Nowadays, Netflix is constantly pumping out original shows and movies and comedy specials. I’ve been a fan of Hasan Minhaj since his turn as the featured speaker at the White House correspondents’ dinner in 2017 and his Netflix comedy special ”Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King” from the same year. So, I got very excited when he came out with his Netflix show Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. Now in its 4th season, the weekly comedy series takes a closer look at a specific global issue or trend in each episode, and has quickly become one of my favorite shows. Here are some reasons why Patriot Act makes me feel more patriotic:
1. The way he examines each issue in depth has educated me a lot.
As opposed to a lot of other weekly or nightly comedy news shows I’ve seen that make a few key points on the week’s news, Minhaj focuses on one particular issue and goes in depth in explaining the different aspects. I like that he always expands on something that I may have heard a bit about before but never knew the full story. For example, his episodes can focus on any topic ranging from dictatorships in South America to monopolizing companies like Amazon or Supreme.
2. I see me on the screen.
In a landscape of late night shows full of white middle aged men named Jimmy or John, seeing a Muslim American as the face of a comedy news show makes me feel represented. Minhaj doesn’t shy away from his Muslim or desi heritage, but includes it as part of his persona in both jokes mocking stereotypes as well as serious ruminations over his identity. More than that, he grew up as a child of immigrants in the ‘90s, and his experience mirrors that of my family, so being able to relate to someone on TV when that’s been a rarity for most of my life is pretty cool.
3. His show has had an impact on the global and political stage.
A lot of people might be of the opinion that Minhaj is primarily a comedian and not a journalist and as such should not be taken as seriously. To that, I’d argue that we have a reality TV star as America’s president, so when it comes to issues we should all care about, profession really shouldn’t matter. I especially enjoy seeing how Patriot Act has caused ripples in the global sphere. One of his first few episodes covered Saudi Arabia and its prince, and following this, Saudi Arabia blocked the streaming of that episode in the country. His episode on India’s election has also caused a lot of outrage and strong opinions from Indian voters, politicians, and political correspondents. Most recently, after his episode on the student loan crisis aired, he was asked to testify in front of the U.S. Congress.
In today’s political climate, it’s not uncommon to see more and more comedians and pop culture stars speaking up and using their voice to educate and promote movements. Learning about topics that interest me, but that I never would have had the time to explore fully from a Muslim American immigrant, is a pretty cool way of being an American myself.