Traumatic realism in films about the nepali diaspora

Abstract

The paper analyzes the depiction of Nepali Gulf migrants across several documentaries. Using Michael Rothberg’s “traumatic realism” as a framework, the paper identifies three forms of Nepali trauma: Physical trauma that documents the migrant laborers’ living conditions and its effect on their corporeal reality; Psychological and Emotional trauma proceeding from the above, and also their sense of failure and distance from their families back home; and Financial trauma of the poor economic status of the Nepalese. The paper serves as an introduction to a diaspora that is rarely studied in diaspora studies.