Section 2: What are the key concepts in the (self)-representation of refugeehood?

In this second section we are going to look in detail at three key concepts relating to the topic. These are:

• spectatorship
• grievability
• (self)-representation.

2.1 What do we mean by the ‘spectatorship’ of suffering?

The concept of spectatorship of suffering plays a significant role in how media audiences consume representations (Sontag 2003; Chouliaraki 2006; Ibrahim 2010).

In the context of refugee imagery, particularly in online environments, spectatorship extends beyond a simple sharing of images or a moral obligation to feel empathy for others. It is deeply intertwined with contemporary consumption culture, where images are not only used to generate emotional responses but are also commodified and manipulated in a variety of ways that extend beyond altruistic intentions (Ibrahim 2018).

The abundance of the images mediating the suffering leads rather to a passive, distant response than to enduring engagement or sustained feeling of empathy, where the viewer becomes a passive observer of the pain of others (Sontag 2003).

This leads to the spectacle of suffering, where the pain of others becomes central. The gaze of the audience often invades the lived experiences of refugees, stripping away the intimacy and dignity of their lives.

As Ibrahim notes, the migrant is transformed into a ‘spectacularized body’, where trauma becomes an insatiable object of consumption, reduced to something to be gazed upon rather than understood as part of a broader context of global migration crisis with its historical, political and economic implications.

In this process, the refugee is not recognized as an independent subject with agency, but as an object of spectacle.

2.2 What is grievability?

A further key concept in the visual politics of migration is the grievability of the other (Butler 2009).

Grievability determines whether a life is recognized as one worth mourning, shaping the extent to which suffering is met with empathy, solidarity, or political action. This process is deeply embedded in power dynamics, as media and political narratives selectively frame whose suffering is visible, legitimate, and deserving of collective response.

In the case of refugees, grievability is often unevenly distributed. Media representations tend to elicit empathy for specific groups, such as, for example, unaccompanied children, elderly people or young women, making them more visible, while others are rendered invisible or unworthy of compassion or mourning.

Iconic images, like that of Alan Kurdi, have momentarily mobilized public mourning and humanitarian responses. However, many refugee deaths remain unrecognized and unseen. Both images of victimhood and those that cultivate hostility shape dominant discourses, influencing public sentiment and policy decisions.

It is worth noting that digital technologies, particularly smartphones, offer a crucial means of reclaiming self-representation. In contrast to the ways in which mainstream media construct the refugee image, frequently determining whose suffering is grievable and whose is not, digital tools enable displaced individuals to directly shape their own narratives, challenging reductive and dehumanizing portrayals.

Smartphones turn out to be not only vital for self-organization both during the journey and integration into a host community, but they also play a fundamental role in maintaining the social and familial ties and in fostering self-empowerment of refugees (Görland and Arnold 2022, 241).

2.3 How can migrants represent themselves?

As Georgiou and Leurs (2022) note, academic research has only recently turned to the study of the “migrants’ own gaze” to explore how they form their own representations of conflict, displacement and life in transit through digital practices.

This shift helped to uncover, for example, how migrants use selfies as tools for self-affirmation and to increase the visibility of otherwise marginalized communities. Scholarship on selfies has emphasized their role in the politics of voice and visibility, highlighting the unequal distribution of symbolic power in media representations and the ways in which migrants’ self-representation can, at least temporarily, destabilize these hierarchies (Georgiou and Leurs, 2022; Chouliaraki 2017; Witteborn 2015).

Beyond selfies, research has also examined other modes of migrant self-representation, including:

• migrants’ personal digital media archives;
• collective migrant films (Uksan 2022);
• graphic live narratives (Naghibi 2020);
• digital participatory art (Aljoun et al. 2023).

However, this direction still needs to address significant gaps, particularly by expanding the examination of refugees as active agents rather than merely subjects of representation and by fostering a deeper discussion on how (self-)representation functions as a reflexive space for experience, meaning making, and affect (Georgiou and Leurs 2022).

2.4 Review

Exercise 2.7

This exercise will help you critically engage with visual representations of migration and refugeehood by analyzing the images in the World Refugee Day: Iconic Images of the Refugee Crisis article^[1].

Look at the images presented in World Refugee Day: Iconic images of the refugee crisis.

Answer the following questions:

1. What messages do you think the images are trying to communicate? Support your answer with details from the photographs.
2. How do the images shape public perception of refugees and migration? Do they reinforce compassion, urgency, fear, or stereotypes?
3. Compare these images with another migration-related representation you have seen before (in news, social media, or historical sources). What similarities or differences do you notice?
4. Consider the perspective of the photographer. What choices (framing, lighting, focus) have been made to evoke a particular reaction from the viewer? How might a different approach change the way the image is perceived?
5. Reflect on the ethical implications of publishing these images. How do they balance raising awareness with respecting the dignity and privacy of the individuals depicted? Should there be limits on the types of refugee images that are published?

Bonus Task: Imagine you are a journalist covering the refugee crisis.

1. How would you choose to visually represent migration in a way that is both truthful and ethical?
2. Describe your approach.

These activities will help to analyze the visualizations of displacement within the context of the Russo-Ukrainian war.

Review the series of photos featured in The Photos That Have Defined the War in Ukraine, specifically those that depict the massive displacement of Ukrainians due to the war. Choose three photos that illustrate this theme and answer the following questions:

1. What emotions or narratives do these images evoke? (e.g., fear, hope, loss, resilience)
2. What visual elements are used to emphasize displacement?
3. How do these images challenge or reinforce public perceptions of refugees and displaced people?
4. How do these images convey suffering, and who is allowed to be seen as grievable ?
5. Who has agency in these images?
6. Do the displaced individuals in the photos appear passive or active in shaping their narratives?
7. What role does spectatorship play in how these images are interpreted? Is the viewer invited to empathize, intervene, or simply observe?

Review the selection of artistic responses to the Russo-Ukrainian war, focusing on the topics of destruction and displacement in the article Response of Ukrainian artists to the war started by the Russian Federation.

Answer the following questions:

1. What emotions do these works evoke in the viewer? (e.g., grief, anger, solidarity, hope)
2. How do these artworks challenge or reinforce narratives about war and displacement?
3. Do they introduce new perspectives or reinforce dominant discourses?
4. Who is the intended audience for these artworks? Are they meant to engage Ukrainian society, international observers, or specific communities?
5. What role does spectatorship play in how these images of suffering and displacement are received? Does the viewer feel invited to empathize, take action, or remain a passive observer?
6. Who is allowed to be seen as grievable in these works? Do the artworks emphasize certain groups over others? How do they shape ideas of whose suffering is acknowledged and remembered?
7. How does the vision of war and displacement change when depicted by a Ukrainian artist experiencing the war firsthand? In what ways might their perspective differ from international artists or media representations of the conflict?

In Sections 1 and 2 we have examined how visual imagery shapes public perceptions of refugees and displaced persons, focusing on the role of media and political actors.

We have discussed the ‘visual turn’ which highlights the growing impact of images in public discourse, and how media often frames migration using visual tropes.

While such imagery can reinforce negative narratives, powerful images, like Alan Kurdi’s photograph, can shift perceptions and inspire empathy. Artistic reinterpretations also offer alternative perspectives, emphasizing individual stories.

The representation of refugees in the media is complex, often controlled by external actors, raising ethical concerns about self-representation.

In the third section we will provide an overview of the main methods used in the analysis of migration representation.