# 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:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**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, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/21 "2015-10-16T18:20:25Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > 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. You don’t think that they could have done something at all? Really. Come on rack your brains. It should only take a couple of seconds. ---
**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, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/22 "2015-10-16T18:36:57Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > 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. Yeah, I totally agree. You can make interesting, dramatic stories, and take dramatic license when needed, but not resort to stereotypes. It takes some work, and some diversity in hiring and casting, but makes for better stories. > [@Grumman](#): > > 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. I don’t know Arabic, but it doesn’t seem like you would need to know much Arabic to be able to read that the graffiti says “Homeland is racist” and “Homeland is rubbish”. It seems pretty basic, that they don’t need Arabic scholars to be able to read it. I would have thought the director or some crew or cast member would know enough basic Arabic to see it and think “hey, I think this is about us.” I would think the set designers would at least have some Arabic 101 knowledge, since if they are putting sets together they would need to have some basic knowledge of what would be accurate or not. But it does say that they were rushed and frantic, so it is possible someone knows enough and noticed, but didn’t have a chance to fix it or say anything and hoped it wouldn’t matter. ---
**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, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/23 "2015-10-16T19:52:03Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > You don’t think that they could have done something at all? No, I think they _did_ do something: they hired Arabic speakers to make sure that the graffiti was accurate. The problem is not that they failed to hire Arabic speakers to make sure the graffiti was accurate, the problem is that the people they hired deliberately screwed them over. ---
**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, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/24 "2015-10-16T21:16:10Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > No, I think they _did_ do something: they hired Arabic speakers to make sure that the graffiti was accurate. The problem is not that they failed to hire Arabic speakers to make sure the graffiti was accurate, the problem is that the people they hired deliberately screwed them over. But I think that’s the issue, why does no one else on set understand basic Arabic? Why was it only the people who were hired to do graffiti the only ones who understood it? People are going to question how accurate or true to life anything on the show is, if no one on the set understands Arabic. For a show sometimes taking place in the Middle East, and with Middle Eastern characters, and about issues between the Middle East and the US, knowledge of Arabic shouldn’t be some specialized knowledge that only one or two experts know. If you have some scenes on Bones or Elementary where you need some things written in Arabic, you can just bring in an expert for a few days, but for a show like Homeland, I would have thought it would be more intertwined in everything they do. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/25 "2015-10-16T21:23:09Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > No, I think they _did_ do something: they hired Arabic speakers to make sure that the graffiti was accurate. The problem is not that they failed to hire Arabic speakers to make sure the graffiti was accurate, the problem is that the people they hired deliberately screwed them over. By an odd irony, it turns out the Arabic speakers they hired made absolutely sure the graffiti was accurate\*, and yet screwed the producers over **at the same time.** The truth is just \*hard \*sometimes. \*'cuz let’s face it, the show is pretty borderline racist. It’s like continual ethnic profiling. Sometimes the only truth is found in the spray paint on the walls. ---
**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, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/26 "2015-10-16T21:25:31Z")
> [@Sam\_Lowry](#): > > But I think that’s the issue, why does no one else on set understand basic Arabic? Why was it only the people who were hired to do graffiti the only ones who understood it? People are going to question how accurate or true to life anything on the show is, if no one on the set understands Arabic. For a show sometimes taking place in the Middle East, and with Middle Eastern characters, and about issues between the Middle East and the US, knowledge of Arabic shouldn’t be some specialized knowledge that only one or two experts know. If you have some scenes on Bones or Elementary where you need some things written in Arabic, you can just bring in an expert for a few days, but for a show like Homeland, I would have thought it would be more intertwined in everything they do. Look, if the show is comfortable conflating Hezbollah with Al-Qaeda in S1, they’re not showing like they care too much. It’s basic, basic stuff. The show has an agenda, what can i tell you … ---
**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, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/27 "2015-10-16T21:51:15Z")
Fwiw, The Guardian has this covered now in a slightly pithy but sometimes amusing piece: > [@](#): > > Carrie could wake up at the start of series six of Homeland, Pam Ewing-style, and open the shower door – only for President Al Gore to turn around and smile: “Good morning!” This would ideally preface a scene in which Al said stuff like, “Entire region destabilised? Islamic what? Honey, you’re not making any sense! Let’s get some coffee and pack for the third annual pan-Middle East technology conference in Raqqa.” > > Face it: it’d be no less ludicrous than anything that’s happened since about three minutes into season two. Exactly. > **[The latest twist in Homeland’s racist plot: the realistic graffiti episode |...](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/16/homeland-racist-arabic-grafitti-artists-protest)** > > An elegant stunt, where spray artists tricked the showmakers to broadcast their protest, was art imitating life: Americans in war zones not understanding a word ---
**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 16, 2015, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/28 "2015-10-16T22:12:03Z")
The NY Times goes into more details on the objections to the show. I have to agree this is a fictional drama meant to entertain. It can’t be held to an academic standard. They will get things wrong because its a creative work. These characters aren’t real people and the events are either entirely fictional or very loosely based on headlines. Drama requires a protagonist and antagonist. By definition they have to exaggerate the negative qualities of the antagonist. Make him or her a bad or misguided person. I can’t comment further because I haven’t watched since season 1. I don’t know how balanced their portrayals are. Modern drama loves to show shades of gray. The protagonist has flaws too. The antagonist may have a few redeeming or even charming qualities. They try to show a more realistic view of life. Nobody is all good or all bad. > **[Street Artists Infiltrate ‘Homeland’ With Subversive Graffiti (Published 2015)](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/16/world/europe/homeland-arabic-graffiti.html?_r=0)** > > Three artists took credit for Arabic graffiti calling the show “racist” that appeared in a recent episode. They said it was a protest of the series’ false and misleading portrayals of Muslims. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/29 "2015-10-17T00:39:50Z")
Og help me, upon first viewing the SDMB page I thought the thread title said Homeland gets punked by **Starving Artist** (the Doper). I need to get more sleep. But on the subject, yes, if you’re going to be prominently featuring use of a foreign language in your show, you need to hire a consultant _who is beholden to you_ to make sure it means what you think it means. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/30 "2015-10-17T05:46:56Z")
Someone on the crew should have downloaded one of several apps that allow you to aim your phone camera at a sign and it provides a translated version. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/31 "2015-10-17T07:57:30Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > But on the subject, yes, if you’re going to be prominently featuring use of a foreign language in your show, you need to hire a consultant _who is beholden to you_ to make sure it means what you think it means. Even if your are not the producers of the most xenophobic show on T.V, come on thats just stupid. Making fun of an unsuspecting someone a foreign language is a trope in itself. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/32 "2015-10-17T10:16:55Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Even if your are not the producers of the most xenophobic show on T.V, come on thats just stupid. Making fun of an unsuspecting someone a foreign language is a trope in itself. I had a whole post where I was trying to figure out why you were contradicting yourself. Then I realized “thats just stupid” referred to what the producers were doing, and not to the post you were responding to. What I want to know is how they have a show like that without anyone who actually speaks Arabic. Do they have the “bad guys” always speaking in English? ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754/33 "2015-10-18T12:15:18Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > By an odd irony, it turns out the Arabic speakers they hired made absolutely sure the graffiti was accurate\*, this was funny, I have found the articles (never have seen the show), but I suppose that it can by pointed out that the artists, who I think were egyptian origin, used in some places the Egyptian references and phrasing. So in some small way not accurate for a Syrian refugee camp slogan painting. Like using the british english for an american camp. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-gets-punked-by-scenic-artists/734754.md?page=1)