Modern Ireland: Past, Present, and Future
Hunger is a film written by Edna Walk and Steve McQueen and also directed by Steve McQueen. McQueen, an Englishman, is known in the art industry for having a very creative and detailed eye for identifying, capturing, and magnifying the slightest detail and assigning it a multitudinous of different contextual meanings. Hunger, McQueen’s first feature film, does not disappoint or deviate from his artistic fashion and as a result, Hunger brings to life the political, social, and disturbingly graphic conflicts that occurred in the Maze prison complex during the hunger strike of 1981. The historical context of Hunger, being released into the current media market, acts as an emotional thermometer for gauging how modern-day society remembers, learns from, and reflects on this modern-day historical event that is personal, yet, controversial to many people in the UK and around the world.
The film takes place in Northern Ireland in 1981 and follows the events of Bobby Sands, a Provisional IRA member who spearheaded and actively participated in both the hunger strike. During this time period of violence and tension between the Nationalist Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Northern Ireland, the Prime Minister to Britain, Margaret Thatcher, had withdrawn the rights of political prisoners five years previously. In 1981, she famously said in a redeclaration of withdrawn rights, “There is no such thing as political murder, political bombing, and political violence. There is only criminal murder, criminal bombing, and criminal violence.” The protests and hunger strike of 1981 were a successful but drastic attempt to regain the status of political prisoner, from a government who considered Irish Nat...
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...ing his life for what he believes in, it will instigate a new wave of Irish Identity that would encourage people to continue fighting for the betterment of Ireland. The film doesn’t seem to intentionally stir political debate or instigate further cross-national dispute, but instead, have audiences realize and understand what happened, accept it as history, and appreciate the powerful story of a man who willingly died for his beliefs.
Works Cited
"Hunger (2008) - Awards." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2010. .
Patterson, Henry. Ireland since 1939 . Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2002. Print.
kinematographos. “ YouTube - "Hunger" - Steve McQueen interview (1/4) ." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2010. .
In 476 AD, centuries of amassed knowledge in science and philosophy, literature and the arts lay in peril of destruction alongside the physical Roman Empire. Thomas Cahill's book How the Irish Saved Civilization sheds light upon the role of the Irish people in the conservation and rebirth of civilization and the Western tradition after the fall of the Roman Empire. It is here that Cahill opens his book and after a brief description of classical civilization, that we are given a look at another people, far different from the Romans and Greeks- the vibrant and intriguing Celts. How these people came in contact with the civilized world and how they assisted in pulling the West out of the Dark ages is, then, the paramount of Cahill's argument.
Obesity and opposition are the two main issues of this film. The issue of obesity, treated lightly in the beginning of the film and then severely by the end, reflects society’s approach to weight loss. To ...
In the essay “Spare Change”, the author, Teresa Zsuaffa, illustrates how the wealthy don’t treat people facing poverty with kindness and generosity, but in turn pass demeaning glares and degrading gestures, when not busy avoiding eye contact. She does so by writing an emotional experience, using imagery and personification whenever possible to get to the reader’s heart. Quite similarly, Nick Saul writes, in the essay “The Hunger Game”, about how the wealthy and people of social and political power such as “[the community’s] elected representatives” (Saul, 2013, p. 357) leave the problem of hunger on the shoulders of the foodbanks because they believe “feeding the hungry is already checked off [the government’s] collective to-do list” (Saul,
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This gentleman is six foot two, short black hair, black eyes, and with no real distinguishing marks. He is heterosexual, African American, and is An Atheist. His name is David, and he is walking home while wearing sweat pants with a ripped up t-shirt that was from home. Some people would consider this gentleman to be poor and have a horrible education with nothing good on his mind. However David is a part-time firefighter, with a part-time job, and also being part time college student. There is a difference between people hardcore supporting their culture or beliefs, compared to individuals who get stereotyped like David for example. In the article, “Sticks and Stones: The Irish Identity”, by Robert McLaim Wilson and published by Grand Street.
Chard, Diana. "Hungry for Change film review." Bite My Words. WordPress.com, 18 Apr 2012. Web. 7 Nov 2013.
In order to legitimise a regime or cause, traditions may be constructed around historical or mythological events, people or symbols that reinforce the image required to focus people’s conception of the past. People can be encouraged to invent a cohesive view of their shared ‘traditions’ by what could be called cherry picking bits of history.
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During the twentieth century, Ireland was suffering through a time of economic hardship. “Economic growth was stagnant, unemployment was at a historic high and exceeded anywhere in the EU, except possibly Spain, and the state was one of the most indebted in the world” . Irish men and women who had received a formal education had immigrated to other nations due to the unavailability of jobs at home. This left Ireland in a state of further economic downfall, and the lack of skilled workers left Ireland stuck. The 1990’s were a turning point for Ireland. A rise in industry within the nation, as well as an increase in exports, led Ireland to become the “shining nation” in Europe. It became internationally linked with one of the biggest power nations, the United States, and international trade became Ireland’s new source for a booming economy. This brought the rise of what was known as the Celtic Tiger in Ireland.
To undertake a full thematic investigation of this period would be very much beyond the scope of this paper. Thus, the essay will embark on a high level chronological interpretation of some of the defining events and protagonists, which influenced the early modernization of Ireland during the period 1534-1750. The main focus of the paper will concentrating on the impact and supervision of the Tudor dynasty. Firstly, the essay will endeavour to gain an understanding as to what contemporary historians accept as being the concept of modernization during this time period. The paper will then continue by examine the incumbent societal and political structure of Ireland prior to the Tudor conquests. This will have the impact of highlight the modernising effects produced by the subsequent attempts by the Tudors to consolidate and centralise power in the hands of the State. Once more, due to the vast nature of the time period, not every modernizing effect can be examined. Therefore, the paper will concentrate on the modernization of the political landscape, land ownership and the impact this had on the geographic construct of the island.
The Travellers: Ireland’s Ethnic Minority. Who are the Travellers? The Travellers, a minority community indigenous to Ireland, have existed on the margins of Irish society for centuries. They share common descent, and have distinct cultural practices - early marriage, desire to be mobile, a tradition of self-employment, and so on.