Tonight on HBO I watched the movie "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan."

When the movie was in the theaters I decided I would boycott it in that I thought it would be a slam on the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan, and being of Latvian/Estonian descent (part of the mix) I tend to be a little more sensitive on those kinds of things. The movie was on DirecTV pay-per-view several months ago and figured I would still boycott it until it showed up on HBO which I already pay for every month.

While the movie has some crude humor and situations, comic Sacha Baron Cohen juxtaposes it to illustrate a way more serious, bigger and deeper meaning and subtext. Just like the movie "Crash" -- the movie illustrates how people these days love to be "politically correct" in public, but when you get right down to it, Americans are still just as suspicious and racist/xenophobic/homophobic as they always have been. The recent debacle of radio shock jock Don Imus is just another example of that. (Not only that it honestly reflects what I have always felt when trying to get a job in my field of interest. People often are very friendly with me and tell me how talented I am, yet I know behind my back that they will NEVER hire anyone simply on the basis of my unusual name.)

7 stars out of 10 stars.