Description
The proposed paper looks at how emotions are not only aroused, but also shaped, crafted and manipulated in the context of migration. While protagonists of the far-right engage in fear-mongering and the incitement of indignation against a corrupt elite, pro-asylum activists often focus their activities on empathy and compassion for refugees. These attempts, however, are often the object of critique not only from political adversaries, but often also by those who share the overall goal of refugee protection. Such criticism includes the reproach of sadism, hypocrisy, instrumentalization and paternalism and regards the complicated communicative structure of interventions which picture the situation of refugees. Against this background, the paper first reconstructs the arguments which have been put forward in favor of as well as against sentimental education (Richard Rorty). In a second step, it examines the various modes of sentimental intervention by focusing on three very different documentary films which deal with migration and refuge: Wim Wenders’ “The Flight”, Gianfranco Rosi’s “Fire at sea” and the BBC’S “Exodus: Our Journey to Europe”, a participatory project which assembles footage shot by refugees. Which narrative techniques and aesthetic strategies are employed to temporarily widen the circle of the “we” and (how) do the three films manage to avoid the pathologies and pitfalls of sentimental education?
