Tag Archives: Migrant Crisis

Just Another Day on Lampedusa

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At first I was very confused by the addition of this scene into the movie.  What does this fisherman/diver have to do with the refugees and migrants of the island of Lampedusa, but upon looking deeper into this scene and others like it you can see that this movie is not only about the migrants but the island as a whole.  The movie does not include any interviews with the people of Lampedusa but through this scene and those like it you can see the simple life that these people live. You can also see how the people just seem to go throughout their days as they normally would with no real acknowledgement of the migrants and hundreds of people dying right off their coast.  The fisherman and other people from Lampedusa talk only about their problems, bad weather not allowing them to go fishing and not being able to breathe due to anxiety. From first look this seems very selfish and you can see how entitled these people are but from further examination, ignoring these things might be the best thing for these Lampedusans as they are surrounded by death and can not do much themselves to change that fact or help the situation.  Instead of letting this situation overwhelm their lives, they just choose to go about their days whether that is productive in dealing with the migrant crisis is up to interpretation however I think it is a way for them to deal with this trauma.

 

Locals and Migrants

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The film, Fire at Sea, encapsulates life for migrants and locals on the small island of Lampedusa. Throughout the documentary this song, “Fire at Sea”, is played at the beginning of the film on the radio and again is shown in the radio station at the very end. We learned in class later that this song has been known around the island for many years and is a reminder to locals of war and gunfire seen in the sea from land, looking as if there was fire at sea. I believe the title of the documentary is referencing this war and also how the migrants are fighting for their lives to make it to shore for a new life. This scene reiterates the meaning of the song and the title of the movie, using thunder as sound in the background made the story feel as though it were coming to life for the little boy. The woman explains how the ships fired rockets and it was as if there was fire at sea, the sea “turned red”. After she is finished talking, the scene cuts to the ocean and shows ships. At the end, the little boy is shown pretending to shoot into the ocean. I find this scene significant to the title of the film because it again connects the locals on land to the migrants fighting for a new life somewhere in the ocean.