Response to Will's Main Blog

I have to admit that until this point, I had never seen any of Sacha Baron Cohen’s work.  I had heard the name Ali G and had a general idea of the type of character he was, but I had never seen any videos or movies with Ali G in them.  After doing a little bit of research (by research I just mean watching some of Cohen’s interviews as Ali G) I can definitely agree with Will that most of the humor in these videos is due to incongruity and superiority.  So many of Ali G’s ridiculous statements catch the viewer off guard.  For example, while interviewing Buzz Aldrin, Cohen asks if Buzz thinks that mankind will ever make it to the sun.  Obviously, Aldrin replies “no, the sun is too hot” to which Cohen, as Ali G, replies “what happens if they went in winter when the sun is cold?”.  The incongruity here is blatantly obvious and significantly contributes to our laughter.  The superiority theory also comes into effect here as we feel superior to Ali G because everyone knows that the sun is far from cold even in the winter.  Another great moment from the Buzz Aldrin interview that showcases both incongruity and superiority is when Ali G begins to talk about people approaching Buzz with a conspiracy theory that we are led to believe is the theory that the moon missions were fake, and the video evidence was made in a studio of some kind.  Instead, Ali asks Aldrin his feelings about being approached with the conspiracy theory that the moon does not exist.  It was at this point in the interview that I actually laughed out loud.  I don’t know how Cohen stays in character in these moments.  I could never keep a straight face, especially if I was doing something as ridiculous as accusing Steve Nash of “speaking in Canada.”  Overall, I’m glad Will chose to write about something that I was unfamiliar with because it gave me a much-needed laugh.