Talk:Ali G

Is Ali G satire?

Yes, I think so Rm999 08:41, 22 June 2007 (UTC) haha Is Ali G satire? I'd say he's a spoof. -- Tarquin 08:42 Jul 30, 2002 (PDT)

Isn't spoof a form of satire? -- Oliver Pereira 17:15 Nov 10, 2002 (UTC)

My dictionary says " a mildy satirical parody or lampoon". let's say we're both right :-) -- Tarquin

Sounds good to me. :) -- Oliver Pereira

Respek. -- GURoadrunner

Background

The text says "Ali G (Brett Zeleznick) is a fictional gang member of the " Umm who is Brett Zeleznick —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.157.192.7 (talk) 12:59, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Controversy

On what evidence are you basing your assertion that Ali G is supposed to be of Pakistani extraction? I've never seen such evidence. The name "Ali" is not proof enough. I'm not sure what color Ali G is supposed to be, but I doubt very much Cohen has ever said explicitly that he is meant to be Pakistani. Moncrief 00:22, Nov 17, 2004 (UTC)

Most reports I've seen say Cohen is Jew pretending to be a white guy pretending to be black. I've always thought he was mocking middle class white boys, not Asians. The article should be changed, perhaps it could be mentioned that some feel he is mocking asian homeboys instead.--ZayZayEM 05:10, 17 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I alwats though the name "Ali" was the bit that made him Asian. And nothern English cities are chock full of Asians who look and act just like Ali. But I recall now that his full name is Alistair Leslie Graham -- a WASP name if ever there was one. So I stand corrected, and thank you for checking me. MichiganDan 03:50, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

How does Ali make him seem Asian? As he says, "Is it cuz I is black?" In the US, hip-hop culture is influenced by Islam, or rather by the Nation of Islam and its offshoots. The name Ali is part of the parody of the white English guy who thinks he is/wants to be an urban black American.

Re: today's edit. I want to say that I thoroughly disagree that Ali G is meant to be Asian in any way. I think the joke works best because his full name is actually Alistair and he is in fact a white guy from Staines. I think any "reading" that imputes that Ali G is in fact meant to be Asian is a projection on the part of the person doing that assuming. Moncrief 09:41, Jan 7, 2005 (UTC)

AFAIK it has been admitted that the choice of the name Ali was deliberate, and intended to make people wonder if he might be a Muslim. The point of this was to discourage interviewees suspicious about whether he was genuine to challenge him, as it might be taken as religious bigotry to say "this guy can't be real" if he was a Muslim. As for race, it's pretty clear he's not Asian from the colour of his skin—the humour lies in the way he says things like "Is it because I is black?" when he obviously isn't. This parodies the sort of people who might be referred to as wiggers. — Trilobite (Talk) 13:50, 6 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I cannot understand for the life of me why one editor of this page believes, despite Ali G's full having been revealed as being traditionally English; despite his creators intentionally having him live on "Cherry Blossom Close" in Staines; despite all of the indications that he is meant to be entirely a poseur and not in fact anything but English.... despite all of this, why one user insists that he is in fact Asian or Middle Eastern. The very point of him is that he isn't. This is not an "American" reading. This is just the obvious conclusion of the clues his creators have developed. Moreover, you will have to explain why you think that Arab and Asians in the UK have more in common with African Americans than blacks in the UK do. This seems a wild assumption to me; if you want to argue it, explain why you think it's true. Moncrief 20:02, Apr 11, 2005 (UTC)

• Exactly what I though as I was reading this article. Mystache 17:30, 20 July 2005 (UTC)

This is a naive statement. Cohen wrote in Ali G's 'background' as a red herring. He makes fun of black people pure and simple. I ask you- how often does the character remind us that he is not black, but rather white? Let me give you an example that is a bit more transparent: Suppose I were to do a skit, and I were to invent a character named 'Bob' play4ed by me. Bob likes to 'act Jewish', or rather, do so as he interprets Jewishness. Then 'Bob' were to spend the rest of the skit doing things that are classic slanders of Jewish people: avarice, blood libel etc. Bob never breaks character, he just wears a Jewish looking costume and acts like a fool or a beast. The only disclaimer of Bob's real identity is in liner notes in the play program. No one could possibly take this as a criticism of 'Gentiles who act Jewish'. People have long made succesful careers out of playing in blackface. Cohen is very talented and very gifted. Let's not fool ourselves though. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.42.180.103 (talk) 15:07, 15 July 2009 (UTC)

