Humanitarianism In Terraferma

Abstract: Millions of refugees had perished through the Mediterranean Sea before 2015. The 2011 film Terraferma, directed by Emanuele Crialese, depicts the European refugee crisis through Filippo’s, an Italian fisherman, encounter with several refugees at the sea to demonstrate how his life became intertwined with the family that his grandfather Ernesto and he saved from the Mediterranean Sea. The director tries to give the audience a better understanding as to how the refugee crisis affects certain individual rights through a third person point of view to also demonstrate how European citizens feel overwhelmed by the migrants seeking aid. To gain a better understanding of Filippo’s mindset in the film, I included Pamela DeLargy’s article Deadly

Humanitarianism, the act to protect somebody’s else’s life and dignity, was viewed as a crime in this case. At the beginning of the film, Filippo had a different viewpoint about humanitarianism. He first decided to help the pregnant woman and her son by providing shelter and safety for the family despite the forbidding immigration laws. However, he gained hatred and anxiety towards the refugees later on so he rejected helping the refugees that were perishing. This powerful scene showed how Filippo’s decision to not help the refugees on sea was as an immoral act even though he was acting upon the law. His two different reactions towards his encounters with refugees supports Ticktin’s idea of humanitarianism, where helping others is an option rather than a responsibility. Ticktin’s argument of “rather than furthering human dignity, the result is a limited version of what it means to be human” ( 2006; 2) suits this situation because the crisis was also dehumanizing Filippo. I feel like the editor did a great job in showing this since Filippo was not able to help the refugees because he would also put his life and his family's at risk. In conclusion, the two scenes of the film show that it can be very complicated for European citizens to decide what is the correct decision to make in a situation similar to this one because they are fighting against their ethical ideals. It also showed that people have the capacity to reverse their actions. Hence, people are able to expand the boundaries to help those in need but may have a side