Crossings: Journal of Migration & Culture - Volume 3, Issue 2, 2012

This article aims to explore the philosophical basis of classical radical constructivism (Piaget, Glasersfeld, Maturana) in the light of migration issues, with a general interest in the issue of housing theory (space) and the recent generated debate about constructivism therein. Thus, the article investigates three aspects of constructivism.First, the sense of ‘realm’ and, therefore, the notion of reality and realism in relation to both a physical world and a notion of knowledge or, more specifically, to what isknowledgeable; second, the problem of the so-called theory-laden issue, that is, the operational basis of theories; and finally, naturalism or, more specifically, the fact that there is a domain of actual things, a form of present, which always acquires a status in relation to government and/or State’s and corporate authorities. What interest us in this context is to propose a conceptual alternative with which to think through the notion of migration considered, in the context of humanities and social sciences, where a relativist sense of knowledge has been pushed to the extreme. We will also explore the consequences of the interactions between migration considered as a physical domain and as a conceptual domain.

This article addresses the role of memory for the itinerant as repeated negotiations take place between geographical location and reminiscence. The meaning of ‘home’ is considered in relation to space/place and time as fragmentary transmutations periodically enable a sense of momentary personal cohesion. As these are temporary transmutations, or states of cohesion/consolidation, the itinerant remains ever in a state of flux, continuing to shift and change as self-recognition occurs through accessing the store of memories and through articulating the past ‘home’ in relation to the current site of location or domicile. The writings of Breyten Breytenbach, Michael Jackson and Irit Rogoff, amongst others, will be used to investigate discussions on the meaning of ‘home’ and exile. The final part of the article will focus on three performance works, Rituals for Momentary Cohesion (1998–2002), whereby a negotiated form of consolidation is sought through the action of the body within the interior space or landscape.

The article examines the use of sound in Maghrebi-French film-making since the early 1980s, arguing for a greater need to explore the role of the soundtrack and music in this area of contemporary French/francophone cinema, as well as in diasporic and postcolonial cinema more generally. The article analyses a range of films by Maghrebi-French directors, characterized by what might be termed ‘displaced audio’. Particular attention will be paid to the concepts of accented voice and heteroglossia, the layering and displacement of sound, and the subversion of more Eurocentric associations of music in film as an ethnic marker.

This article analyses filmic representations of migration from Mexico and Central America to the United States, with a focus on Sin nombre (Fukunaga, 2009). Reference will also be made to other films including, The Gatekeeper (Juan Carlos Frey, 2002), La tragedia de Macario (Veliz, 2005), La misma luna/Under the Same Moon (Patricia Riggen, 2007) and 7 soles (Ultreras, 2008). The article argues that these texts form a new sub-genre of migration films, and have secured their place in the market thanks to film festivals such as Sundance and the Latino festival at San Diego, a growing Latino population in the United States, and their relevance to contemporary political debate within Central America, Mexico and the United States. There is very little published in this area, despite growing interest, so the aim of the research was to write an analytical survey piece. One of the main concerns of the article is to consider what happens to the migrant experience when represented in feature films and to analyse ow the different (trans)national production contexts affect these representations: what happens to social and political concerns in the search for commercial gain, and how is migrant experience made to conform to the demands of the United States film market? The article argues that there is a personal rather than overtly political focus in all films, and film-makers prefer to concentrate on immoral individuals and the emotional weight of their subjects, rather than consider the effect of national and transnational policies on migrants. In the specific case of Sin Nombre the article explores the ways that the migrant film can be made accessible to global audiences, and asks what is lost through this process

The article explores the way in which African, Caribbean and Arabic European presence is visualized by diasporic women artists. With histories associated with recent migration to Europe by persons from non-European, Southern backgrounds, perceptual practice is presented as partial and feminist. The article makes explicit the perceptions, perspectives and viewpoints we are positioned by as persons associated with the postcolonies making claims of identity in Europe. Charting a historical trajectory of cultural politics, aesthetics and activism associated with photography and film, I explore the artworks in relation to aesthetics, tropes and techniques. The work will be contextualized within recent popular media images and perceptions of African and Arab migration by the European press. The artworks explored here are imaginary inscriptions whose starting point alludes to migratory routes and journeying – often initial experiences in developing a sense of belonging. I present my own recent screen/photography installation Arrival (2010) and include works by Yto Barrada, and Berni Searle. They evoke critical perspectives that talk back, emerging from long histories of counter-narration that make meanings of blackness that engage with the gaze outwards from postcolonial spaces and diasporic subjects, as well as from the look back.