• Well his name might have been revealed to be Alistair but his uncle’s remains Jamal. It’s surely deliberately ambiguous. I’ve seen white and Asian Alis and the joke works the same whichever is the target: neither have much in common with African Americans. Bombot 14:35, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

And I have Armenian relatives - I'm still as white as they come. Uncles' names are not his name, and so don't mean squat. Ali is a more "street friendly" form of Alistair - nothing more, nothing less. He does, however, mention the Asian adoption of such "street" culture in the character Hassan B, his arch-nemesis and leader of the East Staines Massive. Dave420 15:32, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

For one thing,it's make believe and two, I think he does both, when its convienent to be British, thats what he is, when he wants to be Asian, thats what he is.it depends on what Sasha Cohen wants.

Ali G's character does not make fun of whites who try to act like black people. If this were the case, he would have the character be overreaching, but at heart privlidged, educated and insecure. Instead, the Ali G character is patently uneducated, unintelligent, cocksure, and boorish. These are commonly held stereotypes of young, urban, underclass males (who are often of color), not white or privlileged kids trying to act black or some other color. I understand that SBC has CLAIMED that it's a parody of whites who act black, but we should not be so naive. Of course, when the creators of Ali G formed his character they claimed him to be a send-up of upper-class kids 'acting black'. That is because SASHA BARON COHEN is a upper class kid acting black. Acting like a member of a different social class for comic effect is age-old. Regardless, the effect is funny and so the character is born. Of course, the source of the character's humor lies in Baron Cohen's comic timing and creativity, but the basis of the character, the butt of the joke, is the underclass. Their percieved backwardness and stupidity, and the guilty pleasure we take in mocking them, while knowing political correctness says we shouldn't, is far more humorous than making fun of a frankly rare subset of white youth. And that is why we laugh, The character is a send-up of underclass youth, not upper class youth. SBC's claim that he is parodying white youth acting black is only a way of providing himself with comedic cover, a way to make fun of the underclass without having to deal with the reprecussions of political correctness. His audience enjoys this same privledge. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.127.86.16 (talk) 20:24, 18 May 2009 (UTC)

It's obvious that the character started off as a Pakistani youth "acting black", and that he was later re-invented as a white youth because Cohen became anxious that he would be accused of anti-Asian racism (it's ok to ridicule white people - see "Borat" - but not Asians). His "Uncle Jamal" is fairly conclusive evidence of this - how he must wish he could erase that episode from the archives! - and the feeble arguments above that "his uncle isn't him" are intellectually dishonest in the extreme.

When was the story that "Ali G" is short for "Alister Graham" first concocted? I'll bet it was several years after the character was created.Shiresman (talk) 17:16, 12 July 2009 (UTC)

• I agree with Shiresman and the others who say that Ali G clearly started off as an Asian youth who wanted to be seen as a tough-guy black. I watched all the Ali G appearances on the 11 o'clock Show as they were broadcast in England. As a native Londoner, it was clear to me (after having met numerous Asians in London and England who behave in this way) that the character was a spoof of such wanna-be blacks. The fact that he was called Ali and the fact that his uncle was called Jamal (a Muslim name) clearly indicated his Muslim provenance. The invention of the name Alistair came - as Shiresman rightly suspects - much, much later: with the Ali G film, Ali G in da House. It is obvious that the superb actor (extraordinarily talented), Sacha Baron Cohen, 'lost his nerve' and 'bottled out' late in the day, submitting to political correctness and deciding to pretend that the Ali G character was always intended to be a white guy. And by the way: there are in fact Pakistanis and Asians who are of a very light skin colour - almost ethnically 'white' in appearance. So Sacha Baron Cohen's light skin complexion need in no way invalidate the obvious fact that Ali G was originally conceived and played as a British Asian (probably a Pakistani) who aspired to be 'cool' and black, and used all the appropriate 'lingo' and hand gestures accordingly Anoot7 (talk) 08:13, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Also, remember the laborious pun on "Euthanasia" that he worked into one of his spoof interviews? He provoked one of his targets into mentioning euthanasia and immediately retorted, with mock defensiveness, "what's that got to do with the youth in Asia?". Is that an obvious question for a white boy called Allister Graham to come out with? Shiresman (talk) 03:06, 12 June 2013 (UTC)

