Artists sneak 'Homeland is a joke' into the show's Arabic graffiti
Other messages included 'this show does not represent the views of the artists' and 'Homeland is watermelon'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Homeland hired some graffiti artists to daub Arabic phrases on walls in season 5, but it seems no-one thought to check what they meant.
The artists were hired to add authenticity to a refugee camp but did anything but, spraying “Homeland is racist”, “Homeland is a joke, and it didn’t make us laugh” and “#blacklivesmatter” on its walls.
Heba Amin, Caram Kapp and Stone revealed the prank in a statement, explaining why they “hacked an award-winning show”.
“The series has garnered the reputation of being the most bigoted show on television for its inaccurate, undifferentiated and highly biased depiction of Arabs, Pakistanis, and Afghans, as well as its gross misrepresentations of the cities of Beirut, Islamabad- and the so-called Muslim world in general,” they wrote.
“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.”
“Given the series’ reputation,” they continued, “we were not easily convinced, until we considered what a moment of intervention could relay about our own and many others’ political discontent with the series. It was our moment to make our point by subverting the message using the show itself.”
Other messages they snuck in included “the situation is not to be trusted”, “this show does not represent the views of the artists,” and the rather excellent “Homeland is watermelon”.
The show’s set producers were apparently "too frantic to pay any attention" to the artwork. "In their eyes, Arabic script is merely a supplementary visual that completes the horror-fantasy of the Middle East," the artists added.
Showtime, the US network behind Homeland, has yet respond to requests for comment.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments