Popular Geopolitics and the representation of
Muslims in Homeland
Bachelor thesis Human Geography & Planning Mark de Rooy
11049286
Email: markderooy96@gmail.com
Project: Critical Political and Cultural Geography Supervisor: Patrick Weir
Second accessor: Aslan Zorlu Words: 13185
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ________________________________________________________________ 3 2. Relevance and Problem statement _______________________________________________ 7
Academic Relevance ... 7 Social Relevance ... 7 Research Question ... 8 3. Theoretical framework ________________________________________________________ 9 4. Methodology _______________________________________________________________ 13 Locations in Homeland ... 14 Operationalizing ... 17
5. Muslim and Islam portraying in Homeland ______________________________________ 19 Representation of the characters through the physical appearance... 19
American Muslims ... 24
Non-American Muslims ... 26
The Portraying of the relation between Americans and Muslims. ... 29
The portrayal of terrorism ... 31
Muslim women in Homeland. ... 33
Representation of the Muslim geography ... 36 6. Conclusion ________________________________________________________________ 41 7. Literature _________________________________________________________________ 44
1. Introduction
Popular culture as expressed through films, television shows, newspapers, radio, music etc. have great influence in the way people think about themselves and the world (Muzzatti, 2017). The media and popular culture provide a resource through which people can make sense of the world (Dittmer, 2010). One way in which these interpretations can work is through national-cultural representations of who ‘we’ are, which engenders an emotional response that reinforces a narrative of national togetherness. This national cohesiveness is connected to the concept of Banal Nationalism, by Michael Billig. Here, Billig argues how everyday life contained simple performances of geopolitics in such as the presence of the national flag, which can act subtly to reinforce notions of identity, national belonging and potentially, superiority (Billig, 1985). He says that “the term Banal Nationalism is introduced to cover the ideological habits which enable the established nations of the West to be reproduced” (Billig, 1985, p6). Banal Nationalism creates thus a feeling of identity among people, but also an aversion against others, a feeling of “us” versus “them”. This is at the level of the everyday, so commonplace as to be unquestioned and almost invisible. This idea of us versus them is also visible in popular culture. So, argues Duncombe & Bleiker (p. 36, 2015) that “popular culture unites ‘us’ through narratives that delineate who ‘we’ are and what separates ‘us’ from others.” Moreover, is argued that popular culture deals with issues of inclusion and exclusion, of us versus them, especially in popular culture about Muslims, terrorism and the War on Terror (Duncombe & Bleiker, 2015).
This portrayal of terrorism and Muslims as us versus them, has become a central theme in a great deal of popular culture, including television programs, feature films, PC/video games, YouTube videos, advertisements, popular music, and of course, the news (Muzzati, 2017). The divide between ‘us’ and ‘them’ has, according to Sisler (2008), deepened in both Middle Eastern and Western media, since 9/11. These popular culture products, like television programs, movies and news, elaborate thus the idea of us versus other, whereby in the case of the portraying of Muslims and Islam, Muslims are seen as the other, which are mostly inferior and less-developed (Reid,2013). Furthermore, the general characterizing of terrorism in popular culture has over the past two decades been one of were terrorist are illustrated as primitive religious fanatics who are obsessed with violence (Reid, 2013, p.68).
There is a lot of criticism over such representation of Muslims and Islam in television shows and movies in Hollywood. The general opinion is that the portraying of Muslims in popular culture is almost always negative and stereotypical. So is argued by (Karim 2006; Pintak 2006; Richardson 2004; Miller 2006) that in dominant discourses in US and European news and popular media, Muslims of Middle
Eastern origin tend to be portrayed using negative stereotypical clichés and generalizations. (Halse, p. 178, 2015). The threat that a ‘State of Islam’ is furtively being established in Western secularized countries is a frightening scenario alluded to and brought about recurrently by certain Western political fractions (Halse, 2015). Shaheen (2008, p. 25) describes contemporary Hollywood’s projection of Muslim and Arab as stereotypes, depicted as “the unkempt, unscrupulous enemy Other’ and as villains, terrorists, maidens, sheikhs, and cameos. Shaheen concludes with saying that the profusion of damaging Muslim stereotypes continues post 9/11.
A television show known for their portraying of Muslims and terrorism is Homeland. Homeland is an espionage thriller television show. It is produced by Fox 21 Television Studios and cable network Showtime and has aired since 2011 till present. It currently has 7 Seasons, with an 8-season planned. The first three season of Homeland take place around the character of Carrie Mathison, a Central Intelligence Agency officer with bipolar disorder. Carrie Mathison is convinced that an American marine, who has been held captive by al-Qaeda as a prisoner of war, has been "turned" by the enemy and poses as a threat to the United States. The series focuses on a storyline that evolves from this premise, together with Mathison's ongoing covert work. The latter seasons have each another setting but are still centred around Carrie Mathison. Season 4 sets around Carrie working as a CIA station chief in Kabul, Afghanistan. Where she is working on catching the terrorist Haissam Haqqani. In Season 5 Carrie no longer works for the CIA, she is working as head of security for a private charitable foundation and its billionaire owner in Berlin, Germany. Season 5 features several plot lines allude to real-world events and people, including ISIS, Vladimir Putin, Bashar al-Assad, The Charlie Hebdo Shooting, Edward Snowden and The European migrant crisis. In Season 6 Carrie is back in the United States and she now works at a
foundation that provides aid to Muslims living in the United States. The season also features the election of the first female president, Named Elizabeth Keane. In Season 7 Carrie Mathinson takes on the Keane administration to secure the release of the 200 members of the intelligence community who were arrested under President Keane's orders in the previous season.
Homeland has become a popular and critical acclaimed television show. So, say Negra & Lagerwey (p. 127, 2015) that “Homeland quickly moved to a position of cultural prominence, becoming the kind of program that anchors middle-class taste formations and cultural literacies while earning numerous accolades and drawing record-setting audiences for the cable network.” Similar is said by Stephen Shapiro in Negra & Lagerwey (p. 127, 2015) he argues namely that “Homeland speaks directly to the uncertain positioning of the middle class that was accentuated
by the financial crisis that began in 2008.” Shapiro (2015, p. 152) further says that “Homeland’s handling of its spy and conspiracy genre both represents and helps constitute its ideal audience’s realization and response to its own collective class emergency.” Furthermore, there have been different scholars analyzing Homeland. So, place Lindsay Steenberg and Yvonne Tasker (p.133, 2015) Homeland in the context of other American crime series and they say that “Homeland articulates tropes of an unstable or unwell female investigator with those of the post-9/11 surveillance and security state.” Alex Bevan (2015) analyzed further the unstable and bipolar female investigator, arguing that Carrie Mathison's mental illness functions as a stand-in for the unrepresentable and unpalatable features of twenty-first-century warfare and geopolitics that are deeply mediated, waged from a distance, and fought between the United States and non-state actors.
