The views expressed in this column are the opinion of the writer and not necessarily those of the ownership or management of this newspaper.

If you are plugged into the entertainment world, you have already heard of Borat. If you're not interested in entertainment, what Borat (the movie) and Borat (the character) says about America should still be meaningful to you.

One of the most well-reviewed and much-anticipated comedy films of the year, Borat leaves some viewers laughing hysterically, some viewers scratching their heads, and some viewers sorely disappointed.

Borat Sagdiyev is an imaginary character dreamed up and played by British comedian, Sacha Baron Cohen, but like the venerable Candid Camera, the Americans in the film who think Borat is a real, syntax-mixing journalist from a backward Kazakhstan are the real stars.

Borat and the film display vulgarity and horrific political and social views. The intrigue, however, is watching how ordinary Americans react to a man they think is real. And this is where we can learn a lot about ourselves.

For instance, Borat is filmed walking into a gun shop and asking the owner about rifles that will best kill Jews. Rather than ordering Borat out of the store, the owner recommends a rifle. In another scene, Borat is seen telling a Texas rodeo organizer that in Kazakhstan homosexuals are penned up. Rather than look in horror, the Texan smiles and says, "That's what we're trying to do in this country."

Viewers see a trio of drunken frat boys bitterly discussing women. Borat being "saved" at an over-the-top evangelical service, Borat telling a driver's education teacher that he may steer his car into children.

It's not an easy film to see and there is a mean streak as well. In one scene, Borat insults well-meaning dinner guests hoping to show him American dining etiquette. When he leaves to "attend the toilet," the three couples make the best of the awkward occasion by telling each other that Borat is a nice fellow with all the ingredients to be a fine American. The audience laughs at these naive people, yet all they are doing is trying to understand a different culture and be polite to a foreign guest.

There is no Borat. There is a Kazakhstan, but the central Asian country doesn't make wine out of horse urine or keep wives in cages. The curiosity is seeing how Americans react to Borat's offensive claims. And there is sadness to see that racism is alive and well in some Americans.

I can't recommend the movie, nor can I totally disparage it. It is R-rated for a good reason and its sex scene should have been left on the cutting room floor.

But Borat displays the gulf between the blue states and the red states and shows that we have a long way to go before becoming a humane, responsible, and caring country.

It took an extreme fictional journalist in a comedy to play the face of bigotry on the big screen.