I heard somewhere that the character Ali G was based on Apache Indian, a patois-speaking "bhangramuffin" of Indian rather than Pakistani origin from Handsworth in Birmingham who became widely known a little before Ali G. So there may be several levels of parody, or if you prefer cultural appropriation, going on here. NRPanikker (talk) 13:53, 30 May 2016 (UTC)

Links to Official Sites

should the page link to official sites? there's at least one official site (the HBO show in the US). anyone know how to do that? Streamless 18:54, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

Racialist term

Me tinks the use of the word wigger is a bit racialist- me thinks it should bes in "quotes"

And in the article some poor dumb-ass thinks 'racialist' is a real English word - to funny to correct :-) Stub Mandrel (talk) 16:44, 8 November 2019 (UTC)

Hahaha. Martinevans123 (talk) 16:54, 8 November 2019 (UTC)

Controversy

Being white and a misogyny is contrverial. In the "controvery" section, I think the writer mistaken the term misogyny for racist instead of "women-hating."

It's easy to make smelling mintakes. Even when the whiter non mishapen. Martinevans123 (talk) 17:00, 8 November 2019 (UTC)

Racism

The line "Sacha Baron Cohen is not black himself, but because he portrays a character who purports misogyny, he has been accused by some of racism and of ridiculing black street culture." would seem to be accusing black men of being generally mysogenistic. I'm thinking this might be a result of succesive edits, so could someone who knows more about the history of this article rectify it? Damburger 17:52, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

Removed potential copyright violation

I removed a couple of paragraphs that appeared to be lifted almost verbatim from a linked Slate article. These should be re-written with original text if they are to be included. Article: http://www.slate.com/id/2106886/ PxT 22:11, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

Reference to white English boys

The use of the word English in this sentence has been incorrectly used, if you are referring to white boys in the United Kingdom you should use the term 'British', as it is NOT only English boys who immitate black people. I find the fact that you have solely implicated in the article that it is only English boys who display this behaviour as in fact, RACIST! Please change this word to British because Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish white boys also immitate black people and can also be chavs, or in Scotland, Neds. Do not single out English peopel because they are the majority race in the United Kingdom because it si not fair and it IS a form of racism. TammiMagee 10:00, 7 September 2006 (UTC)Tammi

You can't be racist against a nationality. --TopGear 19:00, 26 September 2006 (UTC)

Exactly. To talk about all the white British kids, use the term "white British kids", as nothing else is even approaching accurate. As Scottish, Welsh, English, Irish and even the French are all genetically identical, it can't be racism. As TopGear said, they're nationalities, not races. Dave420 15:36, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Actually, i work for the racial equality council and nationalities ARE included in the Race Relation Acts, so therefore, it IS possible for someone to be racist against a nationality.TammiMagee 14:50, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Tammi, while this could definitely be the case (As an American, I'm not familiar with the Race Relations Act), I think it is more appropriate to say "bigoted", "discriminatory", "intolerant" or "biased" when referring to nationality... whereas "racism" should generally refer to race, although it can be attributed to ethnicity in certain circumstances. It's all a matter of terminology though. Apart from this, I generally agree with your statement. The generalization that only "English boys" are imitating hip-hop and street culture is pretty ridiculous, because I live in rural Plymouth, New Hampshire and such behavior exists here as well. But Ali G is clearly lampooning the suburban British wannabe-gangster, and his character is primarily English with a few hints at a possible Jamaican background. So when concerning his character, I think it's fine to use both British and English labels... but when referring to the kids he lampoons I would suggest "British" as the best term... since such behavior is not exclusive to England, Wales or Scotland. That's just my 2 cents. -Prezboy1 15:03, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Malcolm X (pure speculation)

Regarding the claim that the Ali G name was supposed to have a "whiff of Islam" at the same time as the character has black american influences... would that be a reference to Malcolm X ? Bwithh 18:30, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

I doubt it :) If it was to have a whiff islam, Ali would be a surname, not a first name. As it is, Ali G's real name is Alistair, and his surname begins with a G. Dave420 15:38, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

