No more words, no other thoughts. About the rituals of speaking.

Part II: Common Land, Common Fears
short film, 2015, HD, colour, stereo sound, 30 min.

Juliane Zelwies managed to get the Toronto Debating Society to instruct her in the rules of debating. The group decided to fulfil her request using the topic »Immigrants make a society stronger«.

It's an issue which divides Canadian society, as much the subject of discussion and controversy as it is in most western countries. The pro and con arguments which were presented illustrate similarities in the way this discourse is conducted and repeatedly reproduced in different countries.

In the debating club there was no direct expression of xenophobia from the »con« side, rather they formulated concerns about the loss of values and identity, and of social status. The experience of commonality in the form of a collective fear of loss can be seen as a reaction to such phenomena as neoliberal euphemisms, denial of risk and the abolition of social systems.

Text: Sabine Winkler