Podcast Summary: New Books Network — “Arriving in a New Country”

Host: Bryn Quick
Guest: Shaun Tan, Artist, Filmmaker, and Writer
Book Discussed: The Arrival (2006)

Episode Overview

In this special episode of the Language on the Move podcast (a channel of the New Books Network), host Bryn Quick interviews Shaun Tan, acclaimed artist, filmmaker, and the award-winning creator of The Arrival. The conversation explores the wordless graphic novel’s unique portrayal of the migrant experience, Shaun’s creative process, and the enduring personal and cultural themes that make the book resonate nearly two decades after its release. Together, Bryn and Shaun dive into how The Arrival uses dreamlike imagery, historical reference, and visual storytelling to capture the profound challenges of immigration and the universal search for belonging.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Inspiration and Creative Process

• Roots of the Story: Shaun draws inspiration from both personal (Chinese-Anglo background, partner’s migration experiences, friends’ stories) and historical (Chinese immigrants in 19th-century Australia) sources.
• Artistic Genesis (03:16-08:00):
  • Shaun describes an “accumulation of different ideas” rather than a single spark.
  • Haunting research images and old photographs helped synthesize the book’s initial concepts.
  • Early sketches, such as a man staring at a not-quite-a-dog creature, became lynchpins for the story’s mood.
  • “Once I started to sort of cross it over with some old photographs of migrants... it kind of came together. And I drew this picture of a man in a 19th century style three piece suit and hat, holding a suitcase and looking at a weird sort of dog, like small dog like creature. But not quite a dog.” — Shaun Tan [05:15]
• Wordless Storytelling:
  • Shaun realized his visual narratives worked better without text, catalyzing the choice for a wordless book.
  • Cinematic techniques, like building cardboard sets and filming reference footage, gave the book its storyboard feel.
  • “I would film myself and friends doing the actions... then I'd go through frame by frame and I'd pick out the images... That would then be transferred into the computer.” — Shaun Tan [08:27-09:04]
  • The finished art mimics old photographs — hand-drawn in graphite, colored digitally, intentionally reminiscent of a photo album.

2. Visual Language and Accessibility

• Universality Through Silence (10:22-12:32):
  • The Arrival’s wordless panels can be “read” by anyone: children, non-English speakers, or those unfamiliar with comics.
  • Shaun wanted to “pull the rug out” from under the reader, making them as disoriented as the protagonist — highlighting the migrant’s bewilderment.
  • “Because it's wordless and because it is so cinematic, anybody can understand what's going on in the book.” — Bryn Quick [10:22]

3. Depicting Language Barriers & Disorientation

• Fake Languages & Alienation (13:32-17:51):
  • The book contains invented symbols and scripts to simulate the confusion of illiteracy in a new place.
  • Shaun connects this tactic to his experience in Finland, struggling with simple daily tasks.
  • “All of us have traveled to another country where we haven't seen the language... that's probably the biggest clue to what it would be like, that level of confusion.” — Shaun Tan [13:55]
  • The parallels between immigrants, artists, and children: all must interpret a world where the rules are unknown.

4. Depictions of Work and Survival as a Migrant

• Challenges of Employment for Immigrants (21:28-27:01):
  • Shaun describes scenes where the protagonist’s inability to read leads to job loss or factory drudgery.
  • The sequence of failed jobs is intentionally both harrowing and, at times, slightly humorous, drawn from real anecdotes and classic cinema (e.g., Italian neorealist “Bicycle Thieves”).
  • “Those examples... are meant to be a little bit humorous. You know, like you're spending all day posting up these posters... and then the supervisor comes over and says, well, they're all upside down.” — Shaun Tan [24:41]
  • “To summarize my approach to this book, I basically did drawings of things that scared me. And I find... the idea of being a migrant, but especially a refugee... terrifying.” — Shaun Tan [25:52]
  • The narrative remains open-ended, allowing readers to fill in personal meaning.

5. Personal Connection and Reader Response

• Power of Universal Experience (27:01-30:55):
  • Bryn shares her own migratory hardships, emphasizing how The Arrival provided solace and validation, even decades after its publication.
  • Both agree that distancing the story in an ambiguous, semi-historical setting makes it more relatable and universal.
  • “I was able to look at the pictures... and say, oh, I've experienced this, you know, in trying to find a job, in figuring out what this food is.” — Bryn Quick [28:26]
• Surrealism as Relatability:
  • Making the book strange and dreamlike invites broader identification, as reflected in diverse feedback Shaun has received.