There has been a lot of criticism about the show Homeland in general and specific on the portraying of Muslims. So, calls Al-Arian in Meyer (2015) Homeland TV’s most Islamophobic show and she stated that Homeland portrays Muslims, no matter how successful, well-placed and integrated, as a hidden danger to their fellow Americans. She further concludes that Muslims in Homeland are portrayed as inherently dangerous to other people. James Castonguay (2015) says over Homeland that the program's "quality television" status supports its function as propaganda for the Obama administration's foreign and domestic surveillance operations. Castonguay (p.139,2015) goes further by saying that “Homeland successfully exploits post-9/11 insecurities, psychological trauma, and narrative complexity to produce “quality” television propaganda for the Obama administration’s “overseas contingency operations” and its unprecedented domestic surveillance on the home front under the umbrella of an $80 billion US security state.” Shabi (in Meyer 2015, p.8) says around this subject that “Homeland (including Hollywood's Zero Dark Thirty and Argo) embodies US foreign policy as it is a “cultural reflection of actual US policy in the Middle east” trying to seize “moral high ground.” These thoughts are shared by Halse (2015) who investigated the show contributes to terrorism and counter-terrorism and found racist representations of the Middle East in Homeland. On the other hand, Rosenberg (2012) say that Homeland is anything but Islamophobic and that Homeland challenges the prejudices of its viewers rather than affirming them. There is thus a two-folded argument about the representation of Muslims and Islam in Homeland. Some find the representation of Muslims in Homeland stereotypical and not accurate others disagree with those statements. In this research this this
two-folded discussion on the representation of Muslims and Islam in the television show Homeland will be tested. This is done by closely analyzing episodes 4 & 7 of season 4 and episodes 3 & 4 of season 6 of the show.
In the next chapter the problem statement with the main question and sub questions and the relevance of this research will be presented. Then the theoretical framework is discussed,
containing theory and literature on orientalism, Banal Nationalism and the portraying of Muslims in tv shows and movies. Then in the next chapter the methodology and research design of this thesis will be elaborated. Following are the result of the analysis of Muslims portraying in the four episodes of Homeland. Finally, the conclusion of the research is presented.
2. Relevance and Problem statement
Academic Relevance
Lots of academic literature in geopolitics/International relations and popular culture already exists on representations in popular culture in general and on Muslims and Islam specifically, mostly since the War on Terror. This is the campaign launched by the USA, after the attacks on 9/11, against terrorist
organizations, mostly in the Middle East. It can be seen as some form of counterterrorism. Examples of academic literature about this subject are the works of Jason Dittmer, Joan Sharp (2000), Rolf Halse, Duncombe & Bleiker and Klaus Dodds. This literature has focused on how the construction of “us” and “them” or “here” and “there” in the War on Terror have been portrayed in popular culture but has also shown how these are not always as simple as earlier work (by Dittmer, Dodds etc.) in Popular
Geopolitics might have suggested. What is missing in this field of research is how these representations of Muslims and Islam are now closely portrayed in the television show Homeland. This thesis will look at this by researching episodes of the television show Homeland and by doing this try to fill the gap that is missing. Therefore, this thesis adds to this body of knowledge.
Social Relevance
Popular culture impacts upon not only our own sense of who and what we are but also influences our opinions of, and relationships with, other people and social institutions (as well as our stance on social issues and our overall political views) (Muzzati, 2017). So, does he say that. “The focus of these influences, popular culture has, run a wide gamut, from the trivial through the
sacrosanct: the most affable contestant, the best food to serve at a dinner party, and where to get the best value for your vacation dollar through fear of crime, environmental sustainability, and changes to immigration policy.” (Muzzati, p 3, 2017) The research can help people to understand the impact popular culture has not only on their own perspectives, but also on real geopolitical events. Moreover, the research can make people aware of that popular culture, especially images and film fragments, might not always give the correct image and can be interpreted in different ways.
Research Question
This thesis will elaborate on the criticism made on the stereotypic portraying of Muslims in Homeland and on the two-folded argument, illustrated in the introduction, on the representation of Muslims and Islam in the television show Homeland. This thesis will examine the portraying of Muslims/Islam in Homeland. The research will consist of an examination on how in episodes 4 & 7 of season 4 and Episodes 3 & 4 of season 6 of the television show Homeland Muslims, Islam and their surroundings are portrayed. The general research question will therefore be:
How are Muslims represented in the television show Homeland?
Besides the main question, there will be some sub-question posted to in-depth and concretize the research more and to answer the general research question. The sub-question that we formulated are:
- Are Muslim characters in the episodes of Homeland portrayed in the same way?
- Are American Muslim characters portrayed differently from Muslim characters from other countries?
- Is there a difference in the portrayal of Muslim women in the analyzed episodes of Homeland?
- Is there a difference between the portrayal of American Muslim woman and non-American Muslim woman?
- How are places represented in the Muslim and non-Muslim world in the episodes of Homeland?
- How is terrorism and the dealing with terrorism portrayed in the analyzed episodes of Homeland?
3. Theoretical framework
The principal of us versus them or the so-called othering, comes from orientalism. The principals of orientalism are described by Said (1978), in his book called Orientalism, he defines it as followed: “Orientalism is affiliated with the representation of the Self or Occident and the Other or Orient in which the Self is privileged and has upper hand to define, reconstruct the passive, silent and weak Other.”(p.4) Said says further that the western world has this principal developed in to an “us” versus “them” political dichotomy when conceptualizing the Middle East, creating a middle East as foreign and inferior (P.42, 1978). He goes further by saying that “orientalism is the corporate institution for dealing with the Orient – dealing with it by making statements about it, authorizing views of it, describing it, by teaching it, settling it and ruling over it” (Said, p.4, 1978). Orientalism can thus be seen as a Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient. Said’s orientalism demonstrated how the Western discourse on the Middle East was linked to power, trafficked in racist stereotypes and continually reproduced itself (Burke & Prochaska, 2007). Moreover, Said (1978) suggests that the tendency to view the Muslim as Other is longstanding, stretching back as far as the Middle Age. This orientalism has further led to people believing more in the taken-for- granted truth about the world and the way in which power should be utilized in that world, Dittmer (2010) calls this geopolitical imagination.
This stereotype view on the orient is reinforced through the development of the electronic world (Said, p. 27, 1978). So, has popular culture’s standardization and cultural stereotyping of the orient intensified the mysterious Orient. This is further nowhere truer than in the ways in which the Near East is grasped (Said, p 27, 1978). In films and on television, the Arab is associated either with lechery or bloodthirsty dishonest. “The Arab appears as an oversexed degenerate, capable, it is true, of cleverly devious intrigues, but essentially sadistic, treacherous, low. (Said, p 288, 1978). Moreover, the Arab is represented in images representing mass rage and misery, or irrational (hence hopelessly eccentric) gestures. Said (p.288, 1978) concludes by saying that “Lurking behind all of these images is the menace of jihad. Consequence: a fear that the Muslims (or Arabs) will take over the world. Sardar in Khalid (2011) agreed with this and stated that from film to fiction, foreign policy to polemics, Islam is seen and evoked as a
“problem”. Consisted with this is what is argued by Little (2002), McAllister (2005) and Tuastad (2010), they all argue that orientalism is expressed in contemporary deployment in mainstream books, films and news reports of contradictory images of Arabs/Muslims as both too weak to
progress politically yet strong enough to pose a threat, coupled with the corollary perception of the superiority of American civilization, images which contribute towards legitimizing the need for controlling or policing the region. The “Other” is then categorized by difference, with a border clearly defined between the One and the Other: The Other is unknown and the diametrical opposite to oneself (Bauman 2013). According to Weldes et al (1999) the need to Other is born from the need to define the “us”, whereby identity can only be established in relation to what it is not – too difference.
