BERLIN, GERMANY – OCTOBER 15, 2015 — (UPI) — The latest episode of Showtime’s Emmy award-winning drama Homeland featured Arabic artwork that criticized the show for allegedly being ‘racist.’
The latest episode which aired Sunday, featured phrases such as “Homeland is racist,” “Homeland is NOT a series,” “The situation is not to be trusted,” and “#blacklivesmatter,” among others.
Graffiti artists, Heba Amin, Caram Kapp and Stone have claimed responsibility for the artwork as they were hired by the show in Germany to give the carefully crafted set made to resemble a Syrian refugee camp in Lebanon, some extra authenticity.The artists’ were asked to write messages that were apolitical and instead chose to make a political statement regarding their feelings on the show and how it negatively portrays the Middle East with its “highly biased” depictions of Arabs, Pakistani’s and Afghans.
“Set designers were too frantic to pay any attention to us; they were busy constructing a hyper-realistic set that addressed everything from the plastic laundry pins to the frayed edges of outdoor plastic curtains,” Amin explains in a blog post. “The content of what was written on the walls, however, was of no concern. In their eyes, Arabic script is merely a supplementary visual that completes the horror-fantasy of the Middle East.”
As Amin explains, the trio views Homeland as a “thinly veiled propaganda,” that promotes fear and mistrust of Muslims of all backgrounds. “For four seasons and entering its fifth, Homeland has maintained the dichotomy of the photogenic, mainly white, mostly American protector versus the evil and backwards Muslim threat.”
“It was our moment to make our point by subverting the message using the show itself,” they said.
While producers wish they had paid more attention to what was being written, for the moment they seem okay with the incident and even admire what the artists’ were able to accomplish.
“We wish we’d caught these images before they made it to air,” said showrunner Alex Gansa in a statement to Mashable. “However, as Homeland always strives to be subversive in its own right and stimulus for conversation, we can’t help but admire this act of artistic sabotage.”
Earlier this month, Homeland star Claire Danes addressed her controversial relationship with Billy Crudup during an appearance on The Howard Stern Show.
