The Dictator (2012 film): Difference between revisions

Shortly after arriving, Aladeen is kidnapped by Clayton, supposedly in charge of the security preparations but actually a hitman. hired by his treacherousAladeen's uncle Tamir Mafraad, whom Omar passed over as successor in favor of hisAladeen, sonhired Clayton. Tamir then replaces Aladeen with a dim-witted [[Political decoy|decoy]]; a dim-witted shepherd named Efawadh, whom he intends to manipulate into signing a document nominally [[Democratization|democratizing]] Wadiya while opening up the country's oil fields to foreign interests. Aladeen escapes after Clayton accidentally burns himself to death in a failed torture attempt. When his burnt corpse is discovered, Tamir thinks that Aladeen has been killed. HoweverMeanwhile, Aladeen, who is still alive, is practically unrecognizable, as his beard has been shaved off by Clayton.

Wandering through New York City in civilian clothes, Aladeen, assumingassumes the false identity of "Allison Burgers", and encounters Zoey, a human rights activist who offers him a job at her [[Liberalism|socially progressive]], alternative lifestyle co-op[[cooperative]]. Aladeen refuses the offer and encounters "Nuclear" Nadal, the former chief of Wadiya's nuclear weapons programme, whom Aladeen thought he had previously executed over an argument about the [[Nuclear weapon design|weaponwarhead's design]]. Aladeen follows him to New York's "Little Wadiya" district, which is populated by refugees from his own country, and meets him in "Death to Aladeen Restaurant", a restaurant run by and visited by numerous people whom Aladeen had ordered to be executed. After a failed attempt to cover up his identity, Aladeen is accused of being an "Aladeen sympathizer" by the restaurant's waiter and nearby visitors. Nadal saves Aladeen from being attacked and reveals to Aladeen that all the people hewho had been ordered to be executed are instead sent into exile to the United States, as the executioners are actually a [[Political dissent|resistance movement against him]]. Nadal agrees to help Aladeen thwart Tamir's plot and regain his power, on condition that Aladeen makes him head of Wadiya's nuclear programme again. Aladeen agrees andlater accepts Zoey's job offer, as she is catering at the hotel where the signing is to occur. Aladeen grows closer to Zoey after she refuses his sexual advances and eventually falls in love with her after seeing her angry. Turning around Zoey's struggling business, Aladeen begins imposing strict schedules on everyone, forming a [[Cult of personality|personality cult]] around Zoey and intimidating an inspector into giving the store a good review.

However, Aladeen's relationship with Zoey becomes strained after he decides to be honest with her and reveal his true self to her; she cannot love a man who was so brutal to his own people. After acquiring a new beard taken from a [[African Americans|black man]]'s corpse at his funeral, Aladeen ziplines into the hotel and tellstalks to Efawadh, he has recovered; his doublewho was fooled into thinking that the Supreme Leader was ill. At the signing ceremony, heAladeen tears up Tamir's document in front of the media and holds an impassioned speech praising the virtues of dictatorship, drawing unintended parallels to current issues in the United States. However, upon seeing Zoey in the room, he declares his love for her and, knowing Zoey'sher strongly-held views, vows to democratize his countryWadiya and open up Wadiya'sthe oil fields for business, but in a way where the general populace will benefit. Furious with Aladeen staying in power, Tamir attempts to shoot him butAladeen. Efawadh jumpssaves inAladeen, frontgetting ofshot in the bullet getting shothead in the headprocess, but survives., and Tamir is arrested afterwards.

A year later, Wadiya holds its first democratic elections, although they are [[Vote rigging|rigged in favor]] of Aladeen (who has now added the title "[[President (government title)|President]]-[[Prime minister|Prime Minister]]" to his previous Admiral-General). Afterwards, he marries Zoey, but is shocked when she [[Jewish wedding|breaks a glass with her foot]] and reveals herself to be [[Judaism|Jewish]]; throughout the film he was shown vowing to destroy Israel. Scenes during the [[Closing credits|credits]] showMeanwhile, Aladeen's convoy, now consistingconsists of [[Green vehicle|eco-friendly cars]], Aladeen visitingNadal ais re-instated Nadal, and later Zoey revealingreveals in a televisionan interview that she is pregnant with the couple's first child. Aladeen responds to the news by asking if Zoey is having "[[Sex-selective abortion|a boy or an abortion]]".