As mention in the introduction, Michael Billig’s Banal Nationalism also create and re-create the self-other dynamics. Banal Nationalism roots people’s identities in the everyday popular culture in which they are immersed (Dittmer, 2010). Nationalism is a way of thinking or ideological or ideological consciousness (Billig, p.10, 1995). In this consciousness, the 'world of nations' is represented as a 'natural', moral order. Billig says then that “the imagining of 'us', 'them', homelands and so on must be habitual or unimaginatively accomplished” (p.10). Nationalism is further, above all, an ideology of the first-person plural (Billig, p.70, 1996).
Billig (p, 15 1995) stated further that “nationalism include the patterns of belief and
practice which reproduce the world - 'our' world - as a world of nation-states, in which 'we' live as citizens of nation-states.” Nationalist thinking includes ways of conceiving of 'us, the nation', which is said to have its unique destiny (Of Identity) it also involves conceiving of 'them, the foreigners', from whom 'we' identify 'ourselves' as different (Billig, p.15, 1995). Billig argues that “if there is an 'us', there must also be a 'them', from which 'we' distinguish ourselves.” (p163). On this idea he says further that nationalism is an ideology of the first-person plural, which tells 'us' who 'we' are, but it is also an ideology of the third person. There can be no 'us' without a 'them' (Billig, p.78, 1995). This rhetoric distances 'us' from 'them', 'our' world from 'theirs'. And 'we', writer and readers, are assumed to belong to a reasonable world, a point-zero of nationalism (Billig, p. 49). Also, emotions, such as anger, fear or happiness, involve judgements as well as outward social acts, depend upon judgements, shared beliefs, or representations, about
nationhood, about 'us' and 'them' (Billig, P. 18, 1995).
Billig says (p.175, 1995) that “by noticing the f1aggings of nationhood (a form of Banal Nationalism), we are noticing something about ourselves.” We are noticing the depths and mechanisms of our identity, embedded in routines of social life Billig, 1995). Furthermore, these rhetorical episodes continually remind us that we are 'us' and, in so doing, permit us to forget that
we are being reminded. Billig goes on by saying that if we look closely, we not only see
reminders of 'ourselves'; we see reminders of 'them' and foreignness (p.175). What is so familiar that it hardly warrants a second glance can, then, begin to look strange. Billig (P.175, 1995) argues further that “not only are 'we' (and 'them') flagged, but so is the homeland; and the world as a world of homelands is also conveyed.
As argued in the introduction, popular culture plays a central role in how people are influenced and think about the world and themselves. Muzzatti (p.3, 2017) further says that “the messages of these culture products impact upon not only our own sense of who and what we are but also influence our opinions of, and relationships with, other people and social institutions (as well as our stance on social issues and our overall political views).” Related to this is what Duncombe & Bleiker (2015) argues about popular culture and politics. They say that “Popular culture unites ‘us’ through narratives that delineate who ‘we’ are and what separates ‘us’ from others.” The way representations in films (e.g.) do this, is central to popular geopolitics. Popular geopolitics argues that geopolitical ideas are not only shaped by the state and politician but are also shaped and communicated through popular culture and everyday practices (Painter & Jeffrey, 2009). This idea is shared by Carter & Dodds (2009), who stated that “it has often been remarked that film is a media that is particularly well suited to articulating geopolitical
discourses, in part because the war film and the action-thriller are such staples of the medium.” Popular geopolitics look at films, magazines, television, the internet, and radio and the way in which they
contribute to the circulation of geopolitical images and representations of territory, resources, and identity (Dodds, 2007). Popular geopolitics have taken a critical look in the way that popular culture constitutes political identities and geographical imaginaries (Dittmer, 2010). This is related to critical geopolitics, which focused on geographical imaginations and representations. Furthermore, says Dodds (2007) that popular geopolitics gives a sense of how images and representations of global political geographies circulate within and beyond national political cultures and how geopolitical representations and practices find expression in popular culture. One of the most influence (and probably the most influence) example on the study of popular geopolitics can be seen in Joanne Sharp’s (2000) work on the American magazine Reader’s Digest. In which she examines how American magazine Reader’s Digest shaped American public opinion about the Cold War and the Soviet-Union.
The concept of representation is fundamental to geopolitics and geography in general (Dittmer, 2010). There is a lot of debate about the meaning of representations. The basic definition of
characteristics, nature etc. However critical geography has looked at the political impacts of specific representations i.e. whom they advantage and whom they hurt, or whom they include and whom they exclude (Dittmer, p 50, 2010). As mentioned in the introduction the portraying of Muslims and terrorism is a popular theme in popular culture. There is a lot of criticism over the representations and portraying of Muslims and terrorist in television shows and movies in Hollywood. This, for example is said by Ramji (2015) who argues that the news media and the film industry, thought to give a more-or-less accurate depiction of the world, plays a large part in sustaining stereotypical images as representative of the whole culture of Islam. Similar to this is what Yousef (2015) says about movie production whose primary purpose is to demonize and dehumanize Muslims in order to then show an intrepid Westerner, usually American hero killing them of. This idea that often all Muslims are portrayed as bad and the western world as the superior better world is contradicted by Duncombe and Bleiker (2015). They say that many film, and television renderings of the War on Terror no longer follow the traditional narrative arc of good versus evil. The hero no longer saves the world. The grand finale of the respective films and television shows often raises more questions about the US role in the world than it solves. This statement by
Duncombe and Bleiker is, however not shared by Halse (2013), who says that Films and television series from Hollywood have often been accused of disseminating negative and stereotype images of Muslims and Arabs.
Places and landscapes are specific geographic settings with distinctive physical, social and cultural attributes. (Knox & Marston, 2016). The representations of these landscapes and places are not
necessarily physical, but instead can be an attempt to police the social boundaries of ‘‘American- ness.’’ (Dittmer, p.633 2005). Dittmer stated that Paasi (1991, 250) argues that “these boundaries simultaneously exclude outsiders and create a union of the insiders”. Moreover, these boundaries of inclusion and
exclusion designate certain landscapes as more ‘‘of the nation’’ than others. Furthermore, Dittmer says that then region geography is used as a tactic to foster emotional connections to a stereotypical landscape of the nation (Dittmer, p 634, 2005). Moreover, how places are portrayed and represented leads to places being privileges over other places, also called privileged landscapes (Dittmer, p.634, 2005).
4. Methodology
As is outlined in the introduction and research question this thesis will examine how Muslims and Islam are portrayed in episodes 4 and 7 of season 4 and episodes 3 and 4 of season 6 from the television show Homeland. The research consists of analyzing the representations of the characters, storylines and locations portrayed in the four episodes of Homeland and then to see in what “portrayal” of Muslims (male and female, American and non-American) the tv show Homeland engage. Because of this the research will be of qualitative nature. Qualitative research is used to make sense of, or interpret,
phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them (Bryman, 2012). In this thesis research is done by interpreting the aspects of portraying and stereotyping in episodes of the television show Homeland.
