In a post of 350-450 words, discuss how Hasan Minhaj analyzes the role of Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in the “Saudi Arabia” episode of Patriot Act. You may choose to write a post on one of the following options, which are based on our discussion of representation and recognition in the media:
1. Identify and summarize sequences of the episode where Minhaj highlights the distinction between what is encoded by and decoded from the news coverage of the Khashoggi case. What is the significance of these distinctions for Minhaj? And do you see any distinction between how Patriot Act as a show encodes its messages, as compared to what can be decoded from them?
2. What are specific sequences where Minhaj engages with (a) common trope(s) about Islam? Summarize the sequence, and comment on how he uses comedy and/or other techniques to respond to these tropes? Identify the intent of this response, whether it is effective or not, and explain why or why not.
3. Focus on the second segment of the episode on Indian Americans in the American media landscape: what commonly held ideas about immigrants does Minhaj reference in this segment, how would you describe the representative techniques he uses to respond to these, and what is the effect of that response? Considering that Minhaj identifies as both Indian American and as a Muslim, what do you think the effect is of placing this second segment after the first one on the Khashoggi case?