6. Challenging Narratives Around “Good vs. Bad” Immigration

• Addressing Historical vs. Contemporary Attitudes (30:55-34:31):
  • The Ellis Island-era aesthetic evokes “approved” migration, intentionally inviting readers to compare that mythos to modern immigration debates.
  • Shaun reflects on omitted content about racism and resistance migrants faced, noting that migrants’ own oral histories often focused more on helpfulness than on hostility.
  • “I wanted to show an element of how... in the 19th century, how much resistance there was to migrants and how much racism and... disinformation... But... I felt that wasn't in the scope of what I was trying to show.” — Shaun Tan [32:38]

7. The Power of Connection and Kindness

• Cycles of Support (34:31-36:49):
  • Bryn highlights the final image in The Arrival — the protagonist’s daughter helping a new migrant — as emblematic of the “chain” of mutual aid.
  • “It's almost like this... chain that connects us. Someone reached out to me... so I extend a hand to that next person.” — Bryn Quick [35:14]
• Relevance in 2025:
  • The discussion turns to the persistence of migration crisis and anti-immigrant sentiment today.
  • Shaun emphasizes altruism, empathy, and the shared vulnerabilities of all people.

8. Core Messages — Acceptance, Empathy, and Creativity

• No Dogmatic Message, Just Human Truths (36:49-42:16):
  • Shaun points out: “There's no real message in the book... It's just like, here's some things that I think best represent a certain kind of experience... all these things I'm showing are true.” [36:53]
  • Migration is presented as a universal human journey, echoing the struggles present from infancy (“from the moment you're born, you're migrating... moving through the space that you don't understand and you're learning” — [37:44]).
  • The book’s central theme is the value of embracing uncertainty and responding with kindness, not fear.
  • Shaun calls for nurturing “a tolerant state” of society, welcoming disorder and difference over rigid, intolerant uniformity [39:20-40:32]:
    • “There's two ways of existing as communities... Do you want a society where it's a little bit more uncertain and people are figuring it out... instead of fighting each other?... When you are faced with something you don't understand, do you respond with kindness or fear?”
  • Shaun also believes art and literature facilitate the kind of open, non-dogmatic conversation society desperately needs.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I was sort of trying to create a story out of multiple pasts. And then once I realized it was a migrant story, I thought, okay, I should research this subject. Cause I'm not a migrant myself. My father is.” — Shaun Tan [06:30]
• “I kept cycling back to the images... Those have gravity, you know, I want that gravity.” — Shaun Tan [07:35]
• “I did spend quite a bit of time looking at silent film and studying that.” — Shaun Tan [11:10]
• “You must look at the pictures. And a lot of my preceding picture books... in the genre of science fiction and fantasy, and I'm attracted to that genre precisely because it tends to pull the rug out from under you.” — Shaun Tan [14:21]
• “I basically did drawings of things that scared me.” — Shaun Tan [25:52]
• “The thing there was just trying to make it so that people would be able to identify with those stories broadly. And you do that by keeping it quite strange.” — Shaun Tan [30:22]
• “From the moment you're born, you're migrating. You're moving through the space that you don't understand and you're learning.” — Shaun Tan [37:44]
• “There's no such thing really as an alien human being. It's just people having different experiences.” — Shaun Tan [38:07]
• “The right way is the hard way... being kind and the struggle to understand and actually put yourself in someone else's shoes and use your imagination, that takes effort. And that's a bit harder, but it's more rewarding.” — Shaun Tan [41:15]

Important Timestamps

• 01:31 – Episode introduction, guest bio, and book summary.
• 03:16–10:22 – Shaun details his inspiration, research, and creative process for The Arrival.
• 10:22–12:32 – Discussion on storytelling techniques and wordless visual style.
• 13:32–17:51 – Exploration of language barriers and the visual simulation of alienation.
• 21:28–27:01 – Employment dilemmas for immigrants; parallels to cinema.
• 27:01–30:55 – Personal stories and universal resonances of the migrant experience.
• 30:55–34:31 – Reflections on historical narratives and omitted themes (e.g., racism, resistance).
• 34:31–36:49 – Significance of mutual support among migrants; final scene symbolism.
• 36:49–42:16 – Overarching messages: acceptance, kindness, and the broader meanings behind migration stories.

Closing

Bryn and Shaun leave listeners with powerful reflections on art's role in cultivating empathy and conversation about migration. For anyone drawn to the themes of human movement, belonging, and compassion, The Arrival offers hauntingly beautiful insight. As Bryn says, “For anybody who hasn’t had the wonderful opportunity to read it, please read it today.” [42:16]