Rent Who Is America (2018)

Who Is America (aka Who Is America?) review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

Sacha Baron Cohen became iconic for portraying such over-the-top characters of deception on Da Ali G Show. He dressed up as the slang-slinging Ali G for interviews posed to be more hip and gangster while convincing interviewees to play along. He donned the foreigner garb of Borat to naively probe those who tread lightly around outsiders with dated perceptions on women and justice. He pushed the queerness of Bruno, a German gay TV icon trying to shove his way into stardom. After multiple series and two movies, those characters had to be retired, as the general public started recognizing Bruno during the filming of the 2009 movie.

But Cohen’s Who is America revives the format of the Ali G show for a new era, taking advantage of the rampant rhetoric within the country following the 2016 election. New characters were conceived and believed by various interviewed figures. Billy Wayne Ruddick Jr., PhD is a far-right conspiracy theorist who promotes his crazed site TRUTHBRARY. Dr. Nira Cain-N'Degeocello is an aged activist of gender study who poses as the concerned liberal. Rick Sherman is an experimental artist who dabbles in unorthodox means of art. Erran Morad is an Israeli terrorism expert who tries to teach and learn various means of security. Gio Monaldo is a fashionable playboy of elitisms. And OMGWhizzBoyOMG is a Finnish YouTuber who manages to wrap figures into his unboxing videos.

Similar to Da Ali G Show, Cohen essentially gives the people he interviews enough rope to hang themselves. Perhaps one of the most shocking reveals was that of Erran Morad instructing Georgia Republican state representative Jason Spencer on how to repel terrorists. Somehow, Cohen convinced him that the best way to keep terrorists at bay was to pull down your pants, force your ass into their faces, and scream the N-word at them. Soon after this episode aired, Spencer would resign. Another interesting interview was that with Alabama judge and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore, where Erran once more goofed on the individual by giving him a test with a pedophile detecting device.

Of course, there are numerous digs on Democrats as well, as when Cohen embarrasses himself when speaking to Bernie Sanders and bickering over the definition of the 1%. Not to mention that his character of Cain-N'Degeocello is essentially a walking satire of a devout NPR listener. But, how, the Republican digs just go to such amazing extremes. He convinces a gun lobbyist to make an instructional video for kids on how to fire guns in a manner more cute and playful with babytalk than taking the matter seriously. Cohen’s team must’ve done enough research to know this kind of rhetoric is not too far off from the NRA’s own content. What’s normal gun talk for gun nuts is shocking for everyone else who believes guns are not toys.

As with Da Ali G Show, there are many deceptions on Cohen’s part and he has come under fire for not giving those interviewed final say in the footage aired, as argued by Spencer right before his resignation. It’s a troubling aspect of questioning intent in filming and yet there’s undeniable importance within the reveal how political figures have such warped perceptions of the world. When Spencer shouted the N-word, it was not a cautious mistake or slip up. He shouted it from the rooftops, even jumping in face-first as Cohen’s character only slowly eased him into it. His actions speak louder than the base argument of asking if he’s a racist and then stating he is not. He may say so in public but when it comes to combating terrorists, he couldn’t wait to spew racial slurs. In a country that has become increasingly divided with racism and corruption harder camouflage behind dog whistles, Cohen’s program offers a bit more truth than most interviews could ever reveal.