The methodology for the research will be taken from existing academic literature on the portraying of Muslims and Islam in TV shows and films in general and specific on the television show Homeland. Further literature about the theory of ‘othering’ from academics such as David Campbell and Edward Said. This literature will be used to read and conduct analysis the text, which are the four episodes of the television show Homeland. Episodes 4 and 7 of season 4 and episodes 3 and 4 of season 6 of Homeland are the ‘data” of the research.
In this thesis critical discourse analysis is used as research method. This particular kind of discourse analysis is inspired by the idea’s and work of French philosopher Michel Foucault. He describes that discourse was a term that denoted the way in which a particular set of linguistic categories relating to an object and the ways of depicting it frame the way we comprehend that object (Foucault, p.53, 2002). The discourse is then a version of the object and furthermore the version of an object frames and forms the discourse (Foucault, p.53, 2002). Discourse analysis is also related to content analysis, although it eschews the quantitative method that focuses on the actuality of words themselves in favor of a more qualitative perspective that focuses on the uses to which empowered people put words (Dittmer, p.41, 2010) In this thesis discourse analysis is used to research in which way Muslims and Islam are
represented in the television show Homeland. Herby is looked at the actual content, structure and meaning of the text, which is in this case the television show Homeland. Furthermore, is looked at the form of interaction used to communicate meaning and beliefs in Homeland and the social context in which the television show Homeland take place. In the analysis of the television show Homeland, there is examine at how American Muslims are portrayed, how non-American Muslims are portrayed, but also looked at the interaction between non-Muslims and Muslims. Moreover, is analyzed whether there is a
difference in how Muslim men and women (American and non-American) are portrayed and how the Muslims landscape and the geography of Muslims is portrayed.
Only Four episodes from the television show Homeland were selected to analyze. This because of the relatively shortly possible time period of the research and of the ubiquitous of the research method, discourse analysis. This is because by doing a discourse analysis, it is important to limit the study to the sources that are most instructive (Dittmer, 2010, p.41). Dittmer says namely that it is important to limit your study to the sources that you think will be most instructive because these discourses are so
ubiquitous (Dittmer, p 41, 2010). Moreover, by analyzing only four episodes there is more in-depth data retrieved, which strengthened the research. The four episodes that were picked are episodes 4 and 7 of season 4 and episodes 3 & 4 of season 6. Episodes 4 and 7 of Season 4 are picked because they take place in the Middle-East. So frequently Muslims are portrayed in those episodes and as mentioned the research look at how Muslims are portrayed in Homeland. Episode 3 & 4 of season 6 are analyzed, because it shows Muslims in America, but also Muslim in the Middle-East, so a comparison can be made between how Homeland portrays American Muslims and non-American Muslims. Moreover, episodes from season 6 are chosen because people involved in the show, have said that from of Season 6 Homeland will improve its representation of Muslims (Eldridge, 2017).
Locations in Homeland
On map 1 are the main places indicated, where episodes 4 & 7 from season 4 and episodes 3 & 4 from season 6 of Homeland take place. Episodes 4 & 7 of season 4 take place completely in Pakistan, and then mostly in the city of Islamabad and the Pakistan tribal areas. Episode 3 and 4 of season 6 take mostly place in Ney York City, but parts are in Abu Dhabi and in the West Bank in Israel. The majority of season 4 take place in Islamabad. Islamabad is the place where the Pakistan CIA station is located and where Carrie works and lives. On map 2 there is zoomed in on the locations in the Middle East and Pakistan. Not only Abu Dhabi and the West Bank are indicated om map 2, but on map 2 there are more specific places shown in Pakistan. Not only Islamabad and the Pakistan Tribal Areas as in map 1, but also Miranshah and a rural village near Islamabad are pointed out. The Pakistan tribal areas are the region Saul, is taken as prisoner. In the tribal areas is also the village Miranshah located. This is the place where Haqqani, the main terrorist in season 4 of Homeland, children and wife live and were he takes Saul, a CIA agent and his prisoner. Later on, he drives with Saul through the Pakistan Tribal areas towards the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The rural village shown on map 2, is the place Kiran, the
girlfriend of Aayan lives. Aayan is the nephew of Haqqani and is an asset of Carrie. The exact place or name of this village is not showed in the show, the only indication there is, is that this village is
somewhere near Islamabad. New York city is the place were Carrie lives and works in Season 6, Also Sekou bah and his family lives in New York. Abu Dhabi is the place were Saul goes to meet with an Iran government official. West bank is the place Saul goes to visit his sister, who lives there and to meet up in secret with a high ranked Iranian.
Map 1 The Main Locations Homeland take place in season 4 and 6
Map 2 Locations in Homeland in the Middle East and Pakistan
Operationalizing
To better understand the research question and to conceptualize the research it is essential to
operationalize the key concepts. By operationalizing different concept/variables are made measurable. The operationalization is visible in the table below.
Concept Dimension indicators/how to measure
Representation Of Muslims portrayed in the
four analyzed episodes of Homeland
Of contact between Muslims and non-Muslims in the
analyzed episodes of Homeland
Of the geography and landscape of Muslims in the analyzed episodes of Homeland
How are Muslims portrayed in Homeland?
Is there often contact between Muslims and non-Muslim?
Is this contact friendly or hostile towards each other?
In which places are Muslims Portrayed?
How are the landscape and places of Muslim countries portrayed?
American Muslims (Male) Representation of Male
American Muslim in Homeland
American Muslims male traits/role/storyline/actions in Homeland
Non-American Muslims (Male)
Representation of Non- American male Muslims in Homeland
Non-American male Muslims traits/role/storyline/actions in Homeland
American Muslims (Female) Representation of American Muslim Women in Homeland
American Muslim women traits/role/storyline/actions in Homeland
Non-American Muslims (Female)
Representation of non-American Muslim women in Homeland
Non-American Muslim women traits/role/storyline/actions in Homeland
In the operationalization there is looked at the representation of Muslim and the Islam in in episodes 4 & 7 of season 4 and episodes 3 & 4 of season 6 of Homeland. This representation can be divided into three aspects that are represented. These are the portraying of Muslims, the contact between Muslims and non-Muslims and the geography and places of Muslims shown in Homeland. Examples of how to measure this are then: how are Muslims portrayed in Homeland, is there often contact between Muslims and non-Muslim, is this contact between Muslims and non-Muslim friendly or are they hostile towards each other, in which places are Muslims Portrayed and how are the landscape and places of Muslim countries portrayed. Furthermore, there is looked at Male American Muslims, and how these are represented in Homeland. This is then analyzed by viewing the traits, role, storyline and actions of the American Muslims men portrayed in Homeland. In the same way as to male American Muslims there is looked at how non-American male Muslim are represented in Homeland. This is than done, on the basis of the traits, role, storyline and actions of non-American Muslims portrayed in Homeland. Moreover, there is watch to female American Muslims, represented in the analyzed episodes of Homeland. This is than done, on the basis of the traits, role, storyline and actions of the American Muslim women portrayed in the analyzed episodes of Homeland. Similar to female American Muslims representation there is viewed at how female non-American Muslims are represented in the analyzed episodes of Homeland. Again, on the basis of the traits, role, storyline and actions, of in this case non-American Muslim women in the analyzed episodes of Homeland. Through operationalizing, these concepts have been made measurable end are the results have been interpreted, in order to answer the main and sub-questions of this research.
