Familiar cultural templates make hateful Muslim portrayals feel acceptable

Evidence

It doesn’t matter that Homeland is a meditation on fear, anxiety, and hate. Millions of Americans watch the program, and it is a favorite of President Obama’s. Homeland is not alone in its horrid depiction of Muslims, and if it was not accompanied by dozens of other television productions, movies, books, and other media, perhaps it wouldn’t be lauded, showered with praise and awards. It is not the exception to the rule—it is the rule. This is what makes Homeland and other shows and movies that feature atrocious representations of Muslims acceptable and loved. They are familiar, retelling stories familiar to us from a childhood and a history filled with such characters. — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 750

Categorization

• XREF: This is the generalization/familiarity mechanism the reader already knows from earlier chapters — audiences accept atrocities because the characters retell stories ‘from a childhood and a history filled with such characters.’