Patriot Act: “Brazil, Corruption and the Rainforest” Episode Recap & Review

Rumble In The Jungle

Patriot Act is finally back on Netflix with Hasan Minhaj delivering another hard-hitting episode, this time focused on deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. With a country drowning in corruption, Brazil’s future looks bleak under President Jair Bolsonaro. Whether you choose to believe climate change is real or not, the Amazon rainforest is widely regarded by experts as the lungs of the planet and the way it’s being recklessly destroyed certainly poses a grim future for us all.

Sometimes referred to as the “Trump of the Tropics”, the Brazilian President is directly responsible for the changing fortunes of the rainforest, with deforestation back on the rise thanks to the continued use of Agribusiness. Fueled by the JBS company, this billion dollar industry is responsible for a lot of the bribery and corruption seen through the country. This also leads nicely to some of the humour here, where Hasan shows one of the locals his own memes against Bolsonaro.

The final ten minutes of the episode are then dedicated to the Philippines where we see the people suffering from the worst human rights disaster in over 50 years. With a President determined to weed out drug use for good, his radicalized ideas around killing every drug dealer has had an adverse effect on the country, with poverty on the rise. With elections due tomorrow and many people favouring some of the more extreme, colourful candidates on offer, the future certainly looks bleak for the country.

Once again Hasan weaves his usual mix of wit, humour and colourful imagery to great effect. The use of statistics and politically driven jokes are good with my personal favourite resulting in a particularly embarrassing moment of laughing out loud on a busy train while watching this one. A specific Kevin Spacey reference was the culprit and although some may find this joke a little dark, personally I feel it was a great way to start the show off. As well as a great way to start the third volume of episodes too. Hasan continues to deliver the goods with a reminder that deforestation is a very real, and very important topic we all should take seriously.