... And fake controversy to create interest strikes again.
Graffiti on ‘Homeland,’ Unnoticed by Producers, Calls Show Racist
101–110 of 184 posts
Re: Graffiti on ‘Homeland,’ Unnoticed by Producers, Calls Show Racist
#102A native Arabic speaker here, I must say that I admire the courage and innovation of the graffiti artists and activists who chose this medium to protest and convey their message, which needless to say, that I don't necessarily endorse or share the creators' point of view.
I have to admit that I haven't seen the show yet not even a single shot and I could say too that I have a very thick skin when it comes to "cultural insensitivities" in TV drama or real life.
So, I don't have any problem with media, cinema or drama depicting characters from our region, the Middle East, or ones that share the same cultural background even in very negative and unflattering light.
However, I must say that it's really alarming that not even a single person of the whole crew of the show has a 3rd grade proficiency level of the Arabic language to be able to read and grasp a two word phrase, esp. when the show prides itself on offering their audience deep insight into the characters, their mindsets, their psychological profile that they portray on screen, or that is what I at least was able to collect from the scattered and random reviews that I came across online recently.
EDIT: For clarification and more input.
Re: Graffiti on ‘Homeland,’ Unnoticed by Producers, Calls Show Racist
#103[deleted]
>what they did was wrong. It was a breech of trust. Is a breech of trust absolutely and objectively wrong in all circumstances? I'm not comfortable saying it is, at least not without far more thought. (P.S. I wonder if their contract in any way forbid this from being done. Because if not, this is no worse 'buyer beware' behavior than what is common among corporate America already.)
'Breech' means buttocks first (as in breech birth). You want 'Breach'.
Re: Graffiti on ‘Homeland,’ Unnoticed by Producers, Calls Show Racist
#104This is the best hack I've seen on Hacker News in months and it doesn't even involve a computer. Great job to everyone involved in pulling it off, even if the casual viewers didn't notice.
I am conflicted - on one hand it is a great hack, no doubt. But they also screwed over the producers, who trusted them and paid them for their work.
The producers are making a show about the middle east but can't read arabic. They got exactly what they deserve.
Re: Graffiti on ‘Homeland,’ Unnoticed by Producers, Calls Show Racist
#105Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am conflicted - on one hand it is a great hack, no doubt. But they also screwed over the producers, who trusted them and paid them for their work.
I'd venture to say this was a pretty calculated move -- no doubt they might not get work with this production company anymore, but they'll surely have quite a few more jobs lined up now with their name out there like this. Also, those jobs might be on projects that more closely align with their political and artistic goals and visions.
Assuming of course that they knew for certain that they would get away with it and no one would notice it before it hit the airwaves.
It's a risky proposition and not guaranteed to work most of the time.
Re: Graffiti on ‘Homeland,’ Unnoticed by Producers, Calls Show Racist
#106I haven't seen Homeland past the first season - but can someone who has seen more shed light on the alleged "racism" of the show? Is the show actually racist in its depiction of Arab-speaking characters, or is this simply a manifestation of Hanlon's Razor - "never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity"?
Brown person here, I find Homeland stupid but not racist, let's cut the crap. Some Muslims do more damage to the Muslim community than a single show that paint a few Muslims as terrorists. Even 24 which was deemed controversial wouldn't qualify as racist in my book.
They somehow managed to show that terrorists were manipulated by some higher interests , and were no more than "useful idiots". But it never painted the whole Muslim community as terrorist , nor does Homeland. It's always more about US policies and its consequences than anything else.
If we put the "racist" label on everything a little bit controversial then the word itself becomes void of any meaning.
Re: Graffiti on ‘Homeland,’ Unnoticed by Producers, Calls Show Racist
#107Earlier quoted context omitted.
And matches are perfectly safe, if you don't happen to be surrounded by flammables. The simple facts are that we have a huge amount of ignorance in the audience for this show, this show takes advantage of that (it is targeted to folks who are not informed about the places and people and groups depicted, otherwise it wouldn't take such extreme artistic license with them) and will have an effect on the views of its aud…
> And matches are perfectly safe, if you don't happen to be surrounded by flammables. My point goes back to personal responsibility. Whose fault is it if you're surrounded by flammables labeled appropriately? The analogy is that this is labeled as a "TV show" not a documentary.
Why are the creators of the show absolved of their personal responsibility regarding the impact of their actions? If a company poisons the local reservoir with their chemical run-off, are they morally able to say, "Well, they shouldn't have drank that water. They knew they lived near a chemical plant."
No, we trust fiction-based-on-reality to have a semblence of reality to it and to not be blatently racist. That's a cultural evolution we've developed. We are criticizing a show for not being what it should be. That's our responsibility as viewers, and we're fulfilling it.
Re: Graffiti on ‘Homeland,’ Unnoticed by Producers, Calls Show Racist
#108I thought this was funny, and striking: https://twitter.com/sandman_leb/status/579021886845243392
Re: Graffiti on ‘Homeland,’ Unnoticed by Producers, Calls Show Racist
#109Earlier quoted context omitted.
Pretty telling that what? The show is racist? I think there might be more nuance involved.
As racist as it would be if there were a US show based on how the French are scary, and no one involved with the show spoke French. It means that they are likely exclusively trading in stereotypes and Western orientialist imagery and tropes. I've never seen the show.
France is not a race. That would be xenophobia, which is a different brand of bigotry.
Not speaking Arabic is a grey area -- not all Muslims are Arabic, despite the fact that the Quran is written in Arabic and only canonical in that language. There are millions and millions of Muslims who do not speak Arabic, and rely on their clergy to teach them the Quran.
While it's apparently not the case here, the absence of an arabic-speaking component on the production team does not necessarily preclude a Muslim component on a production team.
Re: Graffiti on ‘Homeland,’ Unnoticed by Producers, Calls Show Racist
#110Never knew you could be "racist" against a religion. I get it though, take a powerful word with negative connotations and use it to put your target on the defensive, no matter how tangential the connection. Kind of like being called a "commie" in the 20th century.
> Never knew you could be "racist" against a religion. Excellent, this graffiti taught people that one can indeed by racist against muslims, because race is a pseudoscientific social construct used to attack people!
With religions its sectarianism