Green Border: Cinematic Storytelling as History of the Present
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2024.680Keywords:
Green Border, migration cinema, history of the present, Belarus-Poland border, refugee crisesAbstract
This article analyzes Agnieszka Holland’s film Green Border, which addresses the migrant crisis at the Belarus-Poland border, exploring how Foucault’s concept of “history of the present” applies to migration cinema. We argue that Green Border functions as a cinematic intervention that challenges audience perceptions of power structures and their resistance. The study also establishes criteria for analyzing films as “history of the present,” focusing on characteristics such as the immediate relevance of depicted events, the documentation of social issues, the film’s influence on public perception, and a multifaceted narrative construction. Ultimately, the framework shows how cinema reflects and shapes social, political, and cultural realities in real time.
References
ACAPS. (2021). Belarus-Poland: Migration crisis on the Belarus-Poland border (Briefing note). ACAPS. https://www.acaps.org/fileadmin/Data_Product/Main_media/20211202_acaps_briefing_note_belarus_poland_migration_crisis_on_the_border_0.pdf.
Adak, H., & Akser, M. (2023). On land, memory, and masculinity: unearthing silences around myths of Gallipoli in Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Ahlat Ağacı (The Wild Pear Tree). New Perspectives on Turkey, 69, 74-91.
Agence France-Presse. (2023, August 7). Poland says Belarus, Russia ‘organizing’ new migrant influx. Voice of America. https://www.voanews.com/a/poland-says-belarus-russia-organizing-new-migrant-influx/7214946.html.
Amnesty International. (2022). Poland: Cruelty not compassion, at Europe’s other borders [EUR 37/5460/2022]. Amnesty International. https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur37/5460/2022/en/.
Augustyniak, P. (2023). Migrants on the border (of the Polish imagination). New Eastern Europe, (06 (58)), 161-166.
BBC. (2021, November 26). Belarus border crisis: How are migrants getting there? BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/59233244.
Bharti, M. S., Pathak, S. K., & Mathur, A. (2023). Belarusian – Polish border: The diplomacy of cross-border migration. Border Crossing, 13(2), 133-148. https://doi.org/10.33182/bc.v13i2.2836.
Burgoyne, R. (2013). The Hollywood Historical Film. Blackwell Publishing.
Buzan, B., Wæver, O., & Wilde, J. de. (1998). Security: A New Framework for Analysis. Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Economist. (2021, November 9). What is happening on the Poland-Belarus border? The Economist. https://www.economist.com/news/2021/11/09/what-is-happening-on-the-poland-belarus-border?
Elsaesser, T. (1989). New German Cinema: A History. Rutgers University Press.
Erdoğan, Z., & Karakoç Dora, Z. (2022). Belarus-Poland migration crisis and supra-national political concerns of the extended actors. Güvenlik Bilimleri Dergisi. https://doi.org/10.28956/gbd.1119842.
France 24. (2023, October 16). Poland’s pro-EU opposition poised for victory over ruling nationalist PiS party. France 24. https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20231016-poland-s-pro-eu-opposition-poised-for-victory-over-ruling-nationalist-pis-party.
Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Pantheon Books.
Foucault, M. (1978). The History of Sexuality, Volume 1: An Introduction. Pantheon Books.
Frears, S. (Director). (2002). Dirty Pretty Things [Film]. BBC Films.
Fukunaga, C. J. (Director). (2009). Sin Nombre [Film]. Focus Features.
Gall, L. (2024, March 13). To really help migrants, Poland should stop pushbacks at Belarus border. Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/03/13/really-help-migrants-poland-should-stop-pushbacks-belarus-border.
Grodź, I. (2023). Filmmaker on democracy: The case of Agnieszka Holland’s work. Studia Medioznawcze, 24(4), 11-20.
Hargrave, K., Homel, K., & Dražanová, L. (2023). Public narratives and attitudes towards refugees and other migrants [ODI Country Study]. ODI. https://migrant-integration.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-01/Public_narratives_and_attitudes_towards_refugees_and_other_migrants_-_Poland_c_9mrGPsC.pdf.
Karyotis, G. (2007). European migration policy in the aftermath of September 11: The security–migration nexus. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, 20(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/13511610701197783.
Kaurismäki, A. (Director). (2011). Le Havre [Film]. Janus Films.
Kuisz, J., & Wigura, K. (2023). Poland Isn't About to Be Saved. International New York Times.
Leyen, U. von der. (2021, November 23). https://twitter.com/vonderleyen.
McSweeney, T. (2014). American Film in the Age of Terrorism: Representing the Politics of Catastrophe. Edinburgh University Press.
Nora, P. (1989). Between memory and history: Les lieux de mémoire. Representations, 26, 7-24.
Pérez-Peña, R. (2021, November 17). How the Belarus standoff is unlike recent migrant crises. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/article/belarus-poland-border-migrants.html.
Pyka, A. (2024, May 13). Tusk pledges further ‘fortification’ of Belarus border amid ‘hybrid war of illegal migration’. Notes From Poland. https://notesfrompoland.com/2024/05/13/tusk-pledges-further-fortification-of-belarus-border-amid-hybrid-war-of-illegal-migration/.
Rosenberg, S. (2021, November 19). Belarus’s Lukashenko tells BBC: We may have helped migrants into EU. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59343815
Rosenstone, R. A. (1995). Visions of the Past: The Challenge of Film to Our Idea of History. Harvard University Press.
Safronova, V. (2024, February 14). ‘Green Border’: A politically charged film about Poland’s migrant crisis. The Parliament Magazine. https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/green-border-a-politically-charged-film-about-polands-migrant-crisis.
Sobchack, V. (1992). The Address of the Eye: A Phenomenology of Film Experience. Princeton University Press.
UNHCR. (2021, October 22). UNHCR urges States to end stalemate at Belarus-EU border and avoid further loss of life. UNHCR. https://www.unhcr.org/news/news-releases/unhcr-urges-states-end-stalemate-belarus-eu-border-and-avoid-further-loss-life
Utterson, A. (2020). Persistent Images: Encountering Film History in Contemporary Cinema. Edinburgh University Press.
Wright, E. (2019). Histories on screen: The past and present in Anglo-American cinema and television. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, 39(4), 908-910. https://doi.org/10.1080/01439685.2019.1643146.
Yakalı, D., & Erdoğan, Z. Green Border: Cinematic Storytelling as History of the Present. CINEJ Cinema Journal, 12(2), 244–268. https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2024.680.
Zander, M. (2021, November 9). Комментарий: Выслать беженцев в Беларусь - не решение. DW.COM. https://www.dw.com/ru/kommentarij-vyslat-bezhencev-v-belarus-ne-reshenie/a-59768864.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Dikmen Yakalı, Zahide Erdogan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- The Author retains copyright in the Work, where the term “Work” shall include all digital objects that may result in subsequent electronic publication or distribution.
- Upon acceptance of the Work, the author shall grant to the Publisher the right of first publication of the Work.
- The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License or its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
- Attribution—other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site;
- The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a prepublication manuscript (but not the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
- Upon Publisher’s request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author’s own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
- The Author represents and warrants that:
- the Work is the Author’s original work;
- the Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
- the Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
- the Work has not previously been published;
- the Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
- the Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
- The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from Author’s breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 6 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher’s use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.
Revised 7/16/2018. Revision Description: Removed outdated link.
