PR Application Rejected: Reflections on Identity and Subjectivity

When I received the news of my PR application being rejected, after a brief moment of shock, what arose within me was not merely frustration but a peculiar sense of “existential dilemma.” On the surface, it seemed like just an administrative outcome, yet it profoundly mirrored the multiple tensions between the structure of contemporary global mobility and the construction of subjectivity.

  • Amid the tension between globalization and national sovereignty, is it even possible to affirm an individual’s identity?
  • Does the rejection of a PR application symbolically exclude an individual from a collective sense of belonging?

PR Application: From the Fantasy of Rights to the Maze of Identity

Within the theoretical framework of Anthony Giddens’ Modernity and Self-Identity, applying for PR is not merely a pursuit of residency rights but a symbolic quest for identity stability and future possibilities. However, in the context of globalization, this pursuit often falls into what Derrida describes as the structure of différance: the realization of rights is perpetually deferred, and the confirmation of identity remains suspended.

In this context, rejection is tantamount to a form of symbolic violence. It not only disrupts my plans for the future but also shatters the illusion of subjectivity I held within this domain.

Subjectivity vs. Institutional Discipline

Bourdieu’s field theory reveals the distribution of power in social practices, and the practice of PR applications is a concrete field where power disciplines individuals. Rejection is not merely an administrative outcome but an invisible disciplining of the subject, hinting at the imbalance of power between individuals and institutions in the era of platform capitalism.

Through Foucault’s lens of discipline, this process not only constrains individuals’ physical mobility but also profoundly affects the emotional and mental freedom of individuals.

From Loss to Reflection

In a sense, rejection is not an end but an opportunity for reconstruction. Bauman’s concept of liquid modernity might help me interpret this failure: in a constantly fluid world, fixed identities and stable senses of belonging are scarce resources. Perhaps I need to redefine my position amid this loss and find my own meaning in the fragments of grand narratives.

As Žižek puts it: “True freedom is not about getting what you want but about confronting the trauma of reality.” The failure of my PR application may not be the end of identity but a challenge to how I reconstruct subjectivity in the face of uncertainty.

Thus, this is not an ending but a dialectical transformation: in the moment of shattered stability, perhaps lies the beginning of transcending grand narratives and rediscovering the meaning of one’s existence.