Sweet Story: An Exploration of Film and Culture
Coming Home was a film that spoke to an America just coming to grips with the lasting effects of the Vietnam war. Though filmed in the late seventies, Coming Home takes places in 1968, a year that was marked by not only the escalating conflict in Vietnam, but also political and social turmoil within the... Continue Reading →
The Sapphires (2012). Directed by Wayne Blair, written by Keith Thompson and Tony Briggs, based on the 2004 stage play of the same name. The Sapphires is a 2012 musical comedy-drama that tells the story of an Aboriginal all-girl group in 1960’s New South Wales. Growing up on a reserve in Western Australia, sisters Gail,... Continue Reading →
"I don't want to get into the system as it exists. I want to create my own corner. It all comes down to this, if you don't want to be a part of what exists, you've got to create your own reason for existence." (Barbara Loden, quoted in You Must Remember This) Barbara Loden was... Continue Reading →
A Date for Mad Mary. Element Pictures, 2016. Directed by Darren Thornton. Screenplay by Darren Thornton and Colin Thornton. Produced by Ed Guiney and Juliette Bonass. Adapted from the one-woman play 10 Dates with Mad Mary (2010) by Yasmine Akram. Starring: Seána Kerslake, Tara Lee, Charleigh Bailey, Denise McCormack, Siobhan Shanahan. [Image: scannain.com] Darren Thornton’s... Continue Reading →
To mark the recent return of American Horror Story for its ninth season, entitled 1984, I have put together a quick list of some of my favourite episodes from previous seasons. Contains spoilers for seasons 1-8. Season 1 (Murder House) Episode 9: Spooky Little Girl American Horror Story is often at its strongest when the series incorporates real people and events... Continue Reading →
Lynnwood, Washington, 2008: a young woman named Marie Adler (Kaitlyn Dever) awakes to find an intruder in her apartment. The masked man ties her up and rapes her. The next morning Marie reports her assault to the police. After submitting to a physical examination, and repeating an account of her sexual assault several times, the... Continue Reading →
In 2011, an independent Irish film entitled Parked debuted to somewhat mixed reviews and little attention. While many critics praised the strong performances in the film, its plot and pacing received a mixed response. It won awards and was well-reviewed at several international film festivals, but it didn't seem to get much attention at home. Overall the... Continue Reading →
In 2016-17, I completed an MA in English, specialising in Irish Writing and Film, at University College Cork. As part of the course, everyone in my class was required to set up and regularly update a blog. The idea of the blog initially filled my classmates and me with dread, as blogging was completely uncharted territory for... Continue Reading →
In this article, I will look at how Ari Aster’s 2019 folk-horror film Midsommar explores the effects of repressed grief and trauma. I went to see the film in July and found it to be one of the most intriguing and deeply disturbing films that I have ever seen. First of all, I would strongly encourage anyone... Continue Reading →
In a series of articles, I will look at the links between Games of Thrones and the Wars of the Roses, pointing to the real-life inspirations for several of the key characters in the series. For this study, I will be looking solely at how these events and characters are portrayed in the HBO series rather than... Continue Reading →
Scéal Milis 