* [[Ben Kingsley]] as Tamir Mafraad,<ref name=allmovie /><ref name=variety-kingsley>{{cite news|url=https://www.variety.com/article2011/film/news/kingsley-joins-baron-cohen-s-dictator-1118036101/VR1118036101?categoryid=4076 |date=April 28, 2011 |title=Kingsley joins Baron Cohen's 'Dictator' |first=Jeff |last=Sneider |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110503111644/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118036101?categoryid=4076 |archive-date=May 3, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> Aladeen's uncle

Internet rumors claimed the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] had banned Baron Cohen from attending the [[84th Academy Awards]] in his role as Admiral General Aladeen, but the academy said the rumors were unfounded, saying, "We haven't banned him. We're just waiting to hear what he's going to do", and specifying of the publicity stunt: "We don't think it's appropriate. But his tickets haven't been pulled. We're waiting to hear back."<ref>{{cite journal| title=Academy: Sacha Baron Cohen Not 'Banned' From Oscars But 'Dictator' Stunt Unwelcome| date=February 22, 2012| first=Matthew| last=Belloni| url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-sacha-baron-cohen-not-banned-the-dictator-293929| journal=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]| access-date=April 20, 2020| archive-date=April 5, 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200405031332/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-sacha-baron-cohen-not-banned-the-dictator-293929| url-status=live}}</ref> Baron Cohen eventually appeared at the awards' red carpet with a pair of uniformed female bodyguards (resembling Gaddafi's [[Amazonian Guard]]) and wielding an urn purportedly containing the ashes of North Korean dictator [[Kim Jong-il]], which the actor spilled onto [[E!]] host [[Ryan Seacrest]]. The ashes were later reported to be pancake mix.<ref>{{cite magazine | url=httphttps://newsfeed.time.com/2012/02/27/sacha-baron-cohen-dumps-ashes-on-ryan-seacrest-at-oscars-red-carpet/ | title=Sacha Baron Cohen Dumps 'Ashes' on Ryan Seacrest at Oscars Red Carpet | first=Lauren | last=Daniels | date=February 27, 2012 | magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | access-date=May 3, 2012 | archive-date=May 2, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120502132542/http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/02/27/sacha-baron-cohen-dumps-ashes-on-ryan-seacrest-at-oscars-red-carpet/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

Scott Tobias of ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' noted that "Admiral General Aladeen and Rufus T. Firefly share the same bloodline, representing a more generalized contempt for world leaders of any stripe, whether they don a 'supreme beard' or a greasepaint moustache."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.avclub.com/articles/the-dictator,74032/-1798172829|title=Review: The Dictator|last=Scott|first=Tobias|newspaper=The A.V. Club|date=May 15, 2012|access-date=June 11, 2012|archive-date=November 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102131657/http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-dictator,74032/|url-status=live}}</ref> Scott Wilson of the ''[[Nashville Scene]]'' detected "an echo here of that funniest of xenophobe-baiting funnies, ''Duck Soup''."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashville/the-dictators-too-gentle-but-sacha-baron-cohen-may-have-duck-soup-in-him-yet/Content?oid=2872519/|title=The Dictator's too gentle, but Sacha Baron Cohen may have Duck Soup in him yet|last=Wilson|first=Scott|work=[[Nashville Scene]]|date=May 17, 2012|access-date=June 11, 2012}}{{Dead link|date=July 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> [[Peter Travers]] of the ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' claimed that Baron Cohen's film "dodges soothing convention and ultimately merits comparisons to the Marx Brothers' ''Duck Soup'' and Charlie Chaplin's ''[[The Great Dictator]]''."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/the-dictator-20120516#ixzz1xVivoCm2|title=The Dictator: Movie Review|last=Travers|first=Peter|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=May 16, 2012|access-date=June 11, 2012|archive-date=December 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203195227/http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/the-dictator-20120516#ixzz1xVivoCm2|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==CriticismsControversies==

