Machines, Spide s and Buccanee s
WALKING AROUND THE SUN. No es on Eu ope. The Dogma ic Sleep.
36
Uni e si à Roma T e - Dipa imen o di A chi e u a e Filoso ia
Roma T e Uni e si y - Depa men o Philosophy, communica ion and media s udies, Rome,I aly
ABSTRACT
T emo , Unce ain y,
In en ion Eu ope and he sea.
Daniela Angelucci
In ecen yea s he mig a ions ha c oss he sea a ound Eu ope call in o ques ion
philosophy, which is u ged o hink abou his Ou side. How can we a oid an objec i e
discou se, bu also he o ence o being oo amilia wi h si ua ions so di e en om
ou own, as Eu opean ci izens? By calling in o ques ion he ca ego y o "in e cesso "
p oposed by Deleuze, he a is ic na a i e can pe haps help us in his app oach.
The sea as a mobile e i o y can hen be desc ibed in he emo ha anima es i
(Glissan ), in he unce ain y ha i implies (Mel ille), in he in en ion o a new space
and o a new people ha i could b ing wi h i (Deleuze and Gua a i). These h ee
cha ac e is ics eme ge in he wo k o ideo a is Lau a Wadding on, Bo de , as an
example o in en ion and in e cession ha makes emo and unce ain y isible.
TREMOR, UNCERTAINTY, INVENTION EUROPE AND THE SEA
Daniela Angelucci 37
The si ua ion o Eu ope and i s bo de s is an u gen heme o ou p esen , calling philoso phy in o
ques ion. The mos u gen e en oday conce ns he mig a ions ha c oss he sea a ound Eu ope,
and i should o ce philosophy o hink. In 2016 mo e han 5000 mig an s died in he Medi e anean;
in 2017 mo e han 100,000 people landed in I aly, including abou 15,000 unaccompanied mino s;
3 Oc obe 2016, nea he island o Lampedusa, in Sicily, 366 pe sons died jus hal a mile om he
coas and om being sa ed.
In on o he Eu opean sea, c ossed by mig a ions, he i s s ep o philosophy should be o hink abou
he kind o na a i e ha we aim o legi imize in his espec . The ques ion is: How can we a oid an
objec i e discou se (wha Lacan called he discou se o uni e si y), bu also he o ense o an exces-
si e amilia i y wi h si ua ions so di e en om ou own si ua ion, so ha de han ou own si ua ion,
as Eu opean ci izens? To bo ow a concep om Deleuze and Gua a i, we can call in o ques ion he
ca ego y o "in e cesso ": becoming someone's in e cesso means ying a con inuous exchange o
poin s o iew, in an a ec i e, poli ical and s ylis ic adhe sion, ins ead o speaking in his/he place. The
heo e ical and poli ical sense o his concep – in e cession – is ha one o e u ing he claim o he
in ellec ual, o he philosophe , o speak o o he s, a ibu ing o himsel he igh o he du y o be
hei spokespe son. I quo e Deleuze, who asks: "Who speaks and who ac s? I is always a mul iplici y,
e en in he unique pe son who speaks o ac s”. This mul iplici y is wha p oduces a s amme ing, an
unce ain y, o Deleuze and Gua a i, a becoming-mino o he language.
In he no able book Mig ancy, Cul u e, Iden i y, Iain Chambe s alks abou hinking wi h mig a ion, and
emphasizes how hinking wi h mig a ion and no abou mig a ion means ques ioning ou posi ion
wi h espec o language, o ou his o y and cul u e. Thinking wi h mig a ions p omo es a di e en
ela ionship, mo e dis u bing, wi h ou own philosophical backg ound. Thus, i needs o gi e up
a mo e consequen ial, mo e s uc u ed a gumen a ion, o adhe e p ecisely o he unce ain y o
he i le, o be cap u ed and modi ied om he ou side and escape he pleasu e o objec i ica ion.
