Description
Book SynopsisThis book examines film versions of Irish myth, lore, and legend, concentrating particularly on stories which encompass the life journey of the hero, as proposed by Carl Jung and adapted by Joseph Campbell. After establishing the usefulness of film as cultural critique, the author provides intertextual and comparative readings of a number of films which follow a hero’s journey. The stages of this journey include the child’s struggle to achieve identity and become a responsible member of the community, the adult’s ability to move beyond the self and fall in love with another, and the community member’s willingness to sacrifice self in the service of Ireland. In addition, the study examines the lore of matchmaking and the communal uses of legend creation, as well as providing an ironic reading of the heroic journey through an exploration of the contemporary anti-hero. The films analysed include
Into the West,
The Secret of Roan Inish,
In America,
The Quiet Man,
The Matchmaker,
Michael Collins,
The Wind That Shakes the Barley,
Veronica Guerin, and
In Bruges.
Trade Review«There is much to recommend in this volume. Passionately written, humanistic in spirit, entertaining as text, and academic in approach, ‘Irish Myth, Lore and Legend on Film’ offers a new scholarly toolkit for those in the field of interdisciplinary studies: it considers film as cultural writing; is anchored by psycho-anthropological theory; and is embedded in historical context.» (Beatriz Kopschitz Bastos, Estudios Irlandeses 9, 2014)
Table of ContentsContents: Irish Images on Film and the Hero Journey: A Theoretical Introduction – Childhood and the Magic of Myth:
Into the West,
The Secret of Roan Inish,
and
In America – Falling in Love and the Lore of Matchmaking:
The Quiet Man and
The Matchmaker –
Serving Society and the Legend of the Rebel:
Michael Collins and
The Wind That Shakes the Barley – The Journey of the Contemporary Anti-Hero:
Veronica Guerin and
In Bruges.
