizes a town council meeting in a small Arizona town promising huge economic growth. The catch is his plan is to build the largest Mosque in North America, immediately resulting in the initials receptive audience to turn in him. I was in disbelief as Cohen maintained civil discourse with the self-proclaiming racist crowd. This casual islamophobia plagues many American communities, especially sheltered suburban and rural areas with little interaction with minorities.

Personally, I am a huge fan of Cohen and I greatly admire the lengths he’s gone to create comedy. He has proved himself a clever and innovative comedian and has earned his place in the public consciousness. The genuine reactions captured in hidden camera comedy has consistently been a favorite genre. Something about putting myself in the shoes of the unsuspecting people always captured my interests. As I’ve matured, I’ve grown to recognize the genre suffers some truly heinous practices in how they manipulate people. Despite this, I don’t not think enjoying hidden camera comedy is inherently bad, it’s just import to be mindful of the human cost of the media you consume.

I covered a lot of ground in this post and my original vision went through a lot of drafts as I watched a variety of content while researching. I’m gonna keep the next post simple but I hope there is some good stuff for you guys to check out in this. Feel free to recommend some good and bad hidden camera comedy below and I look forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts.

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