YouTube links

This article is one of thousands on Wikipedia that have a link to YouTube in it. Based on the External links policy, most of these should probably be removed. I'm putting this message here, on this talk page, to request the regular editors take a look at the link and make sure it doesn't violate policy. In short: 1. 99% of the time YouTube should not be used as a source. 2. We must not link to material that violates someones copyright. If you are not sure if the link on this article should be removed, feel free to ask me on my talk page and I'll review it personally. Thanks. ---J.S (t|c) 04:22, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Spam Removed

This seems to be spam and otherwise irrelevant even if true as far as I can tell.67.161.77.15 09:59, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

Song

While interviewing Everett Koop, former Surgeon General under U.S. President Reagan, Ali G sings the world's most played melody -- Intel's famous mnemonic, commonly known as the "Intel bong" -- composed in 1994 by audio branding expert Walter Werzowa, founder of the music and audio branding company, Musikvergnuegen, based in Los Angeles, CA.

Names of his schools

Where the hell is the middlebury union middle school? Nowhere near Staines, where I have lived all my life. The only school Ali-G refers to or visits is the Matthew Arnold school, located on Kingston Road in Staines... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.144.202.194 (talk) 10:35, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Notable interviews

I'm pretty sure that "Georgi Mihaylov" is not Microsoft's CEO :)

Removal of a reference I added to the article

See here. I do not want to simply reverse the change, as that might constitute an edit war and, for all I know, I could be the one in the wrong here, but what specifically was wrong with the reference I placed in the article? After all, Ali G Indahouse is indeed where you discover Ali G's real name, as far as I'm aware. Any feedback would be appreciated. It Is Me Here (talk) 14:49, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

Internal links?> http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Da_Ali_G_Show —Preceding unsigned comment added by 150.140.226.74 (talk) 09:40, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Wigger?

Wigger is a term seldomly used in the UK Ali G is a sterotypical chav. Should wigger be repalced by chav in the article? --90.212.165.183 (talk) 19:33, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

John McCain interviewed by Ali G?

I have a question: Did anyonbe actually see Ali G interview John McCain (if yes what program it was).

I was just thinking the same thing about McCain. Can anyone back this up? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.59.5.24 (talk) 03:14, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Last time I checked he never did interview McCain, but it was a comedic video made by someone else. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHVzUSLx6yo)

Nationality

Ali G is not Jamaican, the whole point is that he is an English boy trying to be Jamaican. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.152.165.50 (talk) 20:40, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

Puerile Vandalism

"has been repeatedly fucked" in the Criticisms section Theeurocrat (talk) 14:00, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

Background

The article currently describes Staines, Egham, Englefield Green and Langham as "working class towns". This is very misleading to people unfamiliar with the area. While Staines does have a vaguely downmarket image (not wholly deserved), the other towns are typical Home Counties commuter towns near Heathrow Airport with a generally affluent middle class ambience. --Ef80 (talk) 14:43, 23 June 2012 (UTC)

Amazing - someone put that back in February. Mezigue (talk) 14:29, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

Donald Trump interview

@Martinevans123: The episode containing the Trump interview was aired on 7 March 2003, according to List of Da Ali G Show episodes#Season 2 (2003). I have found the following links that indicate it was Donald Trump himself: The Independent (May 2016), Donald Trump Tweet (Oct 2012), New York Times (May 2003). Is that enough to back the statement and remove the {{cn}} tag? Razvan Socol (talk) 07:12, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

Hi Rsocol. I'm sure that's more than enough, although I'm rather suspicious that any tweet by Trump makes something "true". The Indy article gives very good coverage of the story. The whole section here is almost completely unsourced, of course, and the interview is certainly not mentioned at Donald Trump. But a lot of people will have seen the Ali G interview, so it's not a very contentious claim. My original motivation was to establish the date, so that we know he was definitely not POTUS at time, but now we have "currently" to qualify his position. More intrigued by the "ice cream glove." Tempted to add the NYT quote: "I thought he was seriously retarded. It was a total con job. But my daughter, Ivanka, saw it and thought it was very cool." Martinevans123 (talk) 08:34, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

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Birth and Death dates for guests

Why are birth and death dates for guests included in the article? power~enwiki (π, ν) 19:43, 31 December 2020 (UTC)

What on earth…

… is ‘vaginal hair?’ 210.84.45.53 (talk) 09:05, 10 September 2023 (UTC)