Reflecting on the Cultural Impact of Hasan Minhaj’s ‘Patriot Act’ After Six Volumes
Patriot Act is a web television talk show hosted by American comedian and political commentator Hasan Minhaj. Its episodes cover a large range of both international and American topics including elections, censorship, student loans, and drugs. In the interest of making the show accessible, every episode of Patriot Act is free to watch on YouTube. The show has been a huge hit, running six volumes from October 2018 to June 2020, when the show was abruptly cancelled by Netflix.
As an Indian and a Muslim, Hasan Minhaj created a show that felt personal to many people of color. Uma Manikoth, 15, says, “…it was someone who looked like me and grew up like me talking about things that matter to everyone.” Seeing someone of my skin color on the television crack cultural jokes and reference my lived South Asian experiences truly felt like a breath of fresh air. In a space so heavily dominated by generally older white comedians and commentators, Hasan Minhaj created a show that young people, like me, find engaging and personally relevant: “He’s so informative and really brought the immigrant/first gen struggle to light.” says Bia Sayeed, 18.
In addition to the representation it offered the Asian American community, Patriot Act was imperative for the past two years. It took a deep dive into topics the American mainstream media hardly covered otherwise: things like Indian elections (Vol. 2 Ep. 1) and censorship in China (Vol 2. Ep. 6). All too often, you see comedians make political jokes at the expense of the underprivileged. Minhaj was quite the opposite, presenting a much needed balance of clean jokes, sympathy, and straight facts: “The show doesn’t hesitate to tell things as they are, which is why so many people can understand and relate to it.” says Jake Lee, 15. Minhaj was unapologetically bold in his stances, making points that I, and other viewers, would never have considered. He hopped between passionate pleas for action, funny pop culture references, and hard-hitting punchlines with eye-catching graphics magnified on the screens that form his stage. Hana O’Looney, 16, writes, “It was incredible to see someone so young make incredibly insightful and informative content targeted toward a Gen-Z audience, without any sense of censorship or sympathy for those who have truly wronged global political and economic systems.” To put it simply, he never gave the viewer an opportunity to zone out or lose his message.
On August 18, Hasan Minhaj announced through his social media channels that, after six volumes, Patriot Act had come to an end. Fans of the show were saddened by the decision, Hrishita Mareddy, 14, saying she was “…so disappointed and truly heartbroken that the show got canceled; it meant so much to me and so many people across the world.” Neither Minhaj nor Netflix has given a clear reason as to why the show ended, prompting a huge push to bring it back. Patriot Act was performing exceptionally. On YouTube, the show has 1.33 million subscribers, with an average of 1.7 million views per episode — not including the exclusive interviews, deep cuts, and other videos the show puts out on the platform. Production during the pandemic could not have been the problem as Volume 6 was shot during the pandemic with no live audience and limited physical contact.
Personally, I’m disappointed in Netflix for their decision to cancel Patriot Act. It’s rare to find shows this informative, engaging, and unique. While the multi-billion dollar streaming service continues to renew shows and movies drowning in controversy (think The Kissing Booth, etc.), they’ve shown patterns of cancelling shows that are groundbreaking in terms of diversity (think I Am Not Okay With This with a lesbian lead, etc.). Now, Patriot Act is just another show on that list.
While Patriot Act has come to a close, the show will remain on Netflix and YouTube. The unexpected demise of the show will leave a noticeable hole in the realm of political comedy and in the hearts of all its young viewers who looked up to the show as proper representation. Maahe Kunvar, 14, writes, “I had hoped to visit his venue someday and sit in the room he uses to make people laugh.” Hasan Minhaj combines the best aspects of stand up comedy and political commentary to deliver impactful episodes one after another. One day, I hope we’ll have a plethora of unproblematic and informative people of color in mainstream media like Minhaj. Until then — I’m going to binge all six volumes of Patriot Act.
Aarushi Gupta (15) is a rising sophomore in the IB program at Richard Montgomery High School. She loves music, writing, and talking to her friends. She’s also very passionate about politics. You can find her on Instagram at @aarushigupt.a or email her at aarushigupta300@gmail.com.
Originally published on September 15, 2020 at https://yellohmoose.org