5. Muslim and Islam portraying in Homeland
Representation of the characters through the physical appearance
In general, American Muslims are portrayed more similar to how other Western characters in the show are portrayed than non-American Muslims. There are three characters in the analysed episodes of Homeland, who are American Muslims and are portrayed really frequently. These are Fara Sherazi, who works for the CIA and works with Carrie in Islamabad, Sekou Bah, who is a teenager, living in New York and is accused of radicalization and Reda Hashem, who is lawyer working with Carrie in America at a foundation that provides legal aid to Muslims, among them Sekou Bah.
Fara is portrayed with more western clothing, similar to how her American co-workers are portrayed, but does wears always a scarf, which she sometimes uses as a Hijab. A Hijab or a veil means different things in different contexts. So, says Droogsma (2007) that “while hijab
possesses some shared religious purposes for the Muslim women who wear it, as a cultural artefact the veil does not have one universal meaning for all Muslim women in the world.” (P. 295). It is worn by Muslim woman because they believe that God has instructed women to wear it as a means of fulfilling Gods commandment for modesty (Haddad et all,2006). However, some Muslim women do not perceive the hijab to be obligatory to their faith, other Muslim women wear the hijab as a means of visibly expressing their Muslim identity (Haddad et al, 2006). Furthermore, some Muslim women hope to communicate their political and social alliance with their country of origin and challenge the prejudice of Western discourses towards the Arabic-speaking world, by wearing a Hijab (Zayzafoon, 2005). A picture of Fara is seen in image 1. On image 1 she is showed with modern clothing and wears a scarf. In image 2 is Fara portrayed wearing a Hijab.
Sekou Bah does also wear, most of the time, modern/western clothing but does on the other hand wears sometimes Islamic robes. Moreover, he wears often a sort of hat, that looks like it has a religious meaning. This is shown in image 3, where Sekou is shown wearing such white much. Reda Hashem is portrayed as a well-groomed man. He is always portrayed in an elegantly tailored dark suit, similar to how western people are portrayed when wearing a suit. There are some other American Muslims portrayed in the analyzed episodes of Homeland. The general appearance of them is that the younger people wear more westernised clothes, similar to how
Americans are dressed. Older American Muslim people wear then mostly also modern clothes, but some of them do wear long Islamic robes. A picture of the portraying of other American Muslims in Homeland, is shown in image 4. Where friends and family of Sekou Bah are shown.
There is more difference in the physical appearance of non-American Muslim between difference groups of people. The mainstream is portrayed mostly in non-western clothing. This means that non-American Muslims are portrayed, wearing kind of ropes. Both men and women are wearing
Image 1 Fara Sherazi
Image 3 Sekou Bah Image 4 Family and friends of Sekou Bah Image 2 Fara, wearing a Hijab
similar robes and women are mostly also wearing a Hijab or a full-on robe covering almost the whole body. This are mostly the “normal” people showed in the show. So, the general people on the streets, in buildings, markets etc. in Pakistan or Abu Dhabi. An example of how Muslims, in this case a Muslim woman, is portrayed in Homeland is seen in image 5. The portraying of this Muslim woman in Homeland is a lot different than how Fara, the American Muslim woman, is portrayed.
The richer Non-American Muslims and the high ranked officers, military or government workers are portrayed differently. They are more portrayed in suits, uniforms or more westernised
clothing. These group of people also act and speak more similar to how western (mostly American) are portrayed in the show. An example of these group of people is portrayed in Homeland is seen in pictures 6 and 7. In picture 6 Farhad Nafisi is portrayed. Nafisi is a high ranked official from Iran. He is portrayed wearing a suit and stepping out of an expensive car. Image 7 shows non-American Muslims men inside an elite club in Islamabad, wearing also modern suits.
Another group that is portrayed differently are the Non-American Muslim youth. The non-American Muslim youth do wear more westernised clothing and are portrayed more similar to how western people are portrayed in the show. So westernized clothes and also in possession of
Image 5 Muslim woman in Homeland
modern technology, like cell phones and computers. However most young women are portrayed wearing a Hijab. How Muslim youth is portrayed in the show is visible on image 8 and 9, which portrayed students in a college room in Islamabad.
Terrorist or alleged terrorists in the show are similar portrayed as the general portraying of the mainstream Non-American Muslims in the show, mentioned earlier. So are they portrayed with wearing non-westernised clothes and are portrayed, wearing a full-on robe and turban. An example of this is how Hassan Haqqani, the terrorist in Homeland season 4, is portrayed in the show, Haqqani is shown on the image below. The image shows Haqqani wearing a turban and some kind of long shirt with a vest. Also, his accomplices in the back of the image are wearing
Image 6 Farhad Nafisi. Image 7 Muslim men in elite club.
Image 9 Muslim youth in College Image 8 Muslim youth in college
similar clothing as Haqqani. This portraying of terrorist only applies on terrorist who are really seen as the “real” and main terrorist and bad guys, such as Haqqani. However, some Muslims who work in different echelons (or levels) of “terrorist” groups are portrayed similar to western people. For example, financiers as Farhad Nafisi, but also other Muslim characters like Tasneem and Majid Javadi. These characters are part of a terrorist organisation or have links to terrorism but are generally portrayed as western people. So are these Muslim men portrayed wearing suits, and both woman and men, are portrayed as people who looks very much like Western people. An example of this is shown on image 10, where Tasneem is portrayed in western style clothing.
American Muslims
The American Muslims futured in episodes 4 and 7 of season 4 and episodes 3 & 4 of season 6 are, as mentioned earlier on, Fara Sherazi, Read Hashem, Sekou Bah and Sekou’s family and friends. Read Hashem is portrayed as a hard-working man, who is really passionate and
motivated about the work he does, giving legally help to American Muslims. So, works Hashem really hard to help Sekou and helps he Sekou to get out of prison. Hashem is however critical on how Carrie is helping him, saying their partnership should not supposed to be involved with breaking the law and taking matters in to own hand, what Carrie does. Fara is portrayed as a driven and talented CIA agent. Moreover, she is portrayed as a kind, smart and determent American Muslim women. She further helps Carrie with Aayan, the nephew of Haqqani and an asset of the CIA. How Fara is portrayed will be discussed more extendedly latter on in the section on Muslim Women in Homeland.
The show portrays Sekou Bah as a “good” Muslim boy who attends his local mosque regularly. Further is he portrayed as someone who disapprove how the Unites States treats Muslims and how they have infiltrated and have been controlling the Middle East. So, puts he photos of dead American soldier and videos criticizing the United States invasion in the Middle East and their counterterrorism online. Besides that, he is quickly irritated/anger, when people ask him about his video’s he put online and other actions he does. Moreover, Sekou is portrayed as very religious, propagating concepts he learned in Islam. Sekou friends are on the other hand portrayed more similar to how non-Muslims Americans are viewed in general. So as more westernised and less backward. Further they are portrayed more relaxed, lay back and less worried than Sekou, similar as how also younger Non-American Muslims in the shows are portrayed, such as Aayan and Kiran.
