essential viewing for australians, yes. beautifully filmed and constructed, yes. though I’m not without criticisms. as many have said, it’s disappointing that three of the four main characters are white Australians (and two of those white Australians LITERALLY ENFORCE THE SYSTEM and could’ve LITERALLY LEFT AT ANY TIME). whilst I thought all the storylines were interesting and powerfully performed, a lot of them (especially Sophie’s) began feeling increasingly out of place.
*Stateless* is a very engaging and important show, well executed within the bounds of its own script, but could have deeply benefitted from delving more into the stories of the actual refugees in the detention centres (which is ACTUALLY what is going on in australia). Instead, they seem to serve more as background characters for the narrative arcs of the white characters.
perhaps *Stateless* fails in its framing of the narrative - if it was marketed more as an exploration of the moral conflicts within the enforcers of systems, maybe it wouldn’t have missed the mark so much.
despite all this, i do recommend watching, especially given the relatively short length of this limited series. and it is excellently produced. and oh my god Ameer.
