Common Sense Media Review
By Marty Brown
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Sacha Baron Cohen's return mixes politics and poop jokes.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Who Is America?
What's the Story?
WHO IS AMERICA is an interview show where comedian Sacha Baron Cohen plays four different journalists in each episode: a right-wing conspiracy theorist, a liberal activist, an ex-convict artist, and an Israeli military officer. Each character conducts interviews with guests ranging from politicians to art gallery owners, trying to get responses to Cohen's broad characterizations of these stereotypes without letting his subjects in on the joke.
Is It Any Good?
While he's clearly trying to repeat past successes like Da Ali G Show, which deftly straddled a comedic line between politics and entertainment, Cohen's shtick sadly peaked more than a decade ago. Because of this, Who Is America? understandably feels a little dated, like watching third-tier Daily Show sketches. Many times, he's just pushing his guests to see if they break, like the art gallery owner whose portrait he paints using feces and other bodily fluids. But occasionally, Cohen strikes gold, like he does with the already-infamous fake commercial where congressmen advocate a program where preschool children are given firearms. For fans of his style, this is more of the same, but for those on the fence, it's not as compelling as his earlier stuff.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how satire works. What does a show like Who Is America? hope to achieve, and how does Cohen go about achieving it? Are his sketches purely for laughs or is there a deeper meaning in each one?
Cohen plays four different characters on each episode of the show. What are the differences between these characters and how does each character interact with the guests? What is each character's belief system and how does it reveal itself during interviews?
Who is America? What does the show have to say about the titular question? Why would the show choose this name? Does it have an opinion? If so, what is it?
TV Details
- Premiere date : July 15, 2018
- Cast : Sacha Baron Cohen
- Network : Showtime
- Genre : Comedy
- TV rating :
- Last updated : March 13, 2020
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