Is Hasan Minhaj’s "Patriot Act" Simply an Epic Fail?

Last month, I came across Patriot Act, a new comedy show on Netflix, while scrolling through Netflix's newest additions. I had previously seen Homecoming King by the same comedian, Hasan Minhaj, that I really enjoyed, so I decided to check out this show. Before watching, I wondered about how the general public reacted to and thought about this show, especially since the name of this show is Patriot Act, which was an Act of Congress signed by former U.S. President George W. Bush. Did this show have political motives? Is this show basically a comedic version of CNN? With these intriguing questions in mind, I pressed PLAY and watched a few episodes to see what the show’s primary goal is.

After watching a few episodes, I realized that I had seen exactly what I expected from this show. Because I had previously seen Hasan Minhaj’s other show, Homecoming King, I had been expecting jokes on U.S. President Donald Trump and a light-hearted comedic approach to political issues. I was right. While from the title of the show many viewers may infer that the show probably makes fun of conservative views, it does so in a light-hearted manner. Minhaj skillfully manages to speak out about problems contained within both Democrats and Republicans, and even focuses on international news, along with non-political subjects. He creates an intriguing show that caters to everyone’s interests.

One intriguing episode that skillfully addresses conflicting opinions is his episode regarding affirmative action policies in American universities. While this topic is generally discussed with a serious tone, Minhaj does not do this. He makes jokes and incorporates some of his own past experiences to display his point of view on this issue. He asks questions to his audience and really makes them question their thoughts. Minhaj not only focuses on what goes on in the minds of top universities but also talks about the views of people from different backgrounds. He explores the opinions of the admissions department at top universities, Asian parents, and lawyers. Through this use of varying opinions, he manages to convince people that race does not determine if you get into college -- your work ethic does. He jokingly supports this by talking about his own college experience and how he had falsely thought that stating his ethnicity would lower his chances of getting in. Through this episode, he manages to convince not just teenagers, but also everyone else, to work hard to reach their goals and not blame our respective colleges because we, ourselves, might not be what a particular college is looking for.

Hasan Minhaj, however, does focus on matters besides college too. In every one of his episodes, he manages to raise awareness about issues going on inside our society and how we should not just let these issues roll away. Instead, we should discuss them, just as he is doing. With his comedic approach, Patriot Act easily attracts many different types of audiences and is a must watch for everyone.