The film is banned in several member-countries of the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]] (CIS), in particular nations with real-life leaders commonly described as dictators. In [[Belarus]], there is said to be an informal ban fromon showing the film,<ref>[http://news.tut.by/otklik/290356.html Какой "Диктатор"?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206001940/https://news.tut.by/otklik/290356.html|date=December 6, 2019}}, TUT.BY, May 22, 2012</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=18 May 2012 |title=В Таджикистане, Туркмении и Беларуси запретили фильм "Диктатор" |url=https://www.dw.com/ru/%D0%B2-%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B6%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B5-%D1%82%D1%83%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B8-%D0%B8-%D0%B1%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%83%D1%81%D0%B8-%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B8-%D1%84%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BC-%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BA%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80/a-15962314 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812021919/https://www.dw.com/ru/%D0%B2-%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B6%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B5-%D1%82%D1%83%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B8-%D0%B8-%D0%B1%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%83%D1%81%D0%B8-%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B8-%D1%84%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BC-%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BA%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80/a-15962314 |archive-date=August 12, 2021 |access-date=12 August 2021 |work=Deutsche Welle |language=ru-RU}}</ref> but state officials denied this referring to a shortage of cinemas equipped to show the film, which was distributed exclusively in digital format.<ref>[http://news.tut.by/culture/290393.html асилий Коктыш: "Никакой политики в непрокате "Диктатора" нет] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206133016/https://news.tut.by/culture/290393.html|date=December 6, 2019}}, TUT.BY, May 22, 2012</ref> Authorities in [[Tajikistan]] concluded ''The Dictator'' was incompatible with the nation's "mentality".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Harding |first=Luke |date=2012-05-18 |title=Tajikistan bans The Dictator |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/may/18/tajikistan-bans-dictator-baron-cohen |access-date=2024-04-06 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> As for other states, the film was described as "unlikely" to be shown in [[Turkmenistan]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Tajikistan bans The Dictator |first=Luke |last=Harding |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/may/18/tajikistan-bans-dictator-baron-cohen?newsfeed=true |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=May 18, 2012 |access-date=May 18, 2012 |location=London |archive-date=December 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201208090518/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/may/18/tajikistan-bans-dictator-baron-cohen?newsfeed=true |url-status=live }}</ref> shortened to 71 minutes by the censorship in [[Uzbekistan]],<ref>[http://www.uznews.net/news_single.php?lng=en&sub=top&cid=33&nid=19906 The Dictator shortened after censorship in Uzbekistan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103095822/http://www.uznews.net/news_single.php?lng=en&sub=top&cid=33&nid=19906 |date=November 3, 2013 }}, UzNews, 25.05.12</ref> and banned from screens two weeks after its premiere in [[Kazakhstan]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://en.tengrinews.kz/cinema_and_music/10444/|title=The Dictator banned 2 weeks after premiere in Kazakhstan.|work=Tengrinews.kz English|access-date=June 1, 2012|archive-date=June 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120613182450/http://en.tengrinews.kz/cinema_and_music/10444|url-status=live}}</ref>

The film has been described by some critics as being [[Islamophobic]], particularly noting the pronounced stereotype of Middle Eastern dictators, who are mostly Muslims.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Weaver |first1=Simon |last2=Bradley |first2=Lindsey |title="I haven't heard anything about religion whatsoever": Audience perceptions of anti-Muslim racism in Sacha Baron Cohen's The Dictator |journal=HUMOR |date=1 January 2016 |volume=29 |issue=2 |doi=10.1515/humor-2015-0044}}</ref> It is also reported to negatively portray stereotypical views about [[Arabs]] through visual symbols and attributes within characters and settings. Aladeen himself portrays a stereotypical Muslim Arab ruler identity; his iconic beard and traditional Middle Eastern traits are things that allow audiences to link his character to Arabs and Muslims. This is considered problematiccontroversial because of the connection between Aladeen and bin Laden throughout the film, where both visual and auditory components suggest that there is a close friendship between the two.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Abdel Meguid |first=Rania |date=2021-02-01 |title=Orientalism Goes to the Movies: A Critical Discourse Analysis of The Dictator". Cairo Studies in English. 2020 (1) |url=https://cse.journals.ekb.eg/article_147193_8f47e2455e596290d8632c35e9e8fcdb.pdf}}</ref> However, the controversial stance and negative depiction of bin Laden further reinforces the idea that Arab dictators are terrorists and "barbaric". The film further allows for the generic and stereotypical ideas of Muslims and Arabs as backwards, which can be seen through the visual comparisons between the West and the East. For instance, during Aladeen's visit to New York, he and his men arrive riding camels, whereas the background of the city depict cars and other modern modes of transportation.<ref name=":0" /> Furthermore, another misleading portrayal of Arabs is demonstrated through Aladeen's hyper-sexuality, particularly the scenes where he is surrounded by his "harem", multiple women engaging intimately, which supports stereotypical exotic images of Arab women.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Brammastian |first=Iyank Zona |date=2019-09-16 |title=The Orientalism of Arabs in Larry Charles Film's ''The Dictator'' |url=https://scholar.googleusercontent.com/scholar?q=cache:EpeT7ovdBNgJ:scholar.google.com/+%22THE+ORIENTALISM+OF+ARABS+IN+LARRY+CHARLES+FILM%27S+THE+DICTATOR%22&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5}}</ref>

Some negative critiques claim that an Orientalists' view of the "other" can also be seen in the exterior portrayal of Wadiya, where visual elements portray Arab countries as backwards. Wadiya encompasses a variety of unique qualities found in Arab regions; for example, it is set in a desert climate and, more prevalent, its architectural design is heavily inspired by [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] and Islamic motif. The visual cues direct audiences to associate "barbaric" dictators to Arab and Muslim countries that resemble Wadiya.<ref name=":1" />

Wadiya's flag is also said to resemble the [[flag of Iraq]] due to both flags having similar lettering, which suggests that these depictions of Wadiya as "[[the "orientOrient]]", an inferior nation to those of the "West", further exemplifies how Hollywood and Western media view and represent the East, especially when there is a political agenda at play. This is also reflected through Aladeen's intention of developing nuclear weapons to use against Western nations and Israel, further demonizing Arab nations, according to some negative critiques of the film. <ref name=":1" />