Interviews

The best interview I collected was from my friend Jake. This is because he gave the most interesting and less generic answers in comparison to everyone else that I asked. Answers that are different and hold more truth have the most to work from and I feel like there are multiple aspects we could build from using Jake's interview.

Before he even answers the first question, 'can you summarise in the three words the characteristics of migration', he asks 'can it be bad?' - checking whether or not he was allowed to possibly offend anyone with his answers. This was very different from the other people I also spoke to who mostly skirted around offending anyone with the language they used. Furthermore, when asked what the definition of migrant was, he answered "Is it bad I just thought of illegal?" this statement is pure gold when looking at it from a devising point of view. The idea of censoring yourself around other people to remain PC can be explored in so many different and interesting ways physically - it's also a very controversial statement to make, especially in this day and age. This then poses the question - who's the one censoring us?; Is it the social pressure to not offend anyone?; Is it your own guilt/discomfort over what you really think?; Is the first thing that pops into your mind what you actually think or is that just an impulsive thought? All these questions present different and interesting answers that we could explore and weave back to link with the current issue of migration.

His response that 'This is so bad, I should've paid more attention in Geography.' stuck out the most for me as he really presented the lack of understanding some people have about current issues. It's not even ignorance, the words 'refugee', 'migrant' and 'asylum seeker' have become somewhat interchangeable and can become confusing to tell the difference. The average person may always think of the same group of people when asked what one of those mean; someone fleeing from war and coming into the country either legally or illegally. The distorted or in-the-dark view that some people have when it comes to migration could be something we explore physically - it would be interesting to contrast what people think they mean with the actual definition.