Abstract
The constant movement of populations in the search of better living conditions has been observed since the early days of the human history. In recent decades Europe has been facing an ongoing migratory wave that has been shifting the social, political, cultural and economic dynamics of its countries. Spain has experienced the impact of this movement by accepting migrants from Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe. In an effort to better portray the migratory situation in the Iberian Peninsula, Spanish playwrights stage characters who are either torn by stereotypes confronting the unknown Other or who turn their back to the cruel reality of drowned bodies. Ignacio del Moral in La Mirada del hombre oscuro (1991) and José Moreno Arenas in La playa (2004) give their Spanish characters sharp and provocative language while they question their judgement toward the Other. The migrant characters of both plays remain silent, immobile and unable to react or communicate with the Spaniards. This presentation aims to discuss the silence and immobility of migrant characters and portray how they become the point of reference and overpower the protagonists. José Moreno Arenas and Ignacio del Moral invite the audience/reader to reflect upon the accuracy of certain judgements toward the Other, to reexamine the way each one of us perceive ourselves and the ones around us and to gain a better understanding of what common humanity embraces.
Author Information
Eugenia Charoni, Flagler College, United States
Paper Information
Conference: GLOBAL2017
Stream: Linguistics, Language and Cultural Studies
This paper is part of the GLOBAL2017 Conference Proceedings (View)
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