I have watched the first 3 episodes of "Who Is America?". These are my observations

Note: This is not meant to be a review of the whole series, these are (as the title implies) a few observations that I have formulated while watching the first three episodes. I will write a full review of the season once it's complete. That and as a newbie to the Steemit world, I figured this would be a good chance to flex my blog skills. Okay? Okay!

Growing up, one my favorite comedy programs was Da Ali G Show. Everything about that show satisfied my comedic pallet; the unpredictability, the characters, the aesthetics, and more importantly, the art of acting stupid in order to expose the stupidity of the rich and the powerful. In short, Ali G served as a great stepping stone for Sacha Baron Cohen's career and gave audiences something to root for, a subversive comedy that did not take itself too seriously or was preachy.

I always try to recognize the flaws of human nature and how despite the things we hide under (money, status, security, etc) we are still animals, animals with a complex framework and weird ways to justify our existence and the things we do. I find it awfully strange when the powerful lose control when they converse with one of Cohen's characters, though some hold their own and turn out to be pretty decent (i.e. Ali G's interview with Pat Buchanan).

Which brings me to "Who Is America?", a new program from Sacha Baron Cohen that tries to fulfill the same goal as "Da Ali G Show", which is admirable, given the instability that surrounds us in this day and age, but feels empty. The program feels like a desperate attempt to reinvigorate Cohen's career, using the tactics of the old to interrogate the new, I guess that's what happens when you don't get to play Freddy Mercury. I also find it awfully strange that Cohen's victims in this series are so dumb to not realize that it's him. I figured Sarah Palin or Bernie Sanders would take a hint minutes in. I get that there are some that have never seen Cohen's work, but would at least know the name, or Borat (I guess not). I guess the segments are more intriguing when he deals with the general public, a great example of this would be the segment where Cohen, disguised as the left leaning, NPR reporter, proposes to build the largest mosque outside of the middle east in rural Arizona.

After watching the first three episodes, I will say this: the show is not terrible, some segments are better than others, some of his new characters are better than others. While the premise may be a little stale, the show still has some of that bloodless spirit that made Cohen's earlier work worth mentioning. My favorite segments in the show are the ones that are centered around the character Erran Morad, the gun crazy Israeli soldier who coaxes conservative politicians in America to endorse absurd campaigns, such as arming four year olds with guns to prevent gun violence, and dressing up as a Mexican family in order to infiltrate a quinceanera in order to battle illegal immigration.

As the series progresses, who knows which direction the program will go in, will it lose steam? Will it top itself with crazier segments? Who knows. What I do know is that this show has completed its task in just three episodes, we have a polarizing series that is generating controversy, though mostly annoying outrage over the crude aspects of the show and its humor, look up any review on line and you will know what I mean. Maybe that's kind of a good thing, while it generates controversy, maybe this program will help fix the divide with humor, maybe generate more conversation than controversy, only time will tell.