The Displaced is artful in its call to action. Rather than explicitly harping on the overwhelming sorrow and tragedy of the migrant situation, it tells simply story. We see a boy, Oleg, standing in the ruins of a building, perhaps his home. The Displaced does not show us his complaints. Instead, it lets us feel his existence when we hear his story, his mundane truth, as he stands somberly in a dilapidated city.
Through the plain act of immersion, The Displaced allows viewers to understand more authentically the plight of migrants. This method of exposition raises a question: are those of privilege (i.e. non-migrants) ever able to truly understand the migrant struggle? In general, can we as human beings ever achieve true empathy with another?
My answer is no. I believe that we cannot ever truly understand the struggles of another, although we can sympathize with them. Without having the experience of another, we can only imagine- and imagination has limits. Solipsistically, I don’t think we can ever truly understand someone no matter how close we are to them. However, this is not necessarily a cause for despair.
Herein lies the power of allies: the sympathy of those who cannot understand is more powerful than that of those can. When we cannot understand a struggle, it makes our help more powerful. It shows that we recognize the humanity of those stuck in tough situations, even though we cannot fully feel the situation. The fact that true empathy is impossible does not diminish the Ally. It in fact affirms it, because the effort required to muster sympathy is greater than it would be for one who possesses that true empathy (someone who has gone through the same experience). In this way, The Displaced cannot generate true empathy but can produce allies: a different, but equally valuable aid.
I agree with your point that we cannot truly be empathetic and must often settle for being sympathetic to others' pain. I experience that especially now with recent events like the massacre in Pittsburgh. I have no connection to the city and am not Jewish, so I do not feel the same deep emotional implications and deep rooted fear that people with those connections are going through, but I do feel incredibly sad and cannot express my sympathy enough. Obviously I am sympathetic to those impacted by any tragedy but agree that I can never truly understand or experience their pain.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your analysis of the pitfalls of empathy, for I agree with you that since someone can never live through the entire life of another, they can never truly understand his/her plight. But as you mention, perhaps more honorable is the idea that we can sympathize with the experiences that might otherwise seem unimaginable to us. Sympathy is within our control and it is the best alternative to ignorance or pity.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a really interesting point about the power of help. It is an incredible feat that although we never truly can feel the plight of another, humans take a leap of faith and choose to believe in the truthfulness of other's feelings. It takes a certain level of trust to take yourself out of your life, at least just for a second, to think about someone else. The easiest thing would be to not recognize others as individuals and only think for and about yourself. But there is some sort of recognition from helping others because of an understanding of feeling.
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