Another aspect of the portraying of American Muslims is that they are portrayed generally
as more western and less backward people than non-American Muslims in the show. This is not only on clothing and physical appearance. Also, on other aspect like how they act and live. So, do American Muslim have more technology equipment in there house and modern furniture etc. So is there a scene in season 4 of episode 4 where a house and the kitchen of Muslims in Pakistan is portrayed. In this house not many technology devices like a computer, oven and other kitchen equipment are present. In general, the furniture is very basic and less technological advanced. Whereby in season 6 episode 4 a house of American Muslims is showed. In this house more,
modern furniture and technological devices are visible. This house looks more like a
modern/western house. Exception on this is that richer Muslims are well more portrayed in a modern way, with having technology equipment. So is in episode 4 of season 4 showed how an ISI agent lives in Islamabad. In his home there are modern devices present and the whole apartment looks similar to a western apartment. The portraying of American Muslim as more western, can be seen as a strategy of power as Foucault (2002) /Said (1978) might argue to bring the Other (who is potentially dangerous) into the realm of the “self”. Which is in this case the “other” are the non-American Muslims.
Besides that, American Muslims are generally portrayed as less strict religious. So, do they, as mentioned earlier, mostly wear western clothing, and not as prescribed in the Islam, more covered clothing. So, wears Fara mostly not a Hijab and also other American Muslim are
portrayed wearing not the clothing, that are prescribed by the Islam. Moreover, Islamic prayers or other Islamic signs are not shown when American Muslim are portrayed. So are Hashem and Fara not portrayed in any religious aspects. Where for example, non-American Muslims as Haqqani and Aayan are portrayed quoting the Koran or in prayer. The exception of this is Sekou, who is portrayed as very religious and preacher Islamic value’s in his videos.
Non-American Muslims
Non- American Muslims are somehow differently portrayed then American Muslim. Similar to the physical appearance is there more difference in how non-American Muslim are portrayed. So are the rich/high ranked non-American Muslim and the Non-American Muslims youth portrayed more similar to American Muslims and therefore more western and less backward. This is for example seen in how Aayan, but also Pakistan General Bunny and the Pakistan intelligent agent Aasar Khan are portrayed. These characters are portrayed with having a more outspoken opinion and more westernised ideas. This will be further explained later in this chapter.
However non-American Muslim are general portrayed as people who are against the western world, especially the United States. So, is there in season 4 episode 7 a scene that shows the main character of the show, Carrie walking on the streets in Islamabad, and Muslim on the street are looking at her with suspicious as if they have never seen western people before. It looks even like they are hostile towards her. Similar to this is showed when an American, CIA agent Saul, visits a non-American Muslim friend, a Pakistan ex-general called “Bunny”, in an elite club for rich and high ranked people in Islamabad. In this scene the other non-American Muslims in the club are looking with suspicion to the American. Bunny says than to his American friend that the people in the club think he is now “fraternizing with the enemy”, because he is talking to an American.
This idea that the USA and their people are sort of the enemy, or at least are treated with suspicions by non-American Muslims, is portrayed broader in the show. So, says the Pakistan ex-general Bunny further that 9/11 was a hoax, created by America. Further he says to Saul about 9/11 that “We both know it was an Israeli-American excuse to launch a crusade against the Muslim world.” He also thinks the United stated should leave Pakistan. Bunny says toward Saul, an American “you have lost” and that the USA have to accept that the Taliban won and that they should leave, in this case, Afghanistan. So, says bunny that “The Americans are being driven out of Afghanistan just like the Russians were”, “the Taliban has won, and they know it. And they will dictate the terms of the settlement.” More non-American Muslims think the United states should leave and are the ‘enemy”. So is portrayed in episode 7 of season 4 of Homeland how a Non-American Muslim child is saying that “America is the enemy”. Also, an Iran officer says that half of his people in his country will think “death to America”. Haqqani, the terrorist, has similar thoughts. He talks about how America has invaded his country and how it has destroyed
the Islam and their culture. Haqqani, further blames everything on America saying: “we do what is necessary to win back our homeland”, when he talks about why he plans terroristic attack, blaming the invasion of the United States in the Middle East for his actions. Similar thoughts are however also shared by Sekou, an American Muslim who is does not a non-American Muslim. He uploads video’s talking about the true values of Islam and how American people and the USA politics have treated the Islam and the Muslim countries wrong. Moreover, even Carrie, a white American, says in episode 4 of season 6 that America went stupid-crazy after 9/11.
Non-American Muslims are however not all portrayed in the assumption made by
Winegarner (2017) and Deepa Kumar, in a video interview with The Real News (2014), who say that Muslims are only portrayed in two ways. These two ways are that Muslims are either
terrorist or sympathisers to terrorist or “good” Muslim supporting the United States and their policy. So, is there as mentioned earlier, Pakistan ex-general Bunny. He seems to be a legitimate friend of Saul, the American CIA agent. Furthermore, he is someone who is against terrorism and the Taliban. However, he is not a supporter of the USA and disagree with the US policy towards the Middle East and how America handled 9/11. Moreover, there is Majid Javadi, an Iran general and chief of the Iranian IRGC's intelligence service. He is portrayed as someone who is dealing and helping with terrorism but is also shown as someone who support the Iran-American
agreements on nuclear weapons and he tries to help Saul, the American CIA officer, with finding truth about possible obeying the nuclear weapons deal. Furthermore, there is Aayan Ibrahim, the teen Muslim asset of Carrie, He is not supportive to terrorism, but is somehow forced to deal with it, because his uncle is Hassan Haqqani. He just wants to get out of Pakistan, so he can go further with his study and his life, without dealing with terrorists. He is portrayed as someone who is neither loyal to terrorism or to the Unites states foreign policy.
Moreover, Aayan, is portrayed as a bit innocent, shy, insecure young, Muslim man. This portraying does not match with the stereotypical portrayal of the backward, male Muslim indulgence in sexual excess, Karim (2003) and in Said (1978) work on orientalism argue almost all Muslim (men) are portrayed. In general, other Muslim men (American and non-American) portrayed in the show, are also not shown as this very dominant, sexually men, exhibiting the over-sexualised, dominant stereotype. Moreover, is illustrated in works in Orientalism, like Said (1978) that Muslims are often portrayed as irrational and violent. This idea is not frequently visible in the analysed episodes of Homeland. The only real examples confirming this idea of
violent, over-sexualised, dominant Muslims is when is shown in Homeland how an Iranian government official, Farhad Nafisi, is sexually excess, by visiting often a prostitute. Besides this there is Haqqani, the terrorist, who is a bit portrayed as a sexual and dominant man. For the rest in the show there is not any clear sign of a portraying of a very backward, Muslim men
The Portraying of the relation between Americans and Muslims.
