I actually thought that Sacha ripped off Sumitani but but it turns out that Sumitani introduced the Hard Gay character in 2002 and Sacha was doing Ali G for Channel Four as far back as 1998.
But - and correct me if I'm wrong, since you've been to Japan and I haven't - this sort of character would be much more of a shock to Japanese culture than Ali G is to the UK, wouldn't it?
I'm always reminded of that saying about the internet: "Japanese people see flamboyance or craziness as damage and route around the problem". Whereas Ali G and Borat mistaken for being serious and the comedy comes from watching people try to engage him seriously while asking "how far can he go before they realize he's not serious", Hard Gay is just an over-the-top silly man, and the comedy comes from watching people try to *disengage* from his extremely aggressive character and ask "to what lengths will they pursue this instinct to escape?"
At least that's where I *think* the humor comes from - like so many things in Japan I could be completely misunderstanding the whole thing.
Ali G isn't at all a shock to the UK. He's a satire of a stereotype, not the creation of a new and bizarre archetype as Hard Gay is. Ali G isn't a common stereotype, outside of parts of a few of the cities, but his inspiration certainly exists and is walking the streets.
Hard Gay is much more like some of the other UK comedy characters around these days: Dom Joly or Little Britain perhaps.
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At least that's where I *think* the humor comes from - like so many things in Japan I could be completely misunderstanding the whole thing.
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Hard Gay is much more like some of the other UK comedy characters around these days: Dom Joly or Little Britain perhaps.
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