7. We Experience The Turmoil Of The Post-911 World
Even in the 12 years that have passed since September 11th, we feel its powerful and shocking reverberations. Homeland uses the political stage of the real world to effectively reveal in us our continued anxieties about the world. Fictionalized events that include the assassination of the Vice President and the bombing of the CIA headquarters serve as harsh reminders of the sense of impending doom that many viewers no doubt felt after September 11th and the military actions in Iraq. In the shifting and undetermined narrative of season 3, we are introduced to Senator Andrew Lockhart, who, soon to be confirmed as CIA director, appears to be Dick Cheney-like in his view of the role that intelligence plays in domestic and foreign policy. Perhaps to balance the concerns that some raised about the anti-Islamist tone of seasons 1 and 2, the character of Lockhart illustrates the complicity of the United States in the post-911 world political climate. Like many good post-911 dramas, Homeland unsettles us in part for the fact that it provides another illustration of the turmoil of the post-911 world and our own roles in it.