I can’t put my finger on when I decided to develop my own political opinions. It may have been as early second grade when word got around that Barack Obama was going to be the first African-American president. Politics are teeming with controversy, but the easiest way to mend the differences between people with opposing opinions is through comedy. Hasan Minhaj is an Indian-American Muslim comedian. Minhaj gained popularity after appearing in The Daily Show alongside Trevor Noah from 2014 to 2018. He performed at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, where he cracked jokes about the president and the fourth estate. He earned his first Peabody Award for his first stand-up comedy special “Homecoming King,” which debuted on Netflix in 2013. In 2018, he left The Daily Show to pursue his own weekly comedy show Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. Patriot Act has won two Peabody Awards and two Webby Awards. The show explores a wide range of cultural and political topics. The sobriety of the content of his show is diffused with his comedic voice and the personal anecdotes he incorporates. Minhaj is the first Indian-American Muslim host of a weekly comedy show. Minhaj attributes his discovery as a comedian to Ben Affleck. The actor’s confrontation with Bill Maher and writer Sam Harris for their stereotyping of Islam piqued Minhaj’s interest. During his audition for The Daily Show, he created the bit “Batman vs. Bill Maher.” “Batman vs. Bill Maher” condemns Islamophobia in a light-hearted manner and is a microcosm of Minhaj’s ability to fuse politics and comedy.
There’s a circulating joke that the root of comedy is personal trauma, which Minhaj is not short of. A lot of “Homecoming King” communicates his experiences as a second generation American growing up in Davis, California. His parents moved from Aligarh, India, but Minhaj was left alone with his father when his mother returned to India to complete medical school. “Homecoming King” specifically explores Minhaj’s relationship with his father. As an immigrant exploring a new country, his father was keen on protecting his son by instilling rules and regulations, forbidding partying, enunciating the importance of school work, and being emotionally unavailable. By sharing his experiences with his father and portraying his forgiveness for his parents’ actions, Minhaj serves as a figure that children of immigrants can relate to and seek hope from. When Patriot Act got cancelled in June of 2020, Indian-American Muslims everywhere felt as if they had been deprived of their one source of representation in comedy. To make matters worse, Netflix premiered the movie Cuties, which depicts a Muslim girl named Amy that “liberates herself” by removing her hijab and partaking in a twerking competition after joining her school’s dance team. Netflix terminated an entertaining and educational show with an Indian-American Muslim representative to fuel misconceptions regarding Islam in their subpar movie Cuties, which portrays the necessity of representation in the media. By serving as the first Indian-American Muslim host of a comedy show, Minhaj has revolutionized the representation of POC in comedy. Although Patriot Act has been discontinued, Hasan Minhaj’s impact as a person of color in comedy is eternal.
1 Comment
Khushal B.
11/4/2020 07:06:49 am
I really enjoyed this blog! I remember watching his homecoming episode and simultaneously crying and laughing. In all his segments, I feel like he not only provides comedy, but he gives information as well. Hasan broke so many barriers as an Indian-muslim comedian, and I am thankful for that being an Indian woman. I look forward to reading your future blogs and learning more about POC in coemdy!
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