Ali G

Ali G first appeared on Channel 4's The Eleven O'Clock Show as the "voice of youth". He interviewed British public figures, who, too scared to appear "uncool", were completely wrong-footed by his idiosyncratic interviewing technique, based mostly on the simple stratagem of pretending to be stupid.

He is a member of the "West Staines Massive", and lives at 37 Cherry Blossom Close in the heart of the "Staines Ghetto". He was educated at what he calls "Da Matthew Arnold Skool" [1]. Staines is a middle-class suburb of London that has been the butt of jokes for many years. Anywhere further from an American inner-city ghetto would be hard to imagine. This fact is lost on Ali G, who believes himself to exemplify "Gangsta" culture.

Ali G has subsequently become a UK media phenomenon, with his own TV show. He featured in Madonna's video for her song Music as a limousine driver and subsequently recorded his own record with the rap/reggae performer Shaggy). In 2002 he was the central character in the feature film Ali G Indahouse.

Sacha Baron Cohen has been accused by some of racism and of ridiculing black street culture. The west-end premiere of Ali G Indahouse was met with anti-racist demonstrators protesting outside. However, others have suggested that the implication that black street culture is not a legitimate subject for parody is itself racist.

See also:

• Tim Westwood
• Matthew Arnold School (Staines)

External links

• Ali G website

Referenced By