During this time of intense political strife, it is necessary to stay educated on policies and other issues that have an impact on our lives. The Netflix show, The Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, is a fantastic way to obtain a deeper understanding of our government and political issues occurring at the moment.
Hasan Minhaj is mostly known for his comedic acts and his political commentary. His parents immigrated from India and resided in Davis, California where he was born. He was raised in a Muslim family and is fluent in English, Urdu, and Hindi. His mother moved back to India to finish medical school after his birth while he stayed with his father in the United States. He attended the University of California, Davis and graduated with a major in political science.
While in college, he became fascinated by Chris Rock's stand-up comedy, Never Scared, which led to his interest in comedy. He won a radio competition which resulted in him opening for comedians such as Katt Williams and Gabriel Iglesias. 2 years after he graduating from college, he moved to Los Angeles to test his luck in an NBC competition show created to scout out the best comedians from diverse backgrounds, in which he was a finalist. He acted in several different television shows including Arrested Development and State of Georgia and also created his own YouTube series. In 2014, Minhaj obtained a role on Comedy Central's The Daily Show. His career in comedic political commentary only grew from there. In 2017, he was invited to be the featured speaker at the White House Correspondents' dinner, where he criticized Donald Trump's lack of leadership.
The Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj premiered in 2018. This show touches on the modern cultural, political, and economic environment from interviews with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez covering the Green New Deal to discussions about immigration policies to the explanation of Affirmative Action. The Patriot Act doesn't just discuss political issues in the U.S., it also touches on issues such as censorship in China and elections in India. In 2019, Minhaj was listed as one of TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People.
In 2019, Minhaj called on Congress to relieve the student debt crisis. While lightening the mood with his typical hilarious one-liners, he lays down hard facts that leaves congress members speechless at points.
"I think it's a huge problem that the youth of America have to bombard their favorite rapper or pop musician and ask them to pay back their student loans."
"They're not even asking for selfies anymore. Are you a fan of Taylor Swift? Are you a Swiftie? Even her fans have gone up to her and asked if she would pay off her student loans."
"And we even tell kids today, 'If you don't go to college you might as well get a face tattoo.' and then they point to Post Malone and we're like 'Okay, that's ONE guy.'"
Hasan Minhaj is an extremely influential figure, and is a fantastic figure for representations for Asians who, unfortunately, lack major representation in the media. I would say he is a middle-c creative as there are many other political comedians. You should definitely check out The Patriot Act on Netflix. There is such a wide variety of topics that he touches on, surely you will be able to find an episode that peaks your interest. I've also linked the video of his Congressional hearing about the student debt crisis down below that is, in my opinion, one of the best videos of all time. It's our duty as the upcoming generation to fight against political injustices and be a voice for those who lack one and to do this we must stay educated and VOTE.
Congressional testimony: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjWWTTMj0xw&ab_channel=extraquality
Minhaj teaching Ellen how to correctly pronounce his name: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t3YhWQppAw&ab_channel=TheEllenShow
Patriot Act is one of my favorite shows on Netflix. Hassan Minhaj does such a great job of educating audiences of all ages on political and social issues in our world. I appreciate how he incorporates humor to make it more digestible. I think he's somewhere between big-c and middle-c creative because although he hasn't transformed the realm of stand-up/comedy, his representation in the South Asian community is pretty transformative. He breaks a lot of the model minority quota which he actually discusses in his show/movie "Homecoming". He talks of how his family shamed him at first for pursuing comedy/acting since they came to the country for "the American Dream". He also addressed racial prejudice and cultural standards that confined him as a Muslim American growing up in post-9/11 America. I appreciate how you brought up voting at the end of your post too. It is crucial that all of us vote and discuss these issues at hand because Earth, rights, the future is at stake. VOTE!!
ReplyDeleteI definitely think Hasan Minhaj is an inspirational figure that showcases a good example to put together various aspects of a life that normally aren't associated with one another; to be a Muslim and a comedian are not ideas that identities that tend to be associated with one another, but Minhaj has put them together in a way that no one else has managed successfully. It takes a great deal of creativity to take parts of your identity and make it a lifestyle, just how Gehry took his weird drawings and made a career out of turning them into buildings. Minhaj using his position to also speak out on important issues that are relevant to all of us and try to make a positive difference in our world.
ReplyDeleteI love Hasan Minhaj! It is so great to see minorities represented in the media and advocating for other minorities. I would definitely agree that he is a middle-c creative. He found a way to make politics more interesting and accessible to youth. Because of him, I have found a passion in learning about politics and looking into ways to get involved in change. I feel that he had a lot of intrinsic motivation. He had a passion for comedy and found a way to make that work for him and the degree he earned. One of my favorite videos of him is when he corrects Ellen Degeneres on how to pronounce his name, a video which you also included. Being a person with a "unique" or "ethnic" name, it was very inspiring to see him defend his identity and has become something that I started doing. Thank you so much for writing this post. I absolutely enjoyed and appreciated it.
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