Of Family, Hope, and Freedom: Depicting Immigrant Experience in Shaun Tan's The Arrival Anonymous 12th Grade

The building blocks of global history is undeniably the history of immigration. From the movements of early humans outside of Africa to the Middle East to the migration of citizens from Europe to the United States in modern history, immigration defines the narrative of global demographics and its interconnected relationship. However, this movement of people does not always ensure better opportunities. We witness in the United States, a “melting pot" of individuals from different countries, the discrimination and hatred that minority groups experienced trying to build better lives for their families. The same anti-immigrant sentiments prevail in Brexit with the majority of people voted out of the EU because of the easy access it provides for immigrants of each member states. Immigration was portrayed as a threat, painted as an epidemic to the personal interest of citizens. However, Shaun Tan refuses to succumb to such negative portrayals of the phenomenon. Instead, by using a combination of magical surrealism, moment-to-moment sequences and employment of cinematic zooming, Shaun Tan's The Arrival reveals the adversity that immigrants encounter coming to a foreign land, the haunting past that motivates their every course of...