European Identity in Cinema in the Age of Globalized Migration

The increased mobility of large groups of people from outside and inside Europe has influenced the socio-geographical fixity of a continent of nation-states, putting in question both the concepts of ‘national identity’ and ‘European identity’. This book project considers contemporary debates around the idea of ‘Europe’ and ‘European identity’ through an examination of recent European films dealing with various aspects of globalization (the refugee crisis, labor migration, the resurgence of nationalism and ethnic violence, international tourism, neoliberalism, post-colonialism etc.) in order to reflect on the ambiguities and contradictory aspects of the figure of the migrant and the ways in which this figure challenges us to rethink core concepts such as European identity, European citizenship, justice, ethics, liberty, tolerance, and hospitality in the post-national context of ephemerality, volatility, and contingency that finds people desperately looking for firmer markers of identity. By drawing attention to the structural and affective affinities between the experience of migrants and non-migrants, Europeans and non-Europeans, the book argues that it is becoming increasingly difficult to separate stories about migration from stories about life under neoliberalism in general.