Political Engagement in Carne y Arena by Alejandro González Iñárritu

Abstract

Created by Mexican awarded director Alejandro González Iñárritu, Carne y Arena is an immersive mixed-reality installation that allows visitors to experience traumatic and violent incidents with illegal immigrants crossing the Mexican–US border. Carne y Arena’s mixed reality combines VR experience with physical components, turning it into a multisensory, bodily immersive experience. As part of the art installation, the whole VR arena is surrounded by the remains of a wall’s border; while inside, actual immigrants’ clothes and objects are also exhibited. Another component is the documentary aspect, where real-life characters recount their stories through video testimonies. Iñárritu immerses and makes the visitors experience refugees’ stories first-hand while exploring their emotional reactions to traumatic realities through a spiral of corporeal sensations and entertainment spectacle. According to Iñárritu, the intent is to subordinate technology to the human condition. Technology does mean nothing unless it can reveal or denounce people’s situations. Therefore, technology must be subordinated to humans, humanity, and art. “I despise technology,” says the filmmaker. But, has film lost the power to engage the viewers emotionally? Can virtual reality simulate refugees’ dispossession (the sense of the self) and alleviate society’s consciousness? In this paper, I examine the role of a museum installation featuring refugees’ discourses; the VR technology in bringing forward the visitor’s social engagement; and the issues the filmmaker address, such as the refugee’s experience in contemporary global society.