The construction of cinematic Ireland has been influenced by numerous historical schisms, perhaps most notably the dominant ideology of cultural nationalism in Ireland, combined with the 'cinematic occupation' of Ireland by Britain and the United States. An indigenous film community emerged in Ireland in the 1970s intent on recoding the landscape by overriding the derogatory stereotypes of the pastoral and the atavistic. This move towards 'authentic representation' spans across social, cinematic and critical spheres and can be associated with the drive towards a collective working through of Irish conflict. Early filmic representations shunned the formal aesthetics of Hollywood and strived for a text that would shift the mythical ideology of Ireland. Thus, cinema became a cultural and political weapon. However, as the global economy expanded and co-production agreements dominated the film industry, Irish cinema became divided on its role on the international stage. Irish 'radical' text now conflicted with the Hollywood drive towards universality.
Bloody Sunday (Paul Greengrass 2002) rests precariously within this contextual framework as both a representation of Irish history and an intertextual critique of the history of Irish representation. The film recounts the 24 hours surrounding the 1972 massacre of civilians in Derry, Northern Ireland by British Armed Forces. What interests me is the way that 24 hours is reconstructed in this film. Greengrass presents two conflicting viewing positions within the Irish and British representations. He also makes two key stylistic choices in his reenactment of Bloody Sunday: observational documentary style, applied to the fictional realm of history and emphasized by handheld camera and rigorous rhythmic editing; and reflexive narration, used to invoke commentary on historical and representational intertextuality. In addition, Greengrass chooses an extremely balanced formal structure that cues the viewer to an overarching Classical influence. The central question that emerges is how this confluence of elements impacts the ideological message of the film.