What particular thing do you need to say about journeys? Like what area?
Our class had a look at that book, and it's pretty good. I think a key point it represents is the apparent individual insignificance of migrants, shown by the reverse zooms really really far out, (if you've read it, you'll know what I mean), and all of the shots showing the migrants together, like on the boat, and in the processing hall place. This is then challenged later in the book by anecdotes told by the individuals who aid the protagonist- here in the book, the background changes colour to show flashbacks- and this shows that although migrants journey collectively, they are actually individuals with different reasons for journeying, and different backstories.
Here, you could pull in WHY the travellers make their journeys- shown by the main character (I think it was a necessity, to escape danger, poverty, or oppression, perhaps. In the beginning, we see him with his family, walking down the street, and those sharp, spiky shadow tentacles are woven into the image. This is a symbol of danger, which echoes throughout the story)... the Asian woman (to escape from a life of bondage, shown thru anecdote, etc. Look here for symbols of oppression) and the guy who looks like Kevin Crud(d) (Oh yes, I totally put political views in there. No, the guy who helps him with his groceries and takes him to his house for dinner. His anecdote is particularly powerful with the giant, army-style troops with vacuum cleaners, sucking the humans up- symbols of oppression, again. He escapes through a strange, cubic landscape.) There is also another anecdote, told by a factory worker, but I didn't get to look into that one much, but there are some amazing, war-like images there.
OK, ok, relating back to the concepts of journeys...
Reasons for journeying: the main thing here seems to be oppression, so the journeys are made out of necessity.
Obstacles: Insignificance, lack of understanding in language, social customs, architecture, and those awesome little cute animals. Note the continual use of fluid objects in architecture and cones, the weird language, the frames showing how he tries to communicate in his interview upon arrival, how all of the stamps look exactly the same, etc.
Um, believe it or not, I think the Area of Study is the worst thing imaginable and I'm having about 10000 trouble writing essays. So, really, I'm still trying to get my head around the concepts. However, I'm sure you can use some of this. Sorry if I can't be more help.
