The photographs in Defense Language show costumed role-players, elaborate Hollywood-inspired sets and staged tableaus on military bases across the United States. Artist Claire Beckett embedded herself on these bases between 2006 and 2023 to explore the depiction of Arabs and Muslims during counterinsurgency training for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 'With this project I look at the way Americans such as myself interact with other cultures. The photographs draw attention to the problematic depiction of cultural others in these trainings, challenging the implicit assumption of American cultural superiority.' Those portrayed include military personnel—often combat veterans playing the role of enemy combatants—immigrants from Iraq or Afghanistan intended to make the training look and feel realistic, and local American civilians hired to populate the artificial villages. The photographs are combined with printed materials such as fold-out pocket guides used by American soldiers and Marines, and language training workbooks; Beckett purchased most of this literature on eBay. Although many of the materials are contemporary to the project, some are historic and date back to the 1960s and 1970s, revealing the longstanding nature of American biases relating to Arab and Muslim people.