Homeland

The media's depiction of any group of people can have great influence over common public thought about the group. Reading Islamaphobia got me thinking about how Muslims - as well as other groups/entities - are portrayed in popular entertainment today. One show that came to mind is Homeland, which my roommates and I got into last year (the show is currently airing its second season on Showtime). I am not implying that the show is a great contributor to Islamaphobia, but I do think that it presents some interesting themes. Watch the trailer here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4-KYAWPKzY

This trailer for the first season centers around Nicolas Brody, an American who was a prisoner of war in Iraq, and Carrie Mathison, the CIA agent who is investigating him. After an informant told Mathison that a POW had been "turned", she made it a priority to find out if it was in fact Brody, who is being hailed as a war hero in the states.

The show touches on some interesting themes. For example, a large amount of screen time is devoted to  the CIA investigation of Brody and how many agents are conflicted as to how it should be done, considering his status as a war hero. Islam plays a role in the show as well, seeing as the people who held Brody captive were Muslim members of Al-Qaeda. The first season, in its entirety, is really interesting, and it gets the viewer thinking about his or her own feelings towards Brody, since they do not know for sure if he has been "turned" or not. 

Has anyone seen the show? What do you think?