Witnessing and Empty Empathy: A Comparison Between Joe Sacco’s Palestine and Jérôme Ruillier’s The Strange
This article compares two graphic novels dealing with the subject of modern border crises, namely Joe Sacco’s Palestine and Jérôme Ruillier’s The Strange, by considering empathy creation in visual media. Ruillier’s The Strange, whose stated goal is to elicit empathy by presenting the viewer with as...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of Bucharest
2019-12-01
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| Series: | Intersections |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://intersections-journal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/2.-SA-article.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818478355443351552 |
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| author | Ionescu Ambrosie, Stefan |
| author_facet | Ionescu Ambrosie, Stefan |
| author_sort | Ionescu Ambrosie, Stefan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article compares two graphic novels dealing with the subject of modern border crises, namely Joe Sacco’s Palestine and Jérôme Ruillier’s The Strange, by considering empathy creation in visual media. Ruillier’s The Strange, whose stated goal is to elicit empathy by presenting the viewer with as many narrative perspectives as possible, is a graphic novel dealing with the translation of a refugee in a nondescript fantasy world which only vaguely alludes to the recent refugee crisis in France. Ruillier gives passersby, police officers, activists, and the protagonist’s own smuggler equal self-representation, which results in a fragmented narrative structure that does not bring the refugee’s own voice to the fore. This technique, combined with the lack of a specific socio-political context for the protagonist’s translation, engenders empty empathy in the viewer’s reaction to the refugee’s trauma, mainly due to The Strange being a patchwork creation of refugee stories whose common denominator is personal pain, something which cannot elicit authentic empathy. This article proposes a comparison with Joe Sacco’s Palestine, which illustrates specific stories from Gaza and the West Bank, and whose events compel Sacco to throw in his lot with the refugees; this second perspective highlights the difference between empty empathy and witnessing, and in the process underlines what Ruillier’s work lacks in its treatment of borders and refugees. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T09:47:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-da87c65bec084c57adbe31bb0392b189 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2068-3472 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T09:47:02Z |
| publishDate | 2019-12-01 |
| publisher | University of Bucharest |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Intersections |
| spelling | doaj.art-da87c65bec084c57adbe31bb0392b1892022-12-22T01:53:47ZengUniversity of BucharestIntersections2068-34722019-12-01223045Witnessing and Empty Empathy: A Comparison Between Joe Sacco’s Palestine and Jérôme Ruillier’s The StrangeIonescu Ambrosie, Stefan0independent researcherThis article compares two graphic novels dealing with the subject of modern border crises, namely Joe Sacco’s Palestine and Jérôme Ruillier’s The Strange, by considering empathy creation in visual media. Ruillier’s The Strange, whose stated goal is to elicit empathy by presenting the viewer with as many narrative perspectives as possible, is a graphic novel dealing with the translation of a refugee in a nondescript fantasy world which only vaguely alludes to the recent refugee crisis in France. Ruillier gives passersby, police officers, activists, and the protagonist’s own smuggler equal self-representation, which results in a fragmented narrative structure that does not bring the refugee’s own voice to the fore. This technique, combined with the lack of a specific socio-political context for the protagonist’s translation, engenders empty empathy in the viewer’s reaction to the refugee’s trauma, mainly due to The Strange being a patchwork creation of refugee stories whose common denominator is personal pain, something which cannot elicit authentic empathy. This article proposes a comparison with Joe Sacco’s Palestine, which illustrates specific stories from Gaza and the West Bank, and whose events compel Sacco to throw in his lot with the refugees; this second perspective highlights the difference between empty empathy and witnessing, and in the process underlines what Ruillier’s work lacks in its treatment of borders and refugees.https://intersections-journal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/2.-SA-article.pdfrefugeeempty empathygraphic novelwitnessing |
| spellingShingle | Ionescu Ambrosie, Stefan Witnessing and Empty Empathy: A Comparison Between Joe Sacco’s Palestine and Jérôme Ruillier’s The Strange Intersections refugee empty empathy graphic novel witnessing |
| title | Witnessing and Empty Empathy: A Comparison Between Joe Sacco’s Palestine and Jérôme Ruillier’s The Strange |
| title_full | Witnessing and Empty Empathy: A Comparison Between Joe Sacco’s Palestine and Jérôme Ruillier’s The Strange |
| title_fullStr | Witnessing and Empty Empathy: A Comparison Between Joe Sacco’s Palestine and Jérôme Ruillier’s The Strange |
| title_full_unstemmed | Witnessing and Empty Empathy: A Comparison Between Joe Sacco’s Palestine and Jérôme Ruillier’s The Strange |
| title_short | Witnessing and Empty Empathy: A Comparison Between Joe Sacco’s Palestine and Jérôme Ruillier’s The Strange |
| title_sort | witnessing and empty empathy a comparison between joe sacco s palestine and jerome ruillier s the strange |
| topic | refugee empty empathy graphic novel witnessing |
| url | https://intersections-journal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/2.-SA-article.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ionescuambrosiestefan witnessingandemptyempathyacomparisonbetweenjoesaccospalestineandjeromeruilliersthestrange |