Interprete Me

The talk show Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj premieres on Netflix with the mission of trampling on American political life through humor (watch here).

Not that there are no other shows with this same attitude, but here, through the voice and humorous verve of an immigrant’s child like Hasan Minhaj, the whole thing gains a new outline.

This show, which will be streamed every Sunday on Netflix, will take a good part of the audience to think better about how the conservative policy headed by Donald Trump can be highly detrimental to the whole society, not only for those who immigrate to the self titled “country of opportunities”. Through the humorous backdrop, Minhaj comments on the hottest news of the week, which makes us laugh, but also induces people to get aware.

American way of life

One of the great assets of such shows as Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj is in the enormous capacity to understand the social and political problems of a complex country like the United States and to make a joke, but without sounding incoherent or innocent. Minhaj knows very well what he is talking about, as he made clear in another special for Netflix, “Homecoming King”, released in 2017, where he dissects the contradictions of a society that considers itself egalitarian but that sees immigrants and people who are not part of their ideals with prejudice.

At that time, the comedian made a strong stand-up, for which he won several accolades from the public and the critics. Now the mission is a bit more complicated, because in his show he analyzes the facts and subjects that attract most attention during the week. There are shows that do this with a lot of competence, like Gregório Duvivier on the brazilian HBO. The competition is great, but Minhaj does very well.

He combines his quick thinking with a pretty gestural comedy, which makes it even funnier. The sad thing is that the issues covered are real cases and show how much the average American treats people who are not part of the so-called “american way of life” badly. Being an immigrant’s son, he himself claims to have gone through prejudices, veiled or not, trying to live his life quietly as an American. In Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj he shows how he and other people suffering from the same problem live with it weekly – there is always a case of prejudice to be shown – beyond the obvious problems of the troubled Donald Trump government.

Looking inside

So it is safe to say that Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj is a show that induces laughter – in fact, Minhaj is an excellent comedian – but also induces people to look into their society and themselves, often the attitudes pointed out by him in his program are ours as a whole, even if we do not realize it. And it does not matter if the show is turned to American politics: as a lot of places in the world are moving towards the same conservative step, like Brazil, for example, it is very pertinent.

Minhaj succeeds, through his jokes and cynical, ironic way of seeing American life, to show us how we are people who still need to learn a lot. The talk show is fantastic, unmissable and necessary for strange days like the ones we’re living in, as it helps point fingers at the wounds we’ve created ourselves.

Trailer and additional information about Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj Netflix

Synopsis 1: In a fragmented world, Hasan’s the voice we need. A fresh, funny and eye-opening look at global issues that matter, every Sunday.

Synopsis 2: Every Sunday, Hasan Minhaj brings an incisive and nuanced perspective to global news, politics and culture in his unique comedy series.

Age rating: 16

Release year: 2018