Hurricane Katrina was responsible for the displacement of the entire city of New Orleans. This article will consider the forced migration of the city’s inhabitants, focusing specifically on poor African Americans. In the aftermath, families were separated and relocated all across the United States, controversially referred to as ‘refugees’. This problematically evokes Harold Cruse’s idea of ‘domestic colonies’ as it aligns black identity with the notion of foreignness. The imposed dislocation of black American families cannot be divorced from the historical context of slavery; the image of the migrant wading through the water evokes stories of fugitive slaves taking to the Mississippi River in an attempt to escape capture. The evacuation was in part due to an inherently racist infrastructure, primarily and irrefutably based on class. Yet, in spite of this, many citizens chose to return. The article will consider the homecoming experience in relation to the mythical status of the city and its rich cultu al heritage; how the ‘pull’ factors outweighed the political and socio- economic realities. Using the documentaries, When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (Lee, 2006), and Trouble the Water (Deal and Lessin, 2008) along with the HBO series Treme (2010–2011), this article will explore forced migration and intransigence, the image of the migrant, and the narrative of return in relation to African American identity, mythology, history, race and class.

Focused on the British film Black Joy (Simmons, 1977), this article draws on archival material and recent interviews with both Jamal Ali, the radical black poet-playwright who wrote the heavily autobiographical screenplay for the film – concerned with the travails of Benjamin, a young man who has migrated from Guyana to Brixton (London) – and members of the public who saw the film on its London release. The aim is to argue that the making, marketing and subsequent reception of Black  Joy reveal much about notions of creative agency, diasporic identities and cultural memory. Director Anthony Simmons’ intention to ‘show the reality of life in an immigrant area’ meant that the screening of Black Joy was eagerly anticipated by local black cinema audiences who, however, had also seen Black Joy’s figure of the migrant ‘country boy’ in the Jamaican film The Harder They Come (Henzell, 1972). Thus, as this article goes on to demonstrate these black audiences compared the ‘authenticity’ of diasporic representations in both films and found Black Joy problematical; the ensuing negative responses to Simmons’ film, in the black community and the black radical press, lead to Ali being shunned by his community. Ultimately,this article explores the hidden history of Black Joy, which reveals a struggle over notions of ‘home’ in both the process of its making and its reception by blacks.

This article studies human migration in relation to ‘Europe’ and ‘Africa’ (as ideas, spaces and places) via the problematic of Eurocentrism. Its premise is a strong sense that the emerging European populations will soon be those whose heritage is from the South, who have grown up with and continuously access knowledge about different types of non-European cinemas, who view differently configured visual references, who bring a potential for new knowledge to film/visual culture studies. Specifically,the article experiments with three encounters – UK (United Kingdom) academia, so-called peripheral cinema, and historical connections between Europe and Africa – through wide factual contexts, specific historical trajectories and the notion of diaspora,so as to place migration studies and film/visual culture studies in dialogue. At the same time, it rejects liberalism and fundamentalism, and questions methodological orthodoxy in studies of human migration. The article is a (methodological) contact zone that draws from varied sources, including Derrida’s notion of contretemps/being out of step; Paul Feyerabend’s (in)famous concept of ‘anything goes’ (essential to enriching one’s look at the material of history); Slavoj Žižek’s take on fatality as a critical notion; film theory and migration theory; European histories; and African philosophers. Thus, the article attempts to make disciplines borderless, while calling for ‘film’ to be repositioned within the wider field of ‘visual culture’ so that, between it (i.e. film) and migration, multiple transformative border crossings, rather than the usual splits and retreats into fortified (sub-)discipline(d) camps, may take place.

GENDER, RELIGION, AND MIGRATION: PATHWAYS OF INTEGRATION, GLENDA TIBE BONIFACIO AND VIVIENNE SM. ANGELES (EDS) (2010) Maryland: Lexington Books, 304 pp., ISBN 978-0739133132, h/bk, £ 47.45; p/bk, £ 21.80

BRITISH MUSLIM FICTIONS: INTERVIEWS WITH CONTEMPORARY WRITERS, CLAIRE CHAMBERS(2011) Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 368 pp. ISBN: 978-0230308787, Hardback, £55.00; Paperback, £18.04