The Dictator

A 2012 movie staring Sacha Baron Cohen doing what he does best - pretending to be a non-ethnic-specific Middle East/African guy who makes fun of other people's ignorance regarding ethnic stereotypes.

In this film Sacha plays Admiral General Shabazz Aladeen of the Republic of Wadiya, a fictional country in North Africa. Shabazz is pretty much the worst ruler of a country this side of Pol Pot (in a funny way of course) but to him it's just everyday life. However when he's invited to give a speech at the United Nations in New York, he's kidnapped and has his beard shaved off, making him unrecognizable.

Now penniless and without status. Shabazz finds himself picked up by a kindly restaurant manager who offers him a job. Hilarity Ensues as Shabazz tries to find a way back to his throne, prevent a 'democratic' constitution being signed by a body double, and build weapons of mass destruction, all at once.

Not to be confused with The Great Dictator.

Tropes used in The Dictator include:

Biography: When Aladeen was just a child, his father Omar died in a tragic hunting accident when he was hit by 97 stray bullets and a stray grenade. Shortly afterwards, Omar's Chief Advisor suggested that Aladeen should be officially declared the successor. The supremely-humble Aladeen responded by accepting the position.

  • Method Acting: Sacha Baron Cohen appeared at the Oscars as General Aladeen and has done many interviews as him.
  • Mistaken for Terrorist: This happens to Aladeen and Nadal when they are on the helicopter. The American tourists think that Aladeen is in league with Bin Laden; in reality, he's just letting Bin Laden crash at his guest house.
  • People's Republic of Tyranny: The Republic of Wadiya does not have an overly long name, but it deserves a mention for just now blatantly undemocratic it is. From the official site:

Aladeen righteously declared his father Eternal President of the Republic and called for free elections to determine who would serve as Vice-President under his dead father. Aladeen won with only 99.999% of the vote. After an exhaustive government investigation, it was discovered that the one dissenting vote came from Aladeen himself, who deliberately misspelled his own name as an ingenious test of the system.

  • Playing Against Type: Anna Faris, usually typecast as a Dumb Blonde, is playing a tomboyish political activist.
  • Pointy-Haired Boss: Zoey is a sort of Fridge Logic example. While she's a Benevolent Boss she's allowed such blunders as letting an African refugee from a tribe with no concept of money man the registers, a Peruvian woman whose hands have been replaced with hooked prosthetics do inventory, and is oblivious about one of her employees skimming from the till.
    • Worst of all is probably hiring Aladeen, though it turns out his totalitarian "Supreme Grocer" managing style worked wonders.
  • Politically Incorrect Hero: Goes without saying, since it is a Sacha Baron Cohen film.
  • Psychopathic Manchild: Aladeen's ideas on how bombs work comes from watching Daffy Duck cartoons.
  • Qurac
  • Refuge in Audacity: What did you expect from a Sacha Baron Cohen film? This quite possibly outdoes Borat and Bruno put together in terms of outrageousness.
  • Refuge in Vulgarity
  • Riches to Rags
  • Smurfing: Aladeen has ordered that a great number of words in the Wadyian language be replaced with "Aladeen". Including contradictory terms like "positive/negative" which causes a lot of confusion.

Physician:I have got news. Do you want the Aladeen news or the Aladeen news first?
Man:Um.... the Aladeen news.
Physician:The test came back. You are HIV Aladeen
Man switches through happy and sad facial expressions multiple times.

    This article is issued from Allthetropes. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.