Irish Queer Cinema

by Allison Macleod

Overview

In recent years queer identities have become increasingly visible in Irish cinema, a shift that can be linked to political, economic and social changes taking place both in Ireland and around the world, as well as to changes in national film policy to cater more to international audiences. Irish Queer Cinema explores the sexual politics and socio—economic conditions that have determined the shape and evolution of these representations whilst interrogating the relationship between on—screen visibility and progressive sexual politics. Drawing together 23 films as depictive of an Irish queer cinema, including Clash of the Ash, The Crying Game and Me First, the book investigates the different ways gender and sexuality intersect with nationhood and national forms of belonging, and explores the role of queerness within the constitution of an Irish national culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781474411486
Publisher:	Edinburgh University Press
Publication date:	05/22/2018
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x (d)

About the Author

Allison Macleod is a researcher in Film Studies whose primary research interests include representations of space and movement in film, the role of the national in shaping cinemas, and queer theory. She has published on issues of sexuality and space in the context of film, with articles in The Canadian Journal of Film Studies, Screen Bodies and Cinephile and a book chapter in Masculinity and Irish Popular Culture: Tiger’s Tales.

Table of Contents

AcknowledgementsList of Figures

1. Queerly National and Nationally Queer: Paradoxes of an Irish Queer CinemaI. QueerII. IrishIII. Space

2. Mapping Ireland’s Queer FilmsI. First Wave Queer CinemaII. Celtic Tiger Queer CinemaIII. Post—Celtic Tiger Queer Cinema

3. Re—Imagined Kinship and Failed CommunitiesI. Queering the FamilyII. PigsIII. The Last Bus HomeIV. Conclusion

4. The Contested Space of the Irish PubI. The Male Homosocial Space of the Irish PubII. A Man of No ImportanceIII. GarageIII. Conclusion

5: Compartmentalised Cosmopolitans and Rigid FluidityI. Cowboys and AngelsII. Goldfish MemoryIII. Situating Irish Lesbianism within Urban SpaceIV. Conclusion

6. The Queerly Productive Constraints of Rural SpaceI. Reefer and the ModelII. Clash of the AshIII. The StagIIV. Conclusion

7. Queer Mobilities and Disassociated MasculinitiesI. I Went DownII. The Disappearance of Finbar and Breakfast on PlutoIII. Conclusion

8. Contested Belongings within Diasporic SpaceI. Reconstituting ‘Home’ within DiasporaII. 2by4III. Borstal BoyIV. Conclusion

9. The Irish Queer Short FilmI. The Contestation of Public SpaceII. Disrupting Domestic SpacesIII. The Spatiality of Lesbian DesireIV. Conclusion

10. Concluding Remarks

11. Filmography

12. References

Endnotes

What People are Saying About This

A sophisticated and engaging addition to the academic literature on Irish cinema,　Irish Queer Cinema offers an impressive series of　theoretically informed close textual analyses to trace the development of onscreen queer sexualities over the past 40 years,　arguing　for an understanding of sexuality in cinema as　spatially regulated and produced.

Professor Dimitris Eleftheriotis

Irish Queer Cinema offers a new perspective that focuses on queer identities and attends to the textual configuration of space that they entail. Such organisation of the argument, supported by detailed analysis of films that are uniquely brought together in this work, significantly challenges and extends the range of canonical Irish film texts. Avoiding the tired 'representations of ' approach that is too common in studies of national cinemas and writing with admirable lucidity and analytical precision Macleod has produced a sophisticated book that makes an exciting and original contribution to the literature on Irish cinema.

Conn Holohan

A sophisticated and engaging addition to the academic literature on Irish cinema,　Irish Queer Cinema offers an impressive series of　theoretically informed close textual analyses to trace the development of onscreen queer sexualities over the past 40 years,　arguing　for an understanding of sexuality in cinema as　spatially regulated and produced.

Editorial Reviews

Irish Queer Cinema is a very necessary addition...it is a book that will be revisited and, commendably, will remain important as – hopefully – queer cinematic representation in Ireland continues to expand and diversify beyond that which is white, cisgender and male.

Estudios Irlandeses - Abigail Keating

Irish Queer Cinema offers a new perspective that focuses on queer identities and attends to the textual configuration of space that they entail. Such organisation of the argument, supported by detailed analysis of films that are uniquely brought together in this work, significantly challenges and extends the range of canonical Irish film texts. Avoiding the tired 'representations of ' approach that is too common in studies of national cinemas and writing with admirable lucidity and analytical precision Macleod has produced a sophisticated book that makes an exciting and original contribution to the literature on Irish cinema.

Professor Dimitris Eleftheriotis

A sophisticated and engaging addition to the academic literature on Irish cinema,　Irish Queer Cinema offers an impressive series of　theoretically informed close textual analyses to trace the development of onscreen queer sexualities over the past 40 years,　arguing　for an understanding of sexuality in cinema as　spatially regulated and produced.

Conn Holohan

"Irish Queer Cinema is a very necessary addition...it is a book that will be revisited and, commendably, will remain important as - hopefully - queer cinematic representation in Ireland continues to expand and diversify beyond that which is white, cisgender and male."— Abigail Keating, Estudios Irlandeses

From the Publisher