Essay on "In the Name of the Father"

Essay 4 pages (1492 words) Sources: 4

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Irish and the English have been in conflict for decades ever since the British defeated the Irish and made them subjects for almost 700 years until the 1916 Irish revolt. The state of affairs is renowned world wide mostly because of some of the Irish that have led a terrorist movement in order to give Ireland back its former status and to defeat British occupiers.

The IRA has its roots in the early twentieth century as an army that would fight for a united Ireland. Because of divergences in opinion within the army, the IRA had split into the Official IRA and the Provisional IRA in 1969. (bbc) the difference between the two was that while the Official IRA seemed to have a more diplomatic approach, the Provisional IRA chose a combative attitude. Initially the Provisional IRA's role was to defend the Catholics from the loyalists' assaults, but as matters evolved they went further and began their offensive.

The IRA is believed to have had their first attacks in England during the 1930s, but the first notable terrorist attack on behalf of the Official IRA took place in 1972 and with the Aldershot headquarters of the Parachute Regiment being bombed, the era of "The Troubles" began. (bbc) as the Provisional IRA became more confident because of the first IRA bombing, they took London as their main target. The bombing was planed to take place on the 8th of March, 1973, but only two of the four bombs were detonated successfully due to the fact that most of the members that took part in the plot had been captured. The campaigns continued and the PIRA added several other acts of terrorism in England on their list, including the Birmingham pub bombing.

The situation became tensed and people were demanding for justice to be done. The Birmingham pub bombing was a highly debated matter as the police decided to imprison ten innocent people that were believed to be terrorists. Those arrested weren't released until the early nineties when they were found to be wrongfully convicted. (bbc)

The director of the motion picture "In the name of the Father" recreated the circumstances in which those that were believed to be involved in the Birmingham bombing had been arrested and how they spent their time in prison until the truth was unfolded. The film presents the life of young Gerry Conlon, a petty Irish thief, as he is going through a multitude of events which change his life forever.

Similarities:

Gerry's neighborhood slightly resembles that of an ordinary U.S. area inhabited by low-skilled workers. An interesting resemblance between the Irish and the U.S. cultures is to be noticed as Gerry is portrayed as hippie-like, long-haired man in his early twenties, determined to get rich overnight at any cost and with little worries. The hippie trend can be seen across the movie as Gerry comes to England in search of "free love and dope" (in the Name of the Father). At some points in the movie Gerry might even be mistaken for a young American on British soil. Apparently both the Americans and the Irish were influenced by the hippie wave at the beginning of the 1970s. The younger people were the ones that were more easily influenced by the trend and almost every hippie was dreaming of living the life of a rock star.

Gerry lives in Ireland under pressure because of the IRA that is fighting the British governments in the Irish streets. He is most likely to get involved in the war at one point of his life due to his restless nature and due to the fact that he, as most young people, is in search of fame and glory. Similar to Gerry, in the same time period, a young American would be inclined to get involved in the Vietnam War from where he would return as a hero and a rich man. During the 1970s Ireland and America were each fighting against different countries (Ireland with the IRA against the British and the U.S. against North Vietnam), but what makes the conflicts similar is that rebellious young people are absorbed by every war either to boycott or to join it.

Differences:

One of the main distinctions between the Americans and the Irish, or the Europeans generally, will be that each country has its national sport. While the Irish are fond of Rugby or Hurling, the Americans would rather enjoy a Baseball match or a… READ MORE

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