Assignment 1: The Arrival by Shuan Tan

Cinema as we know it very much had its beginnings in stories such as The Arrival, told by author and artist Shaun Tan. To create a story without words and only through images seems difficult to us now, as we rely so heavily on auditory explanation, but it's not as hard as one would thing if they know what they're trying to communicate. Tan uses gesture, clear drawing, and value to express moments people have experienced in their lives and can relate to in order to tell his story. There are very many wonderful examples of this in The Arrival, but ones that stood out to me the most are the those that use specific imagery that we as viewers are already familiar with.

For instance, there is a scene where a couple are trying to find a way out of the wreckage of their city and to escape, and they ask a man for help. He shows them a map, but indicates to them that it would cost something by holding up two fingers and rubbing them together with his thumb. They offer him a trinket; all they have left, and sail away.

Another of these is the section where a man is waving to his family, dressed like the other men around him. Just from this we can presume he is a soldier going off to war. We watch his boots as a passage of time elapses, trekking through mud and rain, until finally we are shown a group of men sprinting in the dark with weapons-- and then the finale of this tale is that of a pile of bone and ash.

These are very powerful ways of getting viewers to sympathize with the hardships that these people had to go through in order to get where they are in the present.

This also expresses the theme of the story, which is primarily based around immigrants trying to escape from horrible situations in search of solace, and how they can make new and satisfying lives for themselves in their search for peace.

The main character is wrestling with this concept as he tries to find a job, alone in a city he doesn't know and without his family. He is comforted by the tales he is told by strangers, finds solace in the little things, and eventually after a long year gets to be with his family again.

We come to admire the protagonist and understand what it is that is his main concern the moment we are introduced with the story. We understand as we are given visuals of a happy home, a photograph, and his loving interactions with his family. These are also all things we are shown again at the end to show that order has been restored.