Two views of America - Borat and Francis Fulford

I finally went to see Borat, the movie. It lived up to expectations by being rude, controversial, offensive (not to me but can see why some think that) and sometimes funny.

Maybe if I had never seen Borat before, and not known what to expect, I would have found it funnier but it really was just an extended-mix version of the familiar TV character. It was impressive that they held your interest over movie length which is something few “from TV” comedy movies manage to do.

I would have thought more of it if I hadn’t come home, switched on the telly and watched: “Why America Sucks” by Francis Fulford.

Francis and his family arrived on our screen some time ago in the remarkable series “The F**king Fulfords”. He is the 23rd Lord Fulford of Great Fulford (since 1970) and lives at Great Fulford Manor, near Dunsford, in Devon. His family is one of the oldest noble families of England and occupy the same manor granted to their ancestor by Richard I of England in about 1190 although there is evidence they pre-date that. The present house dates back to the 16th Century (according to Wikipedia) and is in a state of decay beyond his asset rich but cash poor means to repair. This explains the need to allow in the TV crews.

“The F**king Fulfords” was a “reality” show which followed the lives of the Fulfords. Francis proved to be delightfully un-politically correct, biased, bigoted and generally out of step with modern life, such as it is. Many would consider him crazy but I think some of his views were valid. He has a great sense of humour, usually expressed in wonderfully direct language, as shown in the quote below, discussing the state of the house:

“Crisis point? I wouldn’t call this a crisis point. One of my ancestors was hung, drawn and quartered in 1463. That’s what I call a fucking crisis point.”

Francis went on to produce two specials with his own unique view of what is going wrong with both England and America. The similarity between the Francis’ and Borat’s American journeys were remarkable. Both travel across the country encountering real people and events trying to make sense of them, their country and culture, or lack of it. They both went to cities, rodeos, evangelist churches, brothel/prostitutes, Hollywood and more meeting a mix of people but with one big difference.

As Borat, Sacha Boren Cohen assumes the identity of a fake reporter from Kazakhstan and I think that’s the basic problem with the film. You know he’s fake, it’s hard to believe the “victims” don’t, and that lends a lack of credibility to the whole thing. I almost felt sorry for some of those who got sucked into a movie, it seemed, they had no idea was being made.

Francis doesn’t need to pretend and play a role. He is the eccentric aristocrat you see on screen. The results are often as offensive (not to me but...), insightful, crude and funny but more so as he’s not faking anything and his subjects are dealing with the real Francis.

While he approached the whole thing with preconceptions he seemed open to change his mind. Having dished the fake-ness of Vegas and it’s insane architecture he almost seemed to fall for the fake romance of the wedding industry while visiting Little White Chapel. Yes it’s a business and the wedding he attended, with a fake Elvis giving away the bride, was insane but you sensed he wondered if fake romance is better than none at all. Another example was towards the end of the programme where he visited a retirement community in L.A. On the way in he talked about not ever wanting to end up waiting to die in a place like this but after a tour, and some synchronised swimming, with the residents seemed to actually quite like it. He even changed his opinion of synchronised swimming ending with a comment something like: it’s still silly but don’t let anyone tell you it’s not bloody difficult.

While both choose to show extremes for the sake of a proving a point Francis does a better job than Borat, and he’s real. If you have a chance to see “The Fulfords” I recommend it. It makes Borat look like the fake it is.

* There is one thing I’m sure will be different if it’s shown in the USA. This program screened on free to air public TV in New Zealand, in a fairly late time-slot. I bet in the USA Francis will not be free to say “fucked” on public TV without a bleep…

Why America Sucks | TV ONE PROGRAMMES | TV ONE | tvnz.co.nz
Americans - Francis Fulford's pre conceptions are that they're rude, money-mad, religious, arrogant, and most of all they're FAT. They've got no culture, no history and they're shallow and fake. Will he change his mind when he makes his first trip around America? Francis goes behind enemy lines to meet the people behind the stereotypes.

Why America Sucks | TV ONE PROGRAMMES | TV ONE | tvnz.co.nz
Americans - Francis Fulford's pre conceptions are that they're rude, money-mad, religious, arrogant, and most of all they're FAT. They've got no culture, no history and they're shallow and fake. Will he change his mind when he makes his first trip around America? Francis goes behind enemy lines to meet the people behind the stereotypes.

Fulford USA Photo Index
Miami, Vegas and L.A. “snaps in each gallery are roughly 45k each, so if you ain't got broadband you're kinda f**ked”

Fulford USA Photo Index
Miami, Vegas and L.A. “snaps in each gallery are roughly 45k each, so if you ain't got broadband you're kinda f**ked”

Francis Fulford: Why America Sucks | Throng
Kiwi viewers comment on Francis Fulford: Why America Sucks

Francis Fulford: Why America Sucks | Throng
Kiwi viewers comment on Francis Fulford: Why America Sucks

Why England's f*****! by FRANCIS FULFORD | the Daily Mail
“Think about it for a moment. The whole developed world - and quite a bit of the undeveloped part - apes our traditional dress, tries, with varying success, to speak our language, reads our literature, and plays, often better than we do, our national games. No wonder we, as a race, have become confused.”