Empathy and sinophobia: depicting Chinese migration inBiutiful(Iñárritu, 2010)

Abstract

Biutiful by Alejandro González Iñárritu (2010) engages issues of immigration and their economies through a broader, decidedly transnational perspective. While this ‘global cinema’ lens has the benefit of putting spectators in contact with the less visible, even unsightly components of immigration and irregular economies, Biutiful, perhaps unwittingly, also reifies stereotyping as well as neoliberal fears of immigration, in particular as it relates to Chinese migrants and their business practices, ultimately creating an image of the immigrant Chinese entrepreneur as a global villain whose moral turpitude plays a large role in the current cycle of labour exploitation. This essay explores the ways in which the film is constructed as part of a cinematic tradition that seeks to connect the spectator with the plight of immigrants who are trapped in their socio-economic conditions while simultaneously hooking up with a certain pre-existing anti-Chinese sentiment – one that is fostered by daily reports of Chinese espionage, economic foul play, human rights abuses and mass contamination.

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