1 Witnessing as an Expression of Critical Empathy: An Examination of Audience Responses to a Refugee-Themed Documentary
-
Sukhmani Khorana
Abstract
The mainstream news media narratives that aim to effect social change on the issue of asylum seeker policy in Australia often stop short at conflating humanisation with the invoking of empathy. In this chapter, I unpack how this kind of individually mobilised, transient and selective empathy is problematic. This critique of empathy is followed by the case study of a small-scale project in which the documentary Freedom Stories was screened in a university and audience feedback was obtained. An analysis of the responses emphasises ‘witnessing’ as an expression of critical empathy that is more conducive to taking responsibility through concerted action.
Abstract
The mainstream news media narratives that aim to effect social change on the issue of asylum seeker policy in Australia often stop short at conflating humanisation with the invoking of empathy. In this chapter, I unpack how this kind of individually mobilised, transient and selective empathy is problematic. This critique of empathy is followed by the case study of a small-scale project in which the documentary Freedom Stories was screened in a university and audience feedback was obtained. An analysis of the responses emphasises ‘witnessing’ as an expression of critical empathy that is more conducive to taking responsibility through concerted action.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Acknowledgements vi
- Series Preface ix
- Introduction: Feelings and Migrants Come and Go, and some Stay/Stick 1
-
Empathy
- Witnessing as an Expression of Critical Empathy: An Examination of Audience Responses to a Refugee-Themed Documentary 19
- Jacinda Ardern and the Politics of Leadership Empathy: Towards Emotional Communities of Transformation 32
-
Aspiration
- Asian Americans and Asian Australians on Screen: Aspiring to Centre the Community Through Comedy 49
- Aspiration for Collective Progress: Diversity and Digital Intimacy as Practised by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (US), Sadiq Khan (UK) and Jagmeet Singh (Canada) 63
-
Belonging
- Refugee Storytellers Claim Belonging: Agency, Community and Change Through the Arts 81
- Belonging as Affect: Towards Paradigms for Reciprocal Care in Community-Based Research 94
- Conclusion: Care and Resilience in the Face of Increasing Precarity – COVID-19 and Beyond 108
- References 121
- Index 141
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Acknowledgements vi
- Series Preface ix
- Introduction: Feelings and Migrants Come and Go, and some Stay/Stick 1
-
Empathy
- Witnessing as an Expression of Critical Empathy: An Examination of Audience Responses to a Refugee-Themed Documentary 19
- Jacinda Ardern and the Politics of Leadership Empathy: Towards Emotional Communities of Transformation 32
-
Aspiration
- Asian Americans and Asian Australians on Screen: Aspiring to Centre the Community Through Comedy 49
- Aspiration for Collective Progress: Diversity and Digital Intimacy as Practised by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (US), Sadiq Khan (UK) and Jagmeet Singh (Canada) 63
-
Belonging
- Refugee Storytellers Claim Belonging: Agency, Community and Change Through the Arts 81
- Belonging as Affect: Towards Paradigms for Reciprocal Care in Community-Based Research 94
- Conclusion: Care and Resilience in the Face of Increasing Precarity – COVID-19 and Beyond 108
- References 121
- Index 141
