Republic of Ireland and Its Representation in Films

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Goldfish and the issues presented
Goldfish as a gain in the Irish culture
Goldfish as a loss in the Irish culture
Hollywood’s cultural impacts on Ireland
The Irish identity
Conclusion

Introduction

Undeniably, film and TV are the most powerful means of cultural exposure in the world today. Cultural influence has been successfully transferred from one region of the world to the other through these two mediums. The Ireland film industry has grown over the years and currently it can be listed as one of the world’s fastest growing entertainment industry. The industry can now accommodate different scales of filming from experimental videos to large budget films.

This tremendous growth has been as a result of the long history of the Irish theaters. The continuity of the Irish identity has been greatly passed through film work and theaters hence preserving the country’s rich pre-historic culture. This paper seeks to show that the goldfish film is both a loss and a gain to the Irish culture.

Goldfish and the issues presented

The history of goldfish is both a loss and a success in the representation of issues pertaining to the Irish filming industry. The movie shows how relationships can easily build and crumble. This creates a notion human relationships are not as important and valuable as the concretive mentality makes it. Some of the issues captured in the essays by Natalie Harrower and Martin McLoone include social concerns such as sexual preferences, political marginalization among other problems. As a result, it is therefore realistic to expect a multi-plural culture in Ireland.

The film is based on the challenges faced in gay, lesbian, straight and bisexual relationships (Harrower par. 16). This movies hold s a very conflicting thought presenting human relationships as a goldfish memory. In context, one character, Tom has been used to draw the comparison of human memory to that of a goldfish (Harrower par. 9). A goldfish memory lasts only three minutes and this is the principle that the film theme is using to show how human sexual relationships should be approached. One of the setbacks that the two authors point out is that the random movement from one relationship to the next is inhuman. People cannot just relate without involving their emissions and anytime human emissions are evoked, there will be consequences.

Goldfish as a gain in the Irish culture

According to Natalie Harrower, comedy has been used in many aspects in the Irish film industry and its impacts have had varied implications on the society (par. 12). However, the author has argued that comedy can be used positively to foster changes in the Irish society (Harrower par. 8). They maintain that comedy not only allows the audience to laugh on the changes that have taken place in the society but also it makes them laugh at their resistance to accept it. The goldfish film has hilariously displayed the emanating culture of gays, lesbians, straight and bisexuals.

The film has brought out a hilarious way of enlightening the audience of the current and existing sexual trends. This is a major gain in that it creates awareness to the community that such ills are happening. This shows the Irish society how much their cultural values have been outshined by the dominant American culture (Harrower par. 10). Creating the awareness will help the audience and the nation as a whole to re-examine their cultural values and create ways to overcome the external influence that threatens to erode their culture. A problem is half solved when it is addressed and identified and through the film it is obvious the cultural disconnect can be regained.

Goldfish as a loss in the Irish culture

On the other hand, the movie also has its demerits in terms of the representation of sexual issues (Harrower par. 12). The most dominant issue is the disregard for human relationships. In any case, humans are social beings and they thrive in the mutual understanding that they need to co-exist. The film shows no respect for human relations. In addition, it is paramount to make some aspects of life as discrete as possible (Harrower par. 12). Showing the weird sexual relationships between men and women may cause the opposite implications. Instead of learning and correcting the problem, showing such sexual complexities in public may also create exposure to the naive and innocent young generation.

This may generate a curiosity hence leading to young people doing the things they see on the film. This is what cultural influence is all about. Martin McLoone argues that globalization has transformed cinematic styles since it is governed by the laws of the current market (McLoone par. 10). Conservative cultural advancement and conservation of the same is therefore impossible in the currently globalized world. The Irish filming industry has not been spared in the cultural influence caused by globalization. The most important aspect to note is that globalization in the modern world is based on the conformity to the market’s needs.

As the author argues, the same impacts caused by globalization are affecting the filming industry in Ireland (McLoone par. 10). Goldfish is one of the greatest evidence to this allusion. The movie is based on American gangster themes and sexual explicit content. This is not normally the case in the Irish culture to display adult content in public. This is an acquired trend that has been influenced by the American cinematic styles (Harrower par. 12). If the trend continues, Ireland risks the loss of cultural value as it has happened in many other countries around the globe. Assimilating American culture in its content, the Irish filming industry will be advancing a change of culture that may be very difficult to undo later on. In this regard, the Goldfish film is a great loss to the nation and the industry as a whole.

Hollywood’s cultural impacts on Ireland

Just like any other country around the globe, Ireland has changed its cultural activities to assume some of the most popular Hollywood trends. This has been in both filming and lifestyle. Through its great financial backing, Hollywood has been able to influence the Irish filming industry and the peoples’ habits as a whole (McLoone par. 6). American influence and dominance on Irish people may not be through military action but cultural imperialism. The Irish culture in their films has been undermined by the global influence of Hollywood. And as suggested earlier, the American culture has grown so wide that challenging it is almost impossible (McLoone par. 7).

Through cultural domination the United States has subjugated the world and controls almost all spheres of entertainment from music to filming and also other sports. This has helped advance American’s values to other parts of the world. Therefore, for the Irish filming industry to survive and make an impact on the global platform, they must assimilate the American culture (McLoone par. 9). This will help the filming industry remain relevant and trendy in the industry. In this light, it is correct to assume that the Hollywood type of cinematic has superimposed its ideologies on the world such that other cinematic practices have become obsolete (McLoone par. 9).

The Irish identity

Unlike Hollywood, the Irish cinema is basically a national industry and localized to meet locals needs. Nonetheless, Ireland, Britain and United States of America have a lot in common in terms of culture. However, Ireland has always sort to pursue a single-minded and unique culture to disassociate itself from its colonial master’s identity. Through filming, Ireland seeks to address the political issues as well as social issues in a nationalized manner (McLoone par. 10). Its filming industry is majorly based on national issues and historic political struggles that are relevant mostly to the locals. This may therefore not attract the global attention that Hollywood attracts.

Conclusion

This paper has critically examined the representation of Irish culture in the filming industry with references to the essays by Martin McLoone and Natalie Dawn Harrower. The paper has discussed the issues presented by the two authors with regard to the film Goldfish. Some of the issues identified include sexuality and human relationships. Looking at the issues presented in the film, this easy has discussed the advantages and gains of doing so on the Irish culture. In contrast, essay also has identified ways in which the goldfish movies can be seen as a loss to the Irish film industry. Cultural impacts on Ireland by the Hollywood influence have also been explored. Lastly, the paper shows the Irish identity crisis based on the impacts of external cultural influence.

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