# Homeland gets punked by Scenic Artists **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 15, 2015, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754 "2015-10-15T20:38:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/1 "2015-10-15T20:38:44Z")
😃😃 Priceless. I love it. I’ve often wondered about graffiti in foreign languages. How often somebody wrote something funny or vulgar that the movie production overlooks. Now we know it does happen. Except this time the people doing it were expressing a political message about the show’s depiction of Muslims. > **[Artists write 'Homeland is racist' graffiti on set](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34536434)** > > Graffiti artists hired by the makers of the hit TV show Homeland write messages on its set criticising the show for alleged racism. > [@](#): > > Artists hired by the makers of the US show Homeland to write graffiti on one of its sets in Berlin say they wrote messages criticising the show’s alleged stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims. > > The artists wrote graffiti reading “Homeland is racist” and “Homeland is rubbish”, among others. > > They say they were asked to write the graffiti in June to “lend authenticity” to a set depicting a refugee camp. > [@](#): > > They said that no-one working on the show checked what it was that they were actually writing, with the set designers “too frantic to pay any attention to us” and the Arabic script treated as “merely a supplementary visual”. > > Caram Kapp, one of the artists, told the BBC: “In this graffiti we are trying to call for a more differentiated view of the region, and we’re also trying to say that things aren’t as simple as they seem on this show.” ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/2 "2015-10-15T21:05:44Z")
I don’t agree with the graffiti writers. _Homeland_ portrays both good and bad Muslim characters, and I think it does a decent job of showing how complicated the middle east is. If anything, the show portrays the CIA in a more negative light than any other group of people. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/3 "2015-10-15T21:20:41Z")
I haven’t watched regularly since season 1. Seen a few episodes from season 2. I do recall positive Muslim characters in the stories. Good balance to the villains they portray. There is post production software they can use to change the Arabic writing. Adobe After Effects is one that I used in class. They’ll probably fix it before the dvd comes out. ---
**Author:** ![northporlarbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7bcc69/32.png) [@northporlarbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/northporlarbear)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/4 "2015-10-15T21:25:50Z")
As long as the depicted facts are correct, it is the network’s freedom what they publish. What. The show is supposed to distort facts just so Muslims can look better & feel better? ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/5 "2015-10-15T21:29:20Z")
> [@SaharaTea](#): > > I don’t agree with the graffiti writers. _Homeland_ portrays both good and bad Muslim characters, and I think it does a decent job of showing how complicated the middle east is. Does it fuck. When I gave up it was conflating Hezbollah with al Qaeda and the Arabs were cartoon caricatures while the Jews were nuanced studies - and that was just the end of S1. It’s propaganda for the hard of thinking ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/6 "2015-10-15T21:45:48Z")
I halfway wonder whether this was deliberately orchestrated for publicity value. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/7 "2015-10-15T21:50:14Z")
I’m still watching, and politics be damned. I’m able to remember, even in my enfeebled mental state, that this is fiction; a story that’s being told for dramatic effect. Anyone who reads anything else into it has a personal agenda. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/8 "2015-10-15T22:13:42Z")
These two artists have pretty much screwed their careers in films. I can’t tell from the article if they were full time scenic artists that worked on the show or not. They might have been freelancers hired because they knew Arabic. If they were full time scenic artists its hard to understand why they’d wreck their careers. This stunt will be forgotten in a few days and they’ll be out of work. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/9 "2015-10-16T03:29:39Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > These two artists have pretty much screwed their careers in films. I can’t tell from the article if they were full time scenic artists that worked on the show or not. They might have been freelancers hired because they knew Arabic. > > If they were full time scenic artists its hard to understand why they’d wreck their careers. This stunt will be forgotten in a few days and they’ll be out of work. They’re freelancers. They took the gig after nearly every other Arabic speaking artist in town (Berlin) had turned it down out of disapproval of the show. They only took it when the idea of subverting its intent came to them. Screwed in Hollywood, probably. Screwed in world film, I doubt it. Successful as artists, I rather think so 🙂 Can’t link to an article, I’ve just seen them interviewed on Sky news in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/10 "2015-10-16T04:49:01Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > Does it fuck. > > When I gave up it was conflating Hezbollah with al Qaeda and the Arabs were cartoon caricatures while the Jews were nuanced studies - and that was just the end of S1. > > It’s propaganda for the hard of thinking I gave up midway through season 3. Its basically CIA propaganda. Outsourced.😃 I recall the actors employed to play “savages” in old westerns used to pull similar tricks, when speaking a native language. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/11 "2015-10-16T05:00:25Z")
On the other hand it speaks a lot for the world view of a show’s creators if they don’t even read (or verify) what the graffiti says. They just want something which “looks Arabic ie scary”. Nuance is alien to them. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/12 "2015-10-16T15:15:55Z")
> [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](#): > > They’re freelancers. They took the gig after nearly every other Arabic speaking artist in town (Berlin) had turned it down out of disapproval of the show. They only took it when the idea of subverting its intent came to them. Screwed in Hollywood, probably. Screwed in world film, I doubt it. Successful as artists, I rather think so 🙂 > > Can’t link to an article, I’ve just seen them interviewed on Sky news in the UK. Why do they need artists? They just need someone who can write arabic and a can of spray paint. I can not wait until Homeland is cancelled and people no longer have any reason to associate Muslims with terrorism. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/13 "2015-10-16T15:21:55Z")