Muslims are often viewed with suspicious from the non-Muslims, mostly the American people, as mentioned before. There are multiple scenes in the show, whereby is portrayed, how the actions and pronunciations of Muslims are taken in to question or are not believed by the
Americans. In general, everything Muslims say to CIA officers, is not directly believed by them. This is not only against suspicious Muslim, but to every Muslim even against government officials and Intelligence agents from Pakistan. So, is show how Saul talks with kind of a under town of hesitation and disbelief to a Pakistan intelligence official in episode 4 of season 4 of Homeland. Moreover, Carrie is portrayed in multiple situations don’t believing Muslims. So, does she not belief Kiran, when she approached her. Moreover, she does also not trust a Pakistan intelligence agent, even do he helps her out of prison and takes care of her by even letting her stay in his home. This is more shown in the way the CIA director in season 4 talks about Muslims and how he acts against Muslims, saying for example that he does not believe Pakistan will probably help then in the release of an American, taken by terrorist Haqqani. He also even blames the Pakistan intelligence and government of helping this abduction and terrorism in general. All this is partly due to because of their jobs as CIA agents but it is very exaggerated in the episodes of Homeland. This emphasizing of that Muslims are not to be trusted what so ever, can be seen as creating the “other” and making a distinction between “us” and “them”, mentioned in the works of Orientalism, discussed previous in this thesis.
Homeland portrays also the Pakistani government as terrorist supporters. So is the Pakistani Intelligence Agency (ISI) depict as a supporter of the Taliban and terrorist, working to throw the CIA off Haqqani’s trail. So is there somehow portrayed as if every Pakistan intelligence agents is untruthful and has a double life, which consists of helping or working for the Taliban. This seems also the case when pictures of Pakistan intelligence agents are shown in the show. The agents are shown on a black and white photo and most of them are wearing turban and/or long robes, so non-westernised clothing. This portraying gives the impression they are all less developed and maybe even all are criminals because they are portrayed in very dark and suspicious pictures.
Other scenes were the suspicions of Americans towards Muslim are portrayed in the show, are in the scenes where there is talks about the American Muslim, Sekou Bah in season 6. There is portrayed how hostile and fear most Americans are towards him. So, is Sekou represented by most other Americans as very dangerous, even do he only post video’s criticizing Americans
actions and United States policies towards Muslims. However, the people who arrest Sekou, on the basis of radicalization are then well portrayed as anti-Islamic and untrustworthy.
On the other hand, there are American-Muslims relations who shows a bit less hostility and negativity. So is Carrie, in season 6, portrayed as someone who trust Muslim and even defend them. Also, Saul, the CIA agent, is portrayed as someone who does act less violent and is even friendly when talking to Muslims. So, calls he a Pakistan intelligence agent even a bride young man and to another Pakistan government official he says that the Pakistan government official has deep knowledge. Also, the ambassador of America in Islamabad is portrayed as someone, who have good contact with the Muslim and seems to do trust them more.
The portrayal of terrorism
Another aspect which was frequently portrayed in the show, was how Muslim terrorist or alleged Muslim terrorist are portrayed in Homeland. Haqqani, but also other terrorist or alleged terrorists are mostly portrayed as “fanatic” Muslim, very loyal to the Koran and Islam value’s. Even Sekou, the alleged terrorist in season 6, who is an American Muslim, is more or less similar portrayed, according to this idea as being very fanatic in his religion. An example of this is Hassan Haqqani, which is a terrorist in the show. He is portrayed as very religious and as mentioned earlier someone who hates America. So, says he that “Only Islam offers a formula for creating a just and a goodly society” and “Whatever the prophet did we must follow.” However, he is also portrayed as a wise and smart man, knowing what he wants and just believing in his value’s and norms. So, apologies Haqqani for putting Saul, the American prisoner in cell and saying he hopes Saul does not have to stay long in the cell. Furthermore, he also apologies, when his son throws his shoe to Saul and he says then no harm must come to the American prisoner while he is his prisoner. This contradicts the argument made by Reid (2013) saying that all terrorists are all illustrated as only primitive religious fanatics who are obsessed with violence. The show kind of tries to humanise him. Also, other people linked to terrorist such as Tasneem and Farhad Ghazi are not portrayed as true primitive religious fanatics, who are only after violence against the United States and their people. These other Muslims who have connections to terrorism are portrayed, as mentioned earlier, as very western people and also as successful and intelligent people. For example, Tasneem is someone who has a high ranked in the Pakistan intelligence agency. This portraying can be related by the ideas of Ryzik (2016) and Said (1978) who says that no matter how successful Muslim are, they may still be “represented” as being involved with terrorism.
Moreover, there is shown how the role of Islam fits in terrorism and how non-terrorist Muslims deal with Terrorism. Some scenes in the show seems to indicate that Muslims are portrayed as a bit pro terrorism or at least don’t care. So, is there in episode 4 of season 4 a scene whereby 3 vehicles stop in the middle of the street and some Muslim terrorists with machine guns step out of the car to escort the main terrorist (Haqqani) away. The surrounding Muslims people on the street seems to ignore this event and seems to be just keep going on with their life, like if nothing is happening. This portraying gives the impression that this is part of everyday live for Muslims and that Muslims somehow don’t mind all the violence and terrorism. Besides that, in a
fragment in episode 7 of season 4 of the show, Haqqani comes home to the village his wife and children life. He is than welcomed as some kind of hero or god by the Muslim people of his village. The People are all happy and celebrating the return of Haqqani to their village. They are even yelling that he is the “arrow of god”. A picture of this fragment can be seen on image 11. Whereby Haqqani is sitting in the car in the middle of the picture and is surrounded by people cheering and celebrating that he is in their village.
However, this image that Muslims support terrorism is not showed throughout the whole show. So are there, as mentioned earlier Non-American Muslims, as Bunny and Aayan who are portrayed as people who do no support terrorism. But also, American Muslim like Fara and Sekou’s mother and sister are portrayed as people who are against Terrorism. Moreover, Sekou’s Family disapprove even Sekou’s actions of posting videos online about blaming the USA and glorifying terrorist actions.
Muslim women in Homeland.
According to Shaheen (2008:47) the few times Muslim and Arab-American women appear in movies or tv show, they are portrayed usually as silent and submissive. Or they surface briefly as wild, repressed women. These ideas are shared by Hirji (p. 34, 2011) who says that “while many of the Orientalist imaginaries concern Muslim men as terrorists, sexists and barbarians, images of Muslim women as conspirators, victims or sexually available underpin these portrayals, even when they are suggested more by their absence than by their presence.” In Homeland there are not many Muslim woman portrayed with frequently screen time, which confirms this idea that Muslim woman are not often portrayed in popular culture. Only two are frequently shown in the analyzed episodes of Homeland. So is there, as mentioned earlier, Fara (image 1), who works for the CIA and Pakistan intelligence agent Tasneem, who also works for the Taliban.
Fara is portrayed as a loyal, hardworking and determent person, doing everything in her possibilities to help Carrie and her job, even risky manoeuvres. An example of this is when Fara, in episode 4 of season 4, follows asset Aayan, even do this is very risky and discouraged by her co-worker. She is further portrayed as an intelligent and calm person. But also, someone who shows her remorse when there is talked about the dead of Aayan. Another characteristic of Fara is that she is someone who is very modest and even is looking for approval from the other CIA agents, especially Carrie. So, talks Fara with great admiration about Carrie, saying Carrie is amazing and giving Carrie all the credits for her hard work. She kind of follows Carrie. This admiration and humility Fara shows, can be connected to the idea that Muslim woman are portrayed as submissive, stated by Shaheen (2008). Fara does namely really seek for approval from other people, mostly Carrie.
