Many Faces of Sacha Baron Cohen - by Robert A Saunders (Paperback)

About the Book

The Many Faces of Sacha Baron Cohen explores the surprising political resonance of British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's portrayals of Borat, Ali G, and Bruno. The book examines the political underpinnings of Baron Cohen's humor, the cultural ramifications of his ethnically cha...

Book Synopsis

The Many Faces of Sacha Baron Cohen explores the surprising political resonance of British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's portrayals of Borat, Ali G, and Bruno. The book examines the political underpinnings of Baron Cohen's humor, the cultural ramifications of his ethnically charged satire, and the global implications of his various personae.

Review Quotes

The Many Faces of Sacha Baron Cohen does not skimp on scholarship, style, or wit. Robert A. Saunders's writing is lively and entertaining and makes a persuasive case for Sacha Baron Cohen as a case study of the complicated negotiations between local and global cultures.

The Many Faces of Sacha Baron Cohen [is] a smart, informative, and crisply-written little book that may leave the reader wanting a bit more....The Many Faces of Sacha Baron Cohen is a valuable political history of what its author calls a 'global minstrel show'.

A must-read for many aspiring satirists, branding experts, and researchers alike. . . . Sacha Baron Cohen, the Kazakhs, and people around the world should be grateful to the author for explaining the Borat saga in a scholarly, yet enlightening and entertaining, manner.

A thoroughly detailed exploration of Cohen's explosive comedy. Robert A. Saunders dissects each button pushed, taking an approach that's as careful as Cohen's is improvised. A smart read deserving of a lot of 'respek.'

The author displays razor-sharp analysis, masterful use of the English language, and encyclopedic knowledge all the way through the endnotes. This is, by all measures, a superb first book by a very promising writer, and one can only hope that it is followed by many more.

About the Author

Robert A. Saunders is assistant professor of politics at the State University of New York at Farmingdale.