Between 2006 and 2023, Claire Beckett traveled to military bases across the United States. There, she discovered theatrical sets designed to create immersion, costumes, and role sheets—elements meant to prepare soldiers for the combat situations awaiting them in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Combining portraits, strangely empty landscapes, and official documents created to teach basic Arabic dialects, rules of politeness, or the foundations of Islamic values, Defense Language is a complex book. On the page, faithful representations of foreign cultures encounter reductive paradoxes, and the training modules—though necessary—struggle to conceal the legacy of Manifest Destiny that continues to push Americans to assert their supposed superiority.
For Blind, the photographer discusses her work in detail.
How did you become interested in military training exercises?
I was working at the time on the routine training of American soldiers. While I was at Fort Jackson, I came across a clearing where I saw three young women. They were soldiers, but strangely dressed: they still wore their uniforms and rifles, but both were hidden under men’s Arab clothing. They had turned keffiyehs into hijabs. I found it astonishing: I expected to see soldiers in the middle of an exercise, and instead I encountered this fake Arabizing mise en scène! I knew immediately that I needed to look into this subject. Later, I came across a book published by the RAND Corporation—an American right-wing think tank—explaining the strategies needed to build cultural immersion programs. I used it as a guide, contacting the bases mentioned in the book through their public relations offices to ask for permission to photograph them.
It’s a long-term project. How did it evolve over the years?
It evolved first through my photographic approach. At the beginning, I focused on portraits, then gradually became more interested in the environment, trying to refine the way I depicted landscapes. At the same time, I also started another series about Americans who convert to Islam. To do that, I attended courses specifically for women converting to the faith. I developed a deep understanding of the religion thanks to them, and when I returned to the bases, I saw things differently because I better understood Islamic iconography. When I later edited the book, I rediscovered my photographs and interpreted them in a new way. That learning profoundly transformed their visual logic. Some are very far removed from reality—they do not represent Islam at all—while others are entirely accurate.
In Defense Language, you examine how Americans interact with other cultures—a subject that resonates even more sharply in today’s political climate.
I wish I could honestly say that this is no longer as relevant, that we’ve evolved as a society… But that’s absolutely not the case. The less flattering aspects of how we treat other cultures persist and become even more visible in this political moment. When I began the series, what I found interesting about the construction of these villages and the costumes was that they created a kind of visual imprint. It’s not a simple idea we carry within us and only notice if we pay attention. I see my approach as a case study, one that fosters a way of seeing beyond imagination alone. And honestly, you could make a similar book about other cultures, and the message would remain the same.
Did the classes you attended shape the way you approached these themes?
Yes. I always knew the perception was problematic, but the teaching I received from my instructor—who was Egyptian—allowed me to truly familiarize myself with North African Islamic culture. After the training, I finally understood why my intuition had been telling me that all of this was strange or incorrect. It was as if I finally had concrete evidence.
Your book includes documents that complement your photographs. Why?
Working on the project for so long gave me the time to think through my intentions. I spent a lot of time reflecting on how to make sure the reader understood the concepts I was addressing, since the photographs remain open to interpretation—and that is entirely intentional. But I also wanted to be more direct. If a portrait can be interpreted in multiple ways, my point of view needs to be explicit. The documents therefore became tools: by sharing them, I underline my opinion.
Where did those documents come from?
They came from eBay. On the platform, you can set up search terms and receive an email when matching items become available. I selected keywords associated with a research center called the Defense Language Institute, which produces many of these documents, along with other relevant terms, and I began assembling material ‘passively.’ I was then fortunate to work with GOST’s book designer, Stuart Smith, who immediately knew what to do with all the documentation—I had accumulated so much that it filled an entire library! He came up with the structure [by placing the documents in different sections separated by photographic corpuses], which helped make my approach clearer to the reader. After that, we simply had to determine which excerpts best reflected my point of view, without being repetitive, and find the right balance between images and text.
Defense Language, by Claire Beckett, is available from GOST Books for €55.