Tasneem is portrayed as bit of a dominant and controlling woman. She is very determined in getting what she wants and has a clear opinion towards the USA. She is namely against the role of the USA in the Middle East. She has further a high ranking in the Pakistan intelligence agency. So is she one of the few representatives in the negotiation between the CIA and Pakistan in how to handle the release of Saul, The American who is taken in as prisoner by the Pakistan terrorist Haqqani. Furthermore, she is very controlling and has a leading role when she visited and blackmails the man of the US Ambassador in Pakistan. One the other hand she also comes across as someone who is reasonable and kind. So, does she made the man, of the US ambassador
feel very comfortable and promise she that, if he does what she says, nobody would every found out and that he could go back to the USA without any consequences.
Both women, Fara and Tasneem, are portrayed more similar to a western woman and not as silent and submissive, as Shaheen argues most Muslim and American-Muslims are portrayed in tv shows and movies. Both woman showing even their emotion and their own opinion. So is portrayed how Fara, seems to disapprove the way Carrie is handling Aayan, the asset of Carrie and she shows also emotion, after Aayan was executed. Tasneem on the other hand, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, is portrayed as very dominant and in control, which is the opposite of silent and submissive. Moreover, both Muslim women wear more western clothing, so is
Tasneem portrayed in western clothing and does she not wear a Hijab. Fara, as mentioned earlier, wears also more western clothing, but is sometimes portrayed with a Hijab. This portraying is different from how typical Muslim woman are portrayed as is argued by many scholars. So, say Hirji (2011) & Ridouani (2011) both that Muslim woman are generally portrayed in a typical stereotypical way. So is argued that Muslim woman are often portrayed wearing highly
concealing clothing, to show the repression and disempowerment of Muslim Woman. So, says Hirji (p.35, 2011) that “repression may take many forms, ranging from the disempowerment associated with having to wear highly concealing clothing, to suggestions of abuse at the hands of the violent Muslim man.” When talking about Muslim woman.
Other Muslim women shown in the analyzed episodes of Homeland are Kiran, the
girlfriend of Aayan, who is the nephew of Haqqani and an asset of Carrie, the wife of the terrorist Haqqani and very shortly Simone, the sister of Sekou Bah. Kiran is portrayed as a bit more western women with a mind of her own but is undermined by her dominant portrayed father. However, she does go against her father’s opinion, by letting now she disapproves her father’s conduct against Aayan. In contrast with this she does wear non-western clothing and wears a hijab. Which fits more in the idea made by Hirji (2011) that Muslim woman are portrayed wearing highly concealing clothing in tv shows and movies. Simeone is portrayed as very western young woman. So is she very outspoken, has a boyfriend, wears western clothing and listens to western music. The way she dress is very disapproved by her brother Sekou, who is a very religious Muslim. He finds that the clothing Simone wearing, is to short and against the Islamic regulations. Haqqani wife’s is portrayed silent, in the shadow of her husband and very
loyal and very humble towards Haqqani. This portraying does match to what Shaheen (2008) writes about Muslim women being portrayed as silent and submissive.
Another aspect about the portraying of Muslim women in the analyzed episodes of Homeland, is that in general Muslim woman, and then particularly Non-|American Muslim woman, are more portrayed in non-western/ highly covered clothing than how Muslim men are portrayed. Muslim men are more often portrayed in suits, uniforms or other more westernised looking clothing. However Muslim women are more often portrayed wearing a hijab and more non-westernised clothing. Another aspect is that Muslim woman almost never appear in a high, important function or role. So are Muslim woman not really present in the big meetings, high ranked positions or have another big role. So are only Muslim men attended in an elite club, for high ranked and rich people in Islamabad. Moreover, by important meetings with a Pakistan delegation, not many Muslim woman are present, actually only one, namely Tasneem. This portraying corresponds with the idea mention by Hirji (2011) that Muslim woman are suggested more by their absence than by their presence.
Representation of the Muslim geography
Some other things that stood out in the analyze was how central places, so markets, cross roads and squares and the people on these places are portrayed in the show. These places are portrayed as: crowded with people, cars and people blocking each other, a lot of sounds and big congestion. It is viewed as very chaotic, all people are yelling and making hand signals to each other. An example of this is when there is a congestion on the road in episode 4 of season 4 where by people are portrayed stepping out of their cars, yelling to each other and being very chaotic (Image 12). This portraying of a lot of chaotic people is also show in the portraying of the
Ommaya teaching hospital and the area in-front of the hospital, which was shown in episode 4 of season 4 of Homeland. This place is portrayed with a lot of small street vendors around the hospital, with a lot of people around the vendors and the hospital. How these scenes are portrayed gives the impression that Muslims are very chaotic. Image 12 and 13 are image in scenes of the show were congestions are portrayed. Image 14 and 15 are picture of how the outside of the hospital is portrayed. The portraying of the hospital is moreover viewed as a bit less modern and unprofessional. So are there people portrayed sleeping, (illegal) selling all kinds of products and drinking tea in front of the hospital. Which seems not accurate with how a hospital in real life is. Furthermore, the inside of the hospital is also portrayed as a bit less modern, with not working lights in the hospital. This portraying of the hospital in Homeland corresponds with the ideas of orientalism, stated earlier, about that the other (mostly the east and Muslims) is portrayed as inferior and less modern.
The portraying of Abu Dhabi, in episode 3 and 4 of season 6, seems to give also a non-accurate image of the city. Abu Dhabi is known as a really modern city with modern high buildings, economic development and some kind of very western atmosphere and place. How Abu Dhabi is in real life is show on image 16 below. On the image there are a lot of high and modern building visible. However, when Abu Dhabi is portrayed in Homeland, the show doesn’t show this image of Abu Dhabi but shows a less modern and inferior city. So is there a crowded typical Middle Eastern market street portrayed and are there no buildings taller than about three stories to be seen in the portraying of Abu Dhabi in Homeland. The show does not portray the city according to the general idea of how Abu Dhabi is developed the last couple of years, becoming somehow more of a western city. The image 17 and 18 are images of how Abu Dhabi is showed in the show Homeland. Which shows the majority of people in non-westernised clothes, no sight of high buildings and in general the streets and buildings are looking a bit inferior but definitely not
Image 12 Congestion on the street Image 13 a crowded market place
modern. The scenes that portrayed Abu Dhabi in episode 3 and 4 of season 6 are also not even shoot in Abu Dhabi, which might explain that Abu Dhabi, as shown in Homeland, does not look like Abu Dhabi. Instead of shooting in Abu Dhabi, the scenes that were supposed to be in Abu Dhabi, were filmed in Morocco (Newbould, 2017).
There have been more accusations made that Homeland wrongly portrayed places and scenes. So was there a lot of criticism, and even protest from the Lebanon government, about how Beirut, and especially Hamra street in Beirut, was portrayed in season 2 episode 2 of
Homeland. Hamra street was portrayed as a street with militia roaming in it and a dark and awful place, you don’t want to be. In fact, the reel Hamra street in Beirut is a popular street with
American shops and cafes, like Starbucks. Also, by this example, the show didn’t film the scenes that were supposed to be in Beirut at the actually place, instead they filmed theses scene in Israel.
Image 16 Abu Dhabi