No o speak o anyone, no o be someone's ep esen a i e, bu nei he o emain a a dis ance: he
concep s p oduced in he encoun e be ween he e en o he sea c ossings and he philosophical
p ac ice p oduces a app oche men , an a ea o indisce nibili y, an in e cession. And maybe he a is ic
na a ion can help us in his app oach, maybe i can help us speak abou he sea and i s con empo a y
si ua ion wi hou aking a dis ance and a he same ime wi hou showing an excessi e amilia i y.
S a ing om a ious eadings, philosophical in he b oad sense bu , abo e all, li e a y and isual, I
p opose hen h ee cha ac e s o he sea, which speak o us o he con empo a y si u a ion and a
he same ime o he philosophical p ac ice and a new way (di e en , dis u bing, Chambe s would
say) o ela ing o i .
Thinking o he sea as a e i o y, analogous bu e y di e en om he land, he emo is he cha ac e is ic
ha we could use o exp ess in he i s place i s mobili y, i s luidi y. Bo owing a concep om Edoua d
Glissan ’s book, Pensée du emblemen , we can alk abou a " em bling hinking" ( emblemen in F ench
is also emblemen de e e, ea hquake, some hing ha no by chance has o do wi h he e i o y).
Agains e e y dogma ism Glissan opposes he a chipelagic hinking, which is declined as a emblemen ,
emo : in ac , such hinking does no aim a he cons i u ion o p econcei ed g ids o in e p e a ion o
Machines, Spide s and Buccanee s
WALKING AROUND THE SUN. No es on Eu ope. The Dogma ic Sleep.
38
eali y, bu adap s o an uns able pe cep ion o he wo ld in i s own modi ica ions. In he e hical ield,
he embling p ese es he desi e o and unce ain y in disco e ing he O he . I is a hinking ha
esis s he s i ening o sys emic hough s and he impe us o sys ems o hough ; i opens he iden i y
o he ela ionship wi h he O he , i is “ he seismic hinking o he wo ld” ha embles inside and
ou side o us. Glissan a i ms ha we a e “noble” enough, “magni icen ” and “wild”, and also, when
necessa y, “mise able”, when conside ing ou ela ionship o he O he and o he Wo ld as a emo .
T emo can be used o indica e he luidi y o wa e and he ippling o wa es, bu also he mo emen
o li es, bo h human and animal, ha popula e and c oss he sea. T emo desc ibes he i ali y o he
sea, i s mobili y bu also he ac ha i is ull o li ing beings, animals and humans. The emo he e
is closely linked o a poe ics o he ela ionship: he embling hinking also means li ing he open-
ness o he whole wo ld, a isk o embling, a isk o unce ain y.
The e a e many li e a y ex s abou he sea ha desc ibe i s unce ain y, he impossibili y o seeing wha
is hidden unde he su ace, he possibili y o shipw ecking, o dying while c ossing i . Ca l Schmi , in
his book Land and Sea, w i es ha Mel ille, wi h his Moby Dick, ep esen s o he oceans wha Home
and Odyssey ep esen ed o he Medi e anean. Well, in bo h cases he elemen ha cha ac e izes
he sea is ha o unce ain y. In he Odyssey, he sea has he colou o wine, i is in ini e, da k, ull o
ish, bu abo e all, wi h i s wa es and s o ms, i des oys any a emp by humans o ollow a ou e.
So, unce ain y is i s o all he unce ain y o he sea’s condi ions, gi en ha he mo emen o he sea
changes con inuously and suddenly. Bu unce ain y is also he unce ain y o ecogni ion: on he
su ace o he sea i is di icul o dis inguish who o wha may a ise ou o i : he whi e whale? he
si ens? an o e u ned dinghy? o a boa ull o humans beings? dead o ali e? The I alian w i e Elena
S ancanelli, in he book Venne alla spiaggia un assassino, desc ibes he expe ience in he au umn o
2018 aboa d he ship Ma e Jonio o he Medi e anean lee , p epa ed o in e ene in he sigh ing
and escue o mig an s. S ancanelli desc ibes e y well he unce ain y o he sigh ing, bu also he
unce ain y abou he na u e and in en ions o he O he coming om he sea (a e hese people in
need o escue o a e hey dange ous?), as well as he unce ain y o he su i al. A he beginning o
he book she w i es ha he Medi e anean Sea is illing up wi h dea hs, which is a so o quo a ion
ha e e s o Mel ille, ha de ined he sea loo – he Ocean in his case – as “a g ea ceme e y”. Bu
abo e all he sea’s unce ain y is ha o su i al: in he Odyssey Ulysses, du ing he s o ms unleashed
by Poseidon, o en complains abou he ea o no e u ning home. In he i h book, which ells he
depa u e om he island o Calypso and he pa h in o he sea be o e a i ing om he Phaeacians,
a he cou o Alcinous, Ulysses is despe a e du ing he s o m, and eg e s no ha ing died in he
wa , because dying a sea means no ha ing a bu ial, no ha ing ma ked g a es.
