Homeland (TV series): Difference between revisions

Raff's works, ''Homeland'' included, have been criticized for their portrayal of Muslims.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.buzzfeed.com/regajha/we-got-a-copy-of-the-script-for-alice-in-arabia-and-its-exac|title=We Got A Copy Of The Script For “Alice In Arabia” And It’s Exactly What Critics Feared|date=March 21, 2014|publisher=[[Buzzfeed]]|first=Rega|last=Jha|accessdate=March 22, 2014}}</ref> In an article for ''[[Salon (website)|Salon]]'', [[Laila Al-Arian]] called the show the most [[Islamophobic]] show on television, accused it of portraying Muslims under the light of simplistic concepts and as a monolithic, single-minded group whose only purpose is to hurt Americans, and basing the Brody character to such an extent on "pseudo-psychology that only an audience conditioned by the Islamophobic, anti-Arab tropes in our media could find him consistent." She further criticizes the show for fanning hysteria of Muslim "infiltration" of America; poor masteringmastery of even basic Arabic; misrepresentation of Islamic and Arab culture; and simplifying the politics of militant Islamic organizations, for instance by conflating groups that in real life are rivals.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/2012/12/15/tvs_most_islamophobic_show/|title=Homeland, TV’s Most Islamophobic Show|publisher=[[Salon (website)|Salon]]|date=December 15, 2012|accessdate=December 16, 2012}}</ref> In the show, for example, [[Hezbollah]] is portrayed as being close to Abu Nazir, an [[al-Qaeda]] operative who seeks to attack U.S. targets, even though Hezbollah has not in real life demonstrated an interest in attacking U.S. soil, and is an opponent of al-Qaeda. Hezbollah has sent its troops to Syria to battle two al-Qaeda affiliates, [[al-Nusra]] and [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|ISIS]], during the pending [[Syrian civil war|civil war]] in that country.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/raghida-dergham/lebanon-a-battlefield-bet_b_4326002.html|title=Lebanon a Battlefield between Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda, and Jihadists|date=November 22, 2013|first=Raghida|last=Dergham|work=The Huffington Post|accessdate=March 22, 2014}}</ref> An article in ''[[The Atlantic]]'' by Yair Rosenberg challenged al-Arian's criticisms, arguing that they missed what made the show valuable, which was that it was no gung-ho salute to U.S. militarism and tactics on the war on terror nor a black-and-white portrayal of "good" Americans versus "evil" Muslims, but rather a show that challenges the prejudices of its viewers rather than affirming them.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rosenberg|first=Yair|title='Homeland' Is Anything but Islamophobic|url=http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/12/homeland-is-anything-but-islamophobic/266418/|newspaper=The Atlantic|date=December 18, 2012|accessdate=March 22, 2014}}</ref> Similarly, Zach Novetsky asserted that al-Arian's criticisms was a function of the show's having enough "depth and layers for someone to concoct a totally inaccurate interpretation of what the show really is about."<ref>{{cite news|last=Novetsky|first=Zach|title=‘Homeland’ Is Obviously Anti-Semitic|url=http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/119607/homeland-is-obviously-anti-semitic|newspaper=Tablet Magazine|date=December 18, 2012|accessdate=March 23, 2014}}</ref>