The Immigrant Film Analysis

The Immigrant, directed by James Gray, opened my eyes to how the life of an immigrant was when attempting to enter the United Sates. I feel as though it also provided a unique perspective on the measures people will go to in order to earn money and to help their loved ones. Witnessing Ewa’s – the protagonist of the film – struggles throughout the film just to get her sister out of quarantine and off of Ellis Island, opened my eyes to how things might have been when Ellis Island was an active immigration station. I found that various moments in The Immigrant were very hard to watch because of the content within the scene. Reflecting on the notes that I took while watching this movie, (1) I realized that the education many receive whilst learning

Ewa tells her priest during confession, how horrid the boat conditions were. “On the ship here, there is no food. And no room. It is very dirty. And we are all together, like animals.” She then goes on to say how a couple of men on the ship forced themselves on her, and due to the treatment of women at the time, people who know about this treat her as and tell her that she is a “woman of low morals.” Many Americans are only shown the conditions provided to upper-class passengers on the Titanic. We rarely hear about how awful the poor passengers were treated, and when we do, we hear about it in passing. In documentaries, at least that I have seen, the poor treatment of lower class passengers on the Titanic is mentioned briefly, and then the interviewees move on to other

Due to society’s standards and the standards of Catholicism at the time, Ewa was fully blamed and seemingly took full blame for what happened on the boat. I do not have to live in that society, not under those strict teachings, which would allow me, if I was raped, to get the help and justice I need and deserve. (3) In continuation, there are many forces at work that lead to Ewa needing to work as a prostitute to rescue her sister from Ellis Island. As I have previously mentioned, Ewa and her family are strict Polish Catholics. Due to this, any pre-marital sex is strictly forbidden and if someone does engage in premarital sex, they bring shame to the family name. This is how Ewa comes to be banished from her aunt and uncle’s home by the uncle. Many political facets seem to prevent Ewa from entering the country and many of these facets are heavily influenced by the social norms of 1920’s America. Ewa was raped and because of this, the fact that her uncle did not show up on Ellis Island, and that his address was “not valid,” she was designated “liable to become a public charge” and would mostly likely be deported. The border patrol agent even tells Ewa how the US does not allow unescorted women into the US, especially one deemed to be of low