Shooting to Kill: Filmmaking and the “Troubles” in Northern Ireland
Assoc. Prof. Brian McIlroy, chair of UBC’s Film Program, critically
examines the treatment of Northern Ireland’s “troubles” portrayed in films such
as Jim Sheridan’s “In the Name of the Father” and “The Boxer,” Neil Jordan’s
“The Crying Game” and Terry George’s “Some Mother’s Son.”
His main argument is that Irish and British movies, television dramas and
some narrative shorts tend to convey the impression to North Americans that
the main struggle is between the Catholic Republican community and the British
Army.
“It’s all one-sided,” says McIlroy. “One is hard-pressed to find sympathetic
or substantial representation of Northern Ireland’s one-million Protestants.”
He says most liberal intellectuals and government policy-makers rarely question
the assumption that the Republican community is the underdog in need of support.
“Since films are very influential in forming public opinion, I think it’s
important to discuss the cultural arena around the conflict,” McIlroy says.
