Hasan Minhaj and the limits of representation

It's Been a Minute

NPR

News Commentary, Society & Culture, News, Spirituality, Religion & Spirituality

4.6 • 8.8K Ratings

🗓️ 29 September 2023

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A recent New Yorker piece on Hasan Minhaj found that some crucial bits of his stand-up act didn't stand up to fact-checking. Stretching the truth in comedy is par for the course, but how does that work for a figure like Minhaj, who'd previously doubled down on these stories in interviews and is known for his political satire shows? Brittany is joined by writer Imran Siddiquee and journalist Allana Akhtar to make sense of an entertainment industry that created the conditions for his fame.

Then, we explore what happens when you recast western fantasies through a Black lens? We start by looking at one of the most beloved Black fantasies of our time: The Wiz. It's Been a Minute producer, Corey Antonio Rose shares how the original Broadway production of The Wiz made the storyline from The Wizard of Oz hit different for post-civil rights America. Brittany is then joined by African American Studies professor Darieck Scott to discuss the difference between representation and RE-presentation in fantasy.

Transcript

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0:18.8	Hey there, I'm Brittany Luce,
0:20.6	and you're listening to it's been a minute from NPR.
0:23.4	A show about what's happening in our culture
0:26.0	and why it doesn't happen by accident.
0:29.0	This week, I want us to look at who we hold up to represent us.
0:33.4	What happens when we take an American classic
0:35.6	and recast it through a black lens?
0:38.6	Or the question will start with today.
0:41.6	What happens when someone tries to be a representative of an entire population
0:47.2	by stretching the truth?
0:53.6	That's comedian Hassan Manage.
0:55.6	He became famous from his stand-up specials and his Netflix show, Patriot Act,
1:00.0	where he spotlighted big social and political issues.
1:03.0	People hear affirmative action and they often think,
1:05.0	oh, he got that job because he's black.
1:07.8	She got that job because she's Hispanic.
1:10.0	He got that job because he hates blacks and Hispanics.
	...

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