Date of Thesis

2017

Description

In the 1990s, negotiations for peace in Northern Ireland began to occur after forty years of violence and chaos; the end of "the Troubles" appeared in sight. Stemming from Ireland's colonized years, nationalists aimed to unify Ireland and remove British power through guerrilla warfare tactics that decimated and impacted both sides of the conflict. In response to the trauma, films of this decade in Ireland and Northern Ireland began to articulate an identity aimed at redeeming the culture and history that had once appeared lost to the pandemonium. Unofficially defined as "ceasefire cinema," these films parallel the ideologies and practices of postcolonial theory. Although Ireland and Northern Ireland's status in postcolonial is contentious, undeniably, cinema of this decade similarly attempts to expose indigenous voices and experiences while deconstructing the paradigms created by British colonial control. By focusing on films made during the end of "the Troubles," such as, The Crying Game (1992), In The Name of the Father (1993), Michael Collins (1996), and The Last September (1999), this thesis illustrates how "ceasefire cinema" attempted to define and articulate postcolonial Irish identities through cinematic portrayals of 20th century Anglo-Irish conflicts.

Keywords

film, Ireland, irish cinema, the troubles, postcolonialism, theory, film theory, Jim Sheridan, neil jordan, deborah warner, the last september, michael collins, in the name of the father, the crying game

Access Type

Honors Thesis (Bucknell Access Only)

Degree Type

Bachelor of Arts

Major

English

First Advisor

Ken Eisenstein

Second Advisor

Katarzyna Lecky

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