Howe e , i is p ecisely he ecogni ion o his unce ain y ha dic a es he app op ia e ules o conduc ,
he law o hospi ali y owa ds cas aways o hose who come om he sea: he s o ies o hospi ali y
owa ds shipw ecked people a e many in he Odyssey, bu pe haps he mos beau i ul e ses a e p es-
en in he Telemachy, a he beginning o he Odyssey, when Telemachus goes in sea ch o Odysseus
un il Spa a a he palace o Menelaus: he squi e asks Menelaus i he should accommoda e he wo
o eigne s o no , and Menelaus esponds disdain ully o he idea ha he e may e en be a doub .
TREMOR, UNCERTAINTY, INVENTION EUROPE AND THE SEA
Daniela Angelucci 39
Telemachus and Nes o 's son a e washed, w apped in beau i ul obes and sea ed on wo h ones,
hen ed and quenched wi h wa e . Only hen a e ques ions asked abou hei iden i y.
The hi d cha ac e ha I p opose, e e ing o Deleuze and Gua a i, is ha o he in en ion o a new
space and a new people. Meanwhile, he idea o he in en ion o a new space mus be aken se iously:
he expe ience o hose bodies ha come om A ica li e ally c ea es a e i o y, a pa h ha was no
he e be o e. Unce ain y in ac leads o he sea ch o an escape ou e, which, as Hen i Labo i
w i es in L'éloge de la ui e (1976), is no only some imes he only sal a ion, bu also he possibili y
o gaining "unknown sho es". The in en ion o a new, mino , nomadic people, which is missing, is a
poli ical, a is ic and philosophical ask o Deleuze and Gua a i. Using Glissan 's eading o Deleuze
and Gua a i, we could say i is a ma e o in en ing and no c ea ing, i by c ea ing we mean a u u e
al eady included in he p esen . Ins ead, his in en ed people is always a “becoming people", i is
in con inuous change. In a , bu also in philosophy and poli ics, he in en ion o a people can only
ake place by aking a mino posi ion, ejec ing he g ea e canon. F om he poin o iew o he wo
F ench au ho s, mino i y and majo i y do no cons i u e hemsel es on a quan i a i e le el, bu on
he basis o an opposi ion o he o me o he majo i y cha ac e o he managemen and o gan-
iza ion o socie y. Majo i y is de ined h ough cons ancy, homogenei y, cen ali y and uni ica ion,
mino i y is ins ead he diso ien ing, plas ic and de e i o ializing elemen o he sys em.
Iain Chambe s, who I quo ed be o e, in i es us o hink wi h he e en o mig a ions, highligh ing wha
he sea as a e i o y and as a bo de can each philosophy. Tha hese h ee concep s – emo , unce -
ain y, in en ion – can desc ibe he sea as a bounda y migh also be p oposed as cha ac e is ics o
philosophical wo k, exposing he la e o isk, accep ing he possibili ies o e ed by unce ain y,
gi ing space o in en ion.
