Volume IV Special Issue VI August 2024

Name of Author : Ms Shalin Mathew

Title of the paper : Alienation and Identity in Riceboy Sleeps: Charting the Immigrant Existence in Diasporic Cinema

Abstract: Riceboy Sleeps 2022, directed by Anthony Shim, is a Canadian film set in the 1990s and follows the life of a Korean immigrant family attempting to build a new life in suburban Canada. This paper examines the films visual and narrative representation of its immigrant characters, particularly the young boy, Dong-Hyun, and his mother, So-Young. The analysis targets the films visual elements and specific cinematographic choices to foreground the characters sense of isolation. Also, it explores the narrative devices that reveal the characters internal struggles with cultural identity, societal exclusion, and the longing for connection. By dissecting key moments in the film, this paper highlights how Riceboy Sleeps portrays the external challenges of displacement and the ensuing internal emotional turmoil of the central characters. The study, thus, seeks to contribute to the broader discourse on the immigrant experience, with deeper insights into the complexities of diasporic existence in a foreign land.

Keywords : Physical Displacement, Emotional Turmoil, Korean Diaspora, Cinema And Identity, Visual Semiotics

DOI :

Page Number : 63-71