The Arrival
"The Arrival" by Shaun Tan is a wonderful example of great storytelling solely through the use of imagery. At first glance the images seem random with no context clues. However, when we see more images they all start to make sense. It's like putting puzzle pieces together.
In "The Arrival" we follow this man who leaves his family behind in a poor country in hopes of finding a better life. At this foreign country, that he immigrates to, the man is accompanied by new customs, strange creatures, and weird languages. The story is that of an immigration tale. To me it feels as though it has certain metaphors, symbolizing the era when millions of people immigrated to the United States through NYC's Ellis Island in hopes to live out the American dream!
Created with an intense amount of beautiful artistry, Shaun Tan's "The Arrival" is a wordless masterpiece! The way he creates the images and how he organizes them are very crucial to the story's success and communication to the viewer. This story is also a very relatable one. For me, I don't really share that experience of coming to a foreign country. However I am still able to feel for the character somehow. I feel for the character through the details of emotion and the crazy surreal world the main character is walking in. I imagine it was extremely difficult for the man to leave his family but he did what he had to do! In order to provide for his family he had to make one of the most toughest decision ever. That's why I think a story like this was meant to be created through this way, without words. The visuals tell us all we need to know.
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