Under Construction @ Keele 2019 summer 2019, vol 5 issue 1 | Página 39

for refugees and its absence of help for Europe’s displaced people. The compassion in the film
starts and ends with Bartolo.
Drawing on Susan Sontag’s observations of the ‘internal contradiction in media
portrayals of suffering,’ 36 Dominika Blachnicka-Ciacek writes about misrepresentations of the
refugee as the images ‘evoke compassion and horror, and yet, instead of calling to action,
they also have a calming effect on the viewer – of reality taking place at a “safe distance”. 37
Fuocoammare falls into this trap as Rosi’s invitation to compare the young European boy with
the refugee does not call the audience ‘into action’ to address their privileges. By providing
an image of the seasick boy (fig. 3) – a relatable picture of suffering for the West – Rosi
reminds the viewer that they themselves are extremely unlikely to relate to suffering of the
same degree as the injured migrant (fig. 4). In this regard, the film encourages Europe to
continue to detach its feelings of empathy from its displaced people. Ironically, the disbalance
of the film’s gaze functions as a mirror to Europe’s current approach to its refugee ‘crisis’, and
reveals the lack of help refugees are receiving from Europe’s people.
Gianfranco Rosi’s Fuocoammare (2016) fails to observe, for example, Robert Young’s
proposal of making the ‘invisible’ visible through a postcolonial perspective. 38 Dominant
representations of human displacement do not enhance the visibility of the so-called refugee
‘crisis’ as they consistently obliterate the perspectives of the refugees. It is imperative that
literature, films and the arts re-dress and challenge this approach. Fuocoammare – while
aimed at raising awareness and reaching the silver screen to engage with wider audiences –
36
Dominika Blachnicka-Ciacek, “‘Refugees Present/Absent.’ Escaping the Traps of Refugee
(Mis)Representations”, Refugee Hosts Blog, December 30th, 2017.
https://refugeehosts.org/2017/10/09/refugees-presentabsent-escaping-the-traps-of-refugee-
misrepresentations/
37
Ibid.
38
Young, “Postcolonial Remains,” 23.
32