Not a Point or an Instant
There are certain films that resonate so deeply with the harsh realities of the world that watching them feels like confronting pain itself. Matteo Garrone’s Io Capitano is one such film. Set against the backdrop of the perilous journey of migrants seeking a better life, the movie tells a poignant story of hope, survival, and human struggle. With raw intensity, it captures the emotional and physical toll of migration, leaving viewers deeply moved by the profound suffering it portrays.
This book is an attempt to explore the themes and narrative of Io Capitano from a reflective point of view. As I ponder the journey of migrants, I find myself asking critical questions: What happens once they reach the shores of Europe or other destinations? What happens during that liminal period between their arrival and the uncertain limbo in which they are often held for days with their fate unknown? It is in these moments of waiting — before being released or placed in camps — that they experience what Giorgio Agamben calls “bare life”, a condition where they exist without the protections or rights typically afforded to individuals. This waiting, too, is not a point or an instant, but a stretched, indefinite period of suspended existence, where the passage of time itself becomes a form of suffering.
These pages reflect on how states of emergency or exception suspend legal protections, leaving people vulnerable and stripped of their humanity. My intention is to try to understand this reality, but also to shed light on the precariousness of life in these moments, as migrants navigate a world that often treats them as little more than numbers in a system.
2024
English
15 x 21 cm
190 pages, softcover
ISBN 978-0-9955017-7-9
There are certain films that resonate so deeply with the harsh realities of the world that watching them feels like confronting pain itself. Matteo Garrone’s Io Capitano is one such film. Set against the backdrop of the perilous journey of migrants seeking a better life, the movie tells a poignant story of hope, survival, and human struggle. With raw intensity, it captures the emotional and physical toll of migration, leaving viewers deeply moved by the profound suffering it portrays.
This book is an attempt to explore the themes and narrative of Io Capitano from a reflective point of view. As I ponder the journey of migrants, I find myself asking critical questions: What happens once they reach the shores of Europe or other destinations? What happens during that liminal period between their arrival and the uncertain limbo in which they are often held for days with their fate unknown? It is in these moments of waiting — before being released or placed in camps — that they experience what Giorgio Agamben calls “bare life”, a condition where they exist without the protections or rights typically afforded to individuals. This waiting, too, is not a point or an instant, but a stretched, indefinite period of suspended existence, where the passage of time itself becomes a form of suffering.
These pages reflect on how states of emergency or exception suspend legal protections, leaving people vulnerable and stripped of their humanity. My intention is to try to understand this reality, but also to shed light on the precariousness of life in these moments, as migrants navigate a world that often treats them as little more than numbers in a system.
2024
English
15 x 21 cm
190 pages, softcover
ISBN 978-0-9955017-7-9
There are certain films that resonate so deeply with the harsh realities of the world that watching them feels like confronting pain itself. Matteo Garrone’s Io Capitano is one such film. Set against the backdrop of the perilous journey of migrants seeking a better life, the movie tells a poignant story of hope, survival, and human struggle. With raw intensity, it captures the emotional and physical toll of migration, leaving viewers deeply moved by the profound suffering it portrays.
This book is an attempt to explore the themes and narrative of Io Capitano from a reflective point of view. As I ponder the journey of migrants, I find myself asking critical questions: What happens once they reach the shores of Europe or other destinations? What happens during that liminal period between their arrival and the uncertain limbo in which they are often held for days with their fate unknown? It is in these moments of waiting — before being released or placed in camps — that they experience what Giorgio Agamben calls “bare life”, a condition where they exist without the protections or rights typically afforded to individuals. This waiting, too, is not a point or an instant, but a stretched, indefinite period of suspended existence, where the passage of time itself becomes a form of suffering.
These pages reflect on how states of emergency or exception suspend legal protections, leaving people vulnerable and stripped of their humanity. My intention is to try to understand this reality, but also to shed light on the precariousness of life in these moments, as migrants navigate a world that often treats them as little more than numbers in a system.
2024
English
15 x 21 cm
190 pages, softcover
ISBN 978-0-9955017-7-9