Who is America? - Another Satirical Masterpiece By Sacha Baron Cohen

It's hard to deny that when it comes to disguises and really becoming the characters that he creates, Sacha Baron Cohen is the king. There are very few people in this world even with a highly recognisable face that can pull off characters like Borat, Ali G or Bruno without drawing suspicion.

In Sacha's latest series Who Is America? we see the satirical master of disguise once again play a slew of new characters, capable of luring his unsuspecting victims into a trap that no one could predict.

This time around, Cohen's satire program is beautifully timed with the current state of American politics. People of the US and beyond have never been more divided, as President Donald Trump continues to attract the ire of what feels like everyone.

In the first episode we meet a whole range of new characters:

• Billy Wayne Ruddick Jnr, a right-wing truther website editor who is clearly channelling vibes from the likes of Alex Jones.
• Rick Sherman, an artist ex-convict
• Erran Moread, a self-styled anti-terrorism expert
• Dr Nira Cain-N'degeocello, a left-wing healer

What makes "What Is America?" even more impressive is the people that Cohen manages to lure into his satire-laced trap, quite high-profile people; lobbyists, legislators, Bernie Sanders and even gun advocate Larry Pratt (who really falls into Sacha's comedic trap).

Perhaps most surprisingly is basically none of them figure out they're being tricked, leading to some putting themselves into compromising situations. One such part of the show is when "terrorism expert" Erran Moread fools numerous people into supporting a guns for school children program, namely gun rights activist Philip Van Cleave:

Erran then sits down with Van Cleave and really highlights just how far gun lobbyists will go to stop any gun control measures, including a bill that would have stopped children aged 4 to 12 from handling weapons.

In the video, Van Cleave can be seen standing beside Cohen's character saying, "Just remember to point Puppy Pistol's mouth at the middle of the bad man" with Puppy Pistol being a gun with a soft plush dog attached to it. From the outset, everyone watching can see the ridiculousness of this, but clearly, Van Cleave cannot.

The comedic high-point of episode one of this seven-part series is at the end when a drawn-out creative segment promoting Erran's fake "Kinder-Guardians" program plays. In the clip gun advocate Larry Pratt in a comedic genius moment is tricked into reading the following off of a teleprompter:

Children under 5 also have elevated levels of the pheromone Blink-182, produced by the part of the liver known as Rita Ora. This allows nerve reflexes to travel along the Cardi B pathway to the Wiz Khalifa 40% faster, saving time & saving lives.

This part had me laughing for a long time after watching it. Even as I write this I am still laughing, this is pure top-shelf satire that only someone like Sacha Baron Cohen could elicit from unsuspecting victims.

While the show is a satirical take on modern pro-gun culture and the resistance around gun control (even when innocent children are being killed in school shootings), it highlights the core problem of American politics the lack of integrity some legislators and senators have.

It's hard to believe we are only one episode into this seven-part series. Based on the positive social media it has had as well as the numerous news stories and heat these senators have received, we are in for a wild fun ride.