I dunno why this would impact negatively on the show. Leave the graffiti as it is. Aren’t they trying to show that certain groups of Arabs are scary and full of hate for the US? Graffiti negative to Homeland (Security) should be expected. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/14 "2015-10-16T15:43:31Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I’m still watching, and politics be damned. I’m able to remember, even in my enfeebled mental state, that this is fiction; a story that’s being told for dramatic effect. Anyone who reads anything else into it has a personal agenda. I’ve never watched Homeland, since I don’t have Showtime and I’ve never gotten around to getting the DVDs or streaming it, so I can’t really speak to the authenticity or racism of it. But as a larger trend, it is troubling how typecast Muslim actors are. There was an interesting article about it in GQ recently, [you can read it here](http://www.gq.com/story/muslim-american-typecasting-hollywood). From the article: > [@](#): > > Sayed says he does all he can to intersperse his terrorist roles with more helpful portrayals of Muslims. He wrote and starred in a well-regarded film, AmericanEast, charting the struggles of Muslims in America post-9/11. But he has to play terrorists to pay the bills, so he at least tries to be a realistic one. He does side work as a technical consultant, advising directors on the accuracy of their films. He worked in this capacity on Executive Decision. “We had a really beautiful moment in an Arabic wedding scene,” Sayed says. "And the producer, Joel Silver, saw it and said, ‘No, no. This is nice. I want a fucking bad Arab. We don’t want a good Arab.’ " > > Almost all of the wedding scene was cut from the film, Sayed says. But here’s a scene that wasn’t cut: One of the terrorists takes a quick break from killing people to read the Koran. "If I’m playing a guy chosen to hijack a plane, that means I’m one of the top soldiers. I’m going on a mission. I’m not going to Mecca. He might recite something in his head if he’s religious, but he’s not going to open the Bible. But producers get really sensitive if you say, ‘No, that’s not accurate.’ " Also, everyone who watches TV shows knows that they are fiction and not documentaries. But people are still unknowingly pick up information from TV and movies not remembering that’s where the information came from. For example, no one probably would seriously say that they get their medical information from TV shows, [but people are misinformed by TV shows about medicine](http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2015/08/28/CPR-more-successful-on-TV-than-in-real-life/2991440787530/): > [@](#): > > Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, saves nearly double the number of lives on television than it does in real life, leading people to believe it is far more effective than doctors actually know it to be, according to a new study. > > Researchers found that in general people had misconceptions about healthcare, and especially emergency healthcare, because of fictional embellishments meant to enhance storytelling. Despite television being for entertainment, the concern is that people make decisions about their healthcare based on inaccurate information. I’m a very big watcher of TV and movies and I know that it would make for boring entertainment if everything had to be 100% vetted for accuracy and plausibility. But you can’t also just dismiss any issues because it’s fictional, because fiction has an affect on people’s minds. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/15 "2015-10-16T16:29:54Z")
> [@Sam\_Lowry](#): > > I’m a very big watcher of TV and movies and I know that it would make for boring entertainment if everything had to be 100% vetted for accuracy and plausibility. But you can’t also just dismiss any issues because it’s fictional, because fiction has an affect on people’s minds. Not everything _has_ to be realistic, of course; I love a great fantasy story. But the real world is absolutely full of compelling, dramatic stories–“stranger than fiction.” So if you’re writing an ostensibly real-world story–playing directly off real events, even–it needn’t make it worse (boring) to make it more realistic. It makes it more _real_–more compelling, when it’s done well. But I guess that is a little harder than just writing received stereotypical bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/16 "2015-10-16T16:31:21Z")
The point isn’t about accuracy it’s about subconscious political propaganda generally in the show. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/17 "2015-10-16T16:39:26Z")
Subtextual ? I only watched S1 but the political propaganda was pretty damn textual. Maybe I see it more because I’m not American, I expect that stuff might just be so omnipresent for you guys as to become normal background noise or something like that. Still, that show’s a big pile of one-sided crap. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/18 "2015-10-16T17:09:38Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > On the other hand it speaks a lot for the world view of a show’s creators if they don’t even read (or verify) what the graffiti says. They just want something which “looks Arabic ie scary”. Nuance is alien to them. What a load of bullshit. Hiring artists who understood the language to ensure it was accurate and not just Arabic-looking scribbles is what got them into this mess. What were they supposed to do, hire more Arabic-speakers to make sure the artists weren’t screwing with them, and then hire even more Arabic speakers to make sure the people doing the verification weren’t covering for the artists, and so on? The fact that their trust in their freelancers was misplaced does not mean they did not try. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/19 "2015-10-16T17:27:24Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > What were they supposed to do, hire more Arabic-speakers to make sure the artists weren’t screwing with them, and then hire even more Arabic speakers to make sure the people doing the verification weren’t covering for the artists, and so on? I suppose they could have developed the show from day one with someone who was familiar with the milieus they were writing about on the production team. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/20 "2015-10-16T18:10:17Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > I suppose they could have developed the show from day one with someone who was familiar with the milieus they were writing about on the production team. That sounds suspiciously like real work. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754.md?page=2)