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Impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Analysis of institutional authors

Alzola-Cerero, PabloAuthor

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March 7, 2023
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Article

“Strangers and pilgrims”: The migrant archetype in the cinema of Terrence Malick

Publicated to:Communication & Society-Spain. 32 (2): 97-108 - 2022-10-10 32(2), DOI: 10.15581/003.32.37864

Authors: Pablo Alzola Cerero

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Abstract

The migrant archetype is a prevailing motif of the cinema directed by Terrence Malick to date: most of his main characters share the condition of being displaced or nomadic people. This article is focused on analysing six films –belonging to different periods of Malick’s filmography– in which this condition is significantly emphasized: Days of Heaven (1978), The Thin Red Line (1998), The New World (2005), The Tree of Life (2011), To the Wonder (2012) and Knight of Cups (2015). The aim of this study is to reflect upon the central role of the migrant archetype in the works of Malick, showing to what extent the essential features of this archetype are inherited from United States mythology. In the end, this connection between film and myth is due to a common ground: on one hand, the thought of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson about the idea of America, revisited in the last decades by the philosopher Stanley Cavell; on the other, the legend of the first New England settlers, in which the biblical theme of exodus and the figure of the pilgrim are fundamental. Thus, I aim to prove how –and explain on what grounds– both in the construction of Malick’s migrant characters and in the mythic representation of the American migrant the same feature stands out: the condition of “stranger and pilgrim”.

Keywords

Reduced inequalities

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Communication & Society-Spain according to the classification of the FECYT, it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2022, ha conseguido situarse en la zona del Primer Cuartil.

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-07-18:

  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 10 (PlumX).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
Continuing with the social impact of the work, it is important to emphasize that, due to its content, it can be assigned to the area of interest of ODS 10 - Reduce inequality within and among countries, with a probability of 82% according to the mBERT algorithm developed by Aurora University.

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Alzola Cerero, Pablo) and Last Author (Alzola Cerero, Pablo).