Hasan Minhaj. A first generation, brown comedian. For those who are South Asian and have immigrant parents, you know that this is quite a shocking statement. Hasan first caught my eye when he gave his impressive and very memorable speech at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in April. This Correspondents’ dinner broke precedent with the absence of the president. Having a Muslim featured speaker at the dinner during the Trump administration was amusing and symbolic at the same time. Minhaj's speech reminded me of a passive rebellion. He incorporated the fact that this country has improved, revolutionized so much over that past years, despite the administration that was leading the United States. He was so clever when making references; it was quite impressive to see his effortless way to help people relate to his ideas, and at many parts of the speech, his words were enough to cause major paradigm shifts. He was meticulous about elaborating on the difficulty of being a part of the media and on a news platform. Minhaj told the Press, “That's why you gotta be on your 'A' game. You gotta be twice as good. You can't make any mistakes, because when one of you messes up he blames your entire group. ... And now you know what it feels like to be a minority.” This statement not only elicited humor but also a sense of pride. Every minority in the nation must have applauded at this point which is why it was so rewarding to have someone of Minhaj’s minority be the featured speaker. His remarks may have been for entertainment purposes but it revealed the true thoughts of those with opposing view to the Trump administration. He was courageous, humorous, ruthless when giving this speech, but his creativity was truly shown in his Netflix Special: The Homecoming King.
Minhaj's wit, confidence, and creativity are all perfectly encapsulated in the speeches and stand up that he delivers. His ability to switch between emotions quickly helps fluctuate the atmosphere and ambiance of his performances, constantly keeping the audience's attention during his act. His comedy has the ability to capture even the smallest details of his life. He had such an immense stage presence and wrote a script that elicited a plethora of emotions out of the audience. He was once again able to simultaneously touch hearts and make people laugh until they cry. The execution of the act flowed so well; the timing, the punch lines, and the intensity were all effortless. Minhaj so creatively and beautifully let other people take a glimpse into a life of a brown, immigrant family.
Well my usual comments question whether the person is going to be a long term creative or if they simply created one or two creative projects. But I will not question that here with Minhaj. He is not only hilarious but the fact that he was able to slight the current administration while actually standing in the White House is amazing and so creatively sly. I love the story behind Minhaj in that he is a first generation American citizen, but I love even more that he uses a less popular, but still very public platform of standup comedy to be an advocate for what he believes. It takes true creativity to keep people laughing for an extended amount of time and I hope he continues his work for years to come!
ReplyDeleteMe being a son of two immigrants and being born here I definitely can relate to the comedy of Hasan Minhaj. His comedy regarding his experience between his parents is definitely what occurs in my everyday life. As a first generation american, there is a lot to deal with in terms of changing times yet sometimes the old aspects of our life makes us who we are. Having that experience of being a american yet being cultural different them the norms.
ReplyDeleteI very much enjoy Hasan Minhaj as part of the new, younger Daily Show that Jon Stewart created to succeed him after he retired. Behind Trevor Noah, Hasan Minhaj represents one of the unique minority viewpoints that the Daily Show has to offer now. They realized that the show could not continue on without changes and still remain relevant in people's lives. New voices like Hasan Minhaj's show that new and interesting takes on life and comedy can find places of prominence in television.
ReplyDeleteWe have learned that part of being creative is to recognize that there is a need for something new or different in a certain area and then finding a way to fulfill that need. I think Minhaj does this and that is one of the reasons he is so creative. He uses his comedy and speechmaking to talk about relevant, difficult issues. And he does this in a very inclusive manner by taking about his own first-generation status. As a first generation American myself, I identify with a lot of what he says. Many Americans belong to a minority group of some kind making his creativity wide-reaching.
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