Narrating the young migrant journey: themes of self-representation

Abstract

This chapter first offers an analysis of media representation of refugees through print press and television. UK media tends to present refugee stereotypes of these people as either hostile and threatening, or as individuated victims with little or no agency. This can have a crippling impact not only on how the young people are treated, but on their sense of identity. The chapter also considers how creative practice (specifically theatre and film-making) with young migrants can both aid them in building new forms of self-representation, and counter negative stereotypes. The chapter identifies various themes of meaning that have emerged in the author’s recording of extensive testimonies with the young people: loss and anger; mourning and survival; outpourings of grief; missing mothers and searching for symbolic mothers; the significance of friendships; experiences of rage and anger; and finally, a development of pride and aspiration for the future.