Colin Sheridan: How American TV and film subtly shapes how we view the world

‘Hollywood’ has long co-operated to portray America as the good guy, writes Colin Sheridan

Declassified documents and first-hand accounts have shown the CIA has maintained a quiet, but consistent, presence in the entertainment industry, offering script advice, logistical support, and access in exchange for influence over how stories are told.

In 2015, the producers of the acclaimed US espionage television show Homeland brought a group of Arab graffiti artists onto a Syrian refugee camp set to add visual authenticity. The artists seemingly obliged. Across the camp’s walls, they sprayed Arabic phrases that went unquestioned by the production team. 

Only after the episode aired did Arabic-speaking viewers point out the subversion: Among the slogans was a blunt message: ‘Al-watan unsuri’, or ‘Homeland is racist.’ It was a small act of rebellion, buried in plain sight, that exposed a larger truth about a show that had built its reputation on geopolitical realism, while quietly trafficking in caricature.