An example o a is ic in en ion, a ilmic one, in which hese h ee cha ac e is ics eme ge clea ly is he
ilm o he English ideo-a is Lau a Wadding on, Bo de , a g ea success a he Loca no Film Fes i-
al in 2004. The ilm seems o be a pe ec example o an in en ion and an in e cession ha makes
isible emo and unce ain y. I seems o me o be pa icula ly sui able o his occasion p ecisely
because o he cha ac e is ics o he sea as a bounda y, ha I ha e spoken so a . Wadding on has a
li e a y backg ound – and maybe his is signi ican in espec o he kind o na a i e ha she chose.
She a elled o Ku dis an, Middle Eas , and he Balkans, esea ching e ugee ou es in o Eu ope,
and in 2002 she li ed o a ew mon hs in he coun yside a ound he Red C oss camp in Sanga e,
a small F ench own in he No d-Pas de Calais egion, e using o join he go e nmen -au ho ised
news media linked o he Red C oss. The e she closely ollowed A ghan and I aqi e ugees who we e
ying o pass h ough he unde wa e unnel linking F ance o he Uni ed Kingdom. Joining he
mig an s wi h a small DV came a, Wadding on ilmed hei nigh ly ou ines, escape a emp s, uns
h ough he camps, wai s, police ep ession and clashes o e he closu e o he camp. The sea he e is
eally a bo de , o a he a wall o be c ossed, an objec o desi e ha is ne e seen. Fo he na a ion,
Wadding on p oposes a non-objec i e na a ion; she pa icipa es and pu s he sel a isk, no in e -
iewing, bu unning, unning away wi h he e ugees. I is no , he e o e, a ace- o- ace con on a ion
wi h eali y, bu a he an in e cession, an a ec i e adhesion, as i he a is is looking o a dele ion
o he subjec i e gaze, in o de o become pa o hose si ua ions.
Machines, Spide s and Buccanee s
WALKING AROUND THE SUN. No es on Eu ope. The Dogma ic Sleep.
40
The emo : The images, always sho in he da k and in slow mo ion, a e g ainy, con used, licke ing.
The emo o li e ha swa ms and mo es in he da k, highligh ed by he emo and lashes o he
same images is also no iced by Geo ges Didi-Hube man in his book Su i ance des lucioles (2009),
which ci es Wadding on, along wi h Jean-Luc Goda d and Claude Lanzmann, acing he lines o a
su i al policy: “Wadding on's images a e like i e lies sligh ly pie cing he da kness o he e hical
oid in o which con empo a y socie y seems o be plunged”. The unce ain y: he ilm ecoun s
he unce ain y o hese li es; i is abou ying a chance ha is o en a ailu e; losing he people
who a el wi h you; isking hei li es. This unce ain y o he sea, o he expe ience o he bo de
in his case, is shown in all i s scope in his powe ul and diso ien ing ideo. Finally, he in en ion:
di e en om con en ional na a i e cinema, bu a beyond he o malism o some expe imen-
al cinema, Wadding on shoo s and edi s hese images in en ing a new, di e en way o ell he
expe ience o he bo de s.

41
Daniela Angelucci is an Associa e P o esso o Aes he ics a Roma T e Uni e si y. She is co-di ec o o
he Pos -g adua e cou se in En i onmen al Humani ies a Roma T e (Depa men s o Philosophy and
A chi ec u e). She has been in he P esidency Boa d o Socie à I aliana di Es e ica. She is Ad iso o
Philosophy and Cinema o Enciclopedia I aliana (T eccani). She is co-di ec o o he se ies Sgua di uo i
campo (Mimesis edizioni); membe o he scien i ic boa d o he se ies Es e ica e c i ica (Quodlibe );
membe o Scien i ic Commi ee o he jou nal La Deleuziana; managing edi o o Lebenswel and Colloquia
philosophica. In 2016 she o ganized he 9 h Deleuze S udies Con e ence. Las books: Deleuze e i conce i
del cinema, 2012 (Engl. ansl. Edinbu gh Uni e si y P ess, 2014); Filoso ia del cinema, 2013; Philosophical
Essays on Nespolo’s A and Cinema, co-ed. D. Dal Sasso, 2018.
TREMOR, UNCERTAINTY, INVENTION EUROPE AND THE SEA
Daniela Angelucci