Border Project Essay

Western Union: Small Boats

In an exploration of globalization, diaspora, and migration, filmmaker Isaac Julien examines the hybridity of African and European cultures with his film, Western Union: Small Boats. As an artist Julien manages to combine elements of traditional cinema with those of the art film. In an effort to document the transcendence of national borders, Julien focuses on the not only the migration of African civilians, but the inevitable risks and dangers they undertake in an effort to establish a better life elsewhere. In his film Isaac Julien uses two techniques, in particular, in order to convey this theme to viewers. With Western Union: Small Boats, Julien employs multiple projections and powerful juxtaposition in order to emphasize the ideas of cinematic history, cultural hybridity, and migration.

The use of multiple projections reinforces Julien’s film as, among many things, an examination of cinematic history in conjunction with the history of Italian society. With multiple projections displaying different images simultaneously, Julien is able to explore the space of the Palazzo, which is seen in Visconti’s The Leopard. By projecting three images at once, he is able to cover much more ground in terms of revealing this setting as a historical location. This segment of the film can be attributed to Julien’s desire to examine a space that is presently a symbol of cultural hybridity between Europeans and Africans. In addition to referencing cinematic history, Western Union: Small Boats employs multiple projections in order to create juxtaposition. However, this juxtaposition, in the end, is created in order to illustrate a sense of hybridity between different groups of people. There is a moment in the film in which a European woman and African woman are framed individually and side-by-side. The African woman reveals a fan used to cool herself, which is something seen being used by many women in The Leopard. Julien creates juxtaposition by placing them beside each other, and at the same time, shows viewers that national borders have been transcended and different cultures have been fused together. Aside from this Julien uses juxtaposition once again in the film as he combines the ideas of Italy’s old aristocracy, and the African migrant’s journey across the Mediterranean Sea. In one frame is a man who lies on the Palazzo floor and physically simulates the act of drowning. At the same time Julien presents images of underwater activity and sounds of water as well. When these images and sounds are brought together, the filmmaker is successful in juxtaposing the migrant’s journey across the Mediterranean with the opulent aristocracy of Italy. This form of juxtaposition, however, illustrates a different kind of theme that strays from cultural hybridity and globalization. Julien is instead emphasizing the difficulty and struggle that comes with attempting a migration to another continent. In the end it is the use of multiple projections that creates juxtaposition within the film’s context, thereby presenting the border as nonexistent and two radically different cultures living together.