Homeland

by Alayah N. Qayid, '16

Major: Global Affairs

Stereotypes have a long history in the media to portray images of certain races, genders, religions, and classes in a negative light. After the 9/11 attacks, many negative stereotypes of the religion of Islam and Arab people have been portrayed on television and in movies. This is not to say that it is entirely true for all programs. On the alternative, there can also be positive stereotypes that put down the negatives and portray humans that have these personal beliefs just as humans doing there regular jobs. In this paper I will be comparing the television show Homeland to what the critics have to say on how it portrays a bad image of Islam. Some critics believe that this television show is bashing Islam and is giving off a negative image of all muslims being terrorists or evil people. Some critics see the complete opposite and they reference the TV show and give examples of how the show is just giving people a fun thrilling TV show to watch about homeland security. Contrary to what a lot of people think of this TV show, I myself love Homeland, and I think it has nothing to do with giving Islam a bad image. Despite what the critics say, I find Homeland to be a very entertaining TV show.

No matter what we do people of a certain race, culture, or religion can be portrayed in certain ways because of the media. I will use the show Homeland as an example because it focuses on stopping terrorism. Many people believe that this show is doing what the media does and is portraying Muslim people in a negative way. That is not true at all in my opinion because I have actually watched the show. This show is amazing in my opinion and unfortunately many tv series can be bashed by critics at times. Many critics that I honestly do not think have even watched the show are bashing it about giving false ideas of what the CIA is about and bashing it for promoting “Islamophobia”. On the other hand, many critics who I believe did watch the show have a complete opposite opinion.

Homeland a popular spy tv series, known for its suspense and drama, has an audience of people from all ages. It is currently in the fourth season showing on showtime and is still a topic of controversy. Homeland is a show basically about homeland security and it gives a viewer a close idea of what the homeland security actually do to stop violence and terrorism. It takes place in Washington, DC and is about a female character named Carrie, a CIA officer on her authorized and unauthorized missions she takes on counter terrorism. The first season starts with a former U.S marine named Nicholas Brody on his return back from Iraq after being held captive. His entire family and everyone thought that Brody was dead the whole time and his return caused Carrie to question whether or not he was the one that was turned after hearing that a marine was turned.

The show goes on with Carrie starting unauthorized surveillance on his home and family and has him followed. Brody and Carrie then begin to have an affair and she goes on with it knowing that he is in fact turned. Brody clearly is damaged mentally and does not know what to do with his life. In the end he is accused of bombing a CIA building with all important officials. He and Carrie were the only ones to survive the attack and Carrie quickly helped him get away. Brody is then brought back on the CIA’s team to be used on their mission to stop another attack but little does he know that they are secretly planning to just use him and get rid of him. Brody rebels and takes on his own path for a while.

In the show, the mad guys are primarily Muslim. Even though the enemies are mostly tracked down using racial or religious profiling, the creators of Homeland work very hard at making the U.S government officials very corrupt, unlikeable, and irresponsible. This idea of one side against the other, or bad against evil slowly seems to disappear throughout the episodes. For example, in one part of the series, a drone strike hit an entire school in Afghanistan because of the CIA and the Vice President. They tried to cover this up but they knowingly did this and knew what the outcome would be. This season also shows the inner personality of one of the top terrorists, Abu Nazir. Abu Nazir’s only child was killed in the drone strike before he became a violent man. The portrayal of these episodes shows the bad guys as Abu Nazir and other violent people as avenging the death of their children and family and the good guys as the child killing government. Brody, the soldier who converted to Islam and that was held captive for 8 years was saved by Abu Nazir and was given a peaceful home to stay so that he can teach Abu Nazir’s son English. The death of the child also made this soldier very emotional. Brody is then manipulated into paying the U.S back for the death of the children. Therefore, Homeland shows the Muslim characters as very complex and people with multiple aspects on life.

Homeland portrays Islam in a positive way when it shows how at comfort and peace Brody is with his religion of Islam. Brody is mentally broken and lost and, the only time we see his character at peace is while he is in prayer. In allowing the viewers to see that strong and positive impact it has had on his life Homeland shows something completely opposite of “Islamophobia”. Brody is constantly criticized by his wife throughout the show for being a Muslim. She referenced the fact that if a Muslim knew that his daughter was going out with a guy they would stone her to death. This scene showed how right after he was at peace in prayer, he had to face his wife’s ignorant idea of him and his faith. This scene is sad to see because it shows how sometimes the American rhetoric of Islam can get in between humans who just want to be at peace.

After 9/11 the media has portrayed all Muslims negatively because of the crimes of the crazy extremists. True Muslims are completely against violence and these extremists. This draws up to the critics that quickly assumed that this show was about that. Homeland has many scenes in it that shows that it is not against the Arab culture or Islam. For example, in a scene at Brody’s daughters school one of the students is saying very hateful things about Iranians, Iraqis and Muslims and generalizes them. Brody’s daughter stands up for Muslims in this scene and puts the boy in his place. Also, in the later seasons an important character that plays a role as a CIA officer is a Muslim girl and she helps Carrie and Saul in great ways in their mission because it is her passion to stop this violence. American popular culture sometimes shows the enemy as a parody of ethnic stereotypes associated with the presumed rivals of our country. Germans and Russians, for example, have often been portrayed as evil enemies in movies after the Cold War and World War 2. After the Iraq War and American involvement in Afghanistan, Arab men and Muslim men were often evil people operating violent machinery. Therefore, I can honestly say that Homeland shows an outlook that is more progressive on Islam. It portrays these caricatures in a positive light and adds more feelings and depth to these archetypes.

There is still some time that is needed until stereotypes and prejudice hopefully disappear but would I say Homeland is a safe show to watch? I would definitely give it a yes. I can definitely say that Homeland has kept me on the edge of my chair with its unexpecting plot twists. Whatever political ideas the directors of the show have, this show is amazing and is done so well. The theme of Homeland includes conspiracy theories, and gives the viewer a feel of what the intelligence business is all about. The show and the characters are so perfectly crafted and yet so complex that it draws you to the characters and lets you go on being entertained. Carrie the main character is not just a stereotypical patriotic government agent that is trying to solve the conspiracy of terrorism, she an amazing nut case that is addicted to her meds and has a very deep obsession with knowing the truth about these cases. Homeland does not lean on one side, it is thrilling show but the viewer but keep an open mind and have interest in the positive progress and great prejudice it contains. When my friend recommended this show to me I literally got through all three seasons in three weeks with a busy schedule.

References

Suderman, Peter. "Terror TV: homeland shows the messier side of the security bureaucracy." Reason Jan. 2012: 68+. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 09 Nov. 2014.

Black, I. (2012). Homeland: does it give an accurate picture of Middle East politics?. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2012/oct/25/homeland-accurate-picture-middle-east-politics

Rosenberg, Y. (2012). Homeland is not Islamophobic despite what some critics claim. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/24/homeland-not-islamophobic

Kumar, D., Kundnani, A. (2013). Homeland and the Imagination of Homeland Security. Jacobinmagazine. Retrieved from https://www.jacobinmag.com/2013/11/homeland-and-the-imagination-of-national-security/

Jurgensen, J. (2012). The Making of TV’s Hottest Drama. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10000872396390444450004578004391758939364

Aleaziz, H. (2011). Interogating the Creators of “Homeland”. Mother Jones. Retrieved from http://www.motherjones.com/media/2011/10/homeland-season-2-claire-danes-howard-gordon-alex-gansa

Nussbaum, E. (2011). “Homeland”: The Antidote for “24”. The New Yorker.

Retrieved from http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/homeland-the-antidote-for-24