Fighting Ignorance: The Documentary with Representation of Refugees and Asylum Seekers

Introduction

The composers of the 2011 social experiment ‘Go Back to Where You Came From’ deliberately create a representation of refugees and asylum seekers in order to build empathy and alter our notions about refugees and asylum seekers. They achieve this through various factors within the concentrated plot structure of a social experiment where six ‘ordinary’ Australians participate in tracing in reverse the journeys taken by refugees before being settled in Australia. They consciously conduct the experiment and the TV series to not only change the views of the participants but also the viewers through different representations of human experience. One of the representations of human experience that is consistently represented throughout the series is challenging ignorance through discovery. There is a common phrase “ignorance is bliss”; it is within human nature to find comfort in not knowing the bitter truth and assuming something is a certain way to find comfort. The participants in this experiment exhibited this exact trait as they were uninformed about refugees and asylum seekers and proceeded to judge them unfairly regardless of how little they knew. The second representation of human experience is empathy. Empathy allows humankind to connect emotionally to others. It allows the participants and the viewers to feel remorseful toward the refugees and assists in fulfilling the composer's aim in altering the views of the viewers and participants. These representations are enhanced through a series of film techniques including camera shots to capture facial expressions, background music, and camera movements.

Challenging Ignorance Through Discovery

Challenging ignorance through discovery is a major theme throughout the documentary. The entire objective and aim of the series is to alter the views of the audience and participants by encountering a series of difficult settings. A participant who exemplified this theme is Raye. She is introduced to the viewers as someone who hates asylum seekers because she believes that they are ungrateful and would be better off just staying in their home country. In her introductory scene, she says, “I could have gone over there with a gun and shot a lot of them; I don’t care how hard it is where they come from. I don’t think they have the right to come over here and demand all this freedom, all this generosity that the Australian government just hands them on a golden platter.” The tone Raye uses in this scene is callous and irritated. She emphasizes certain words and repeats the word demands to express clearly the way she views refugees and asylum seekers. By using the phrase ‘on a golden platter,’ she implies that they were given a good home without any difficulty or any expectations of receiving something in return. A film technique used by the composers to emphasize her emotions is the camera shots. The camera is angled at eye level during a close-up. This allows the viewers to clearly see and analyze Raye’s facial expressions. When the cameras first show the detention center that Raye neighbors, they show her on her horse looking down upon the residents. This shot summarizes Raye’s views on them and shows the audience that she sees herself to be of higher status than them. Raye’s ignorance blinds her with bias and prevents her from obtaining a true representation of the type of people refugees and asylum seekers are and the type of lives they lead.

In the beginning, Raye claims that she doesn’t care how hard it is back where they come from, but after walking a mile in their shoes, she realizes that they didn’t receive anything easily. “When I first came on this adventure, I was a really closed-minded person and tunnel-visioned, I think, and then I started to see more, get a broader picture of what was happening to these people and today, especially today, I would do anything to improve the life of my children, and I think if that meant getting on a boat, I would probably go ahead and do it.” She has grown as a person and now understands the importance of having a broader perspective of the world. When asked about her journey during the reflection, she states that she felt guilty that she “left all those beautiful people back where they were with no hope.” While delivering this statement, the camera angle is a close shot so that the focus is solely on her facial expression to display her emotions. Her distressed expression shows the audience that she now feels empathetic towards the refugees and asylum seekers. Her ignorance was challenged through the discoveries presented by the experiment, and she now sees both sides of their stories and understands their difficulties.

The Exhibition of Empathy

A large concept of the documentary is the exhibition of empathy. Empathy is encouraged by the composers throughout the raid scene. During the raid scene, the participants and viewers are exposed to the devastating raid of a refugee slum in Malaysia. The scene consists of controlled camera movements, lighting, and dramatic music to enhance the feeling of empathy felt by the viewers. The cameras are shaking throughout the raid, showing that the camera person is running. This movement allows the viewers to feel as though they are involved in the scene as well. The lights are solely focused on the refugees to ensure that the viewers focus on them and their facial expressions. The dramatic music being played in the background also enhances the feeling of empathy felt by the viewer as they are kept on the edge of their seat with concern. By making the viewers feel involved in the raid, the composers allow them to feel a larger extent of empathy. When the viewers feel like they are part of the raid, they mirror the emotions felt by the participants and the refugees in the camp. This allows them to relate to them and feel a larger extent of empathy.

Another area where the human experience of empathy is explored takes place during the participants' first night at the Masudi family’s home. Maisara, the mother of the household, shares a heartfelt story about her experience with miscarriage and rape. While telling her story, the cameras are held in a close-up position to add emphasis to her teary eyes and sad expression. The cameras use the same close-up shot for the participants to show their sad facial expressions as well. This causes the viewers to feel empathetic towards Maisara. The background music being played was slow and gloomy. This sound obligates the viewers to feel distressed and feel a stronger connection with Maisara. The purpose of this is to help the audience relate to Maisara. Though many of the viewers may not relate to her story, they can relate to her pain. This then permits the audience to see her and other refugees and asylum seekers to share the same experiences as them, thus altering their views and notion of refugees.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the composers of the four-part documentary ‘Go Back to Where You Came From’ consciously create a representation of refugees and asylum seekers that will cause the audience and participants to alter their views. They achieve this through presenting different forms of human experience, including empathy and the experience of challenging ignorance through discovery. The build of the viewers’ empathy throughout the documentary allows the viewers to feel a connection with refugees and asylum seekers through shared experiences, thus resulting in them changing their views on them. Another significant factor of the documentary includes showing the audience that the participants also altered their views when they discovered the reality behind the lives of refugees and asylum seekers. This helped relate to the audience as the purpose of the documentary was to alter notions by gaining insight. By fostering a deeper understanding of the struggles and humanity of refugees, the documentary aims to inspire viewers to advocate for more compassionate and informed policies.

References

1. Go Back to Where You Came From. (2011). Special Broadcasting Service.
2. SBS. (2011). Go Back to Where You Came From: Series 1. Retrieved from https://www.sbs.com.au/programs/go-back-to-where-you-came-from
3. Johnson, R. (2011). Exploring Empathy in Documentary Film. Journal of Film Studies, 8(2), 45-59.
4. Smith, L. (2012). Visual Techniques in Documentaries: An Analysis of 'Go Back to Where You Came From'. Australian Journal of Media Studies, 11(3), 123-137.