Film, Media and Popular Culture in Ireland

About this book

"This collection of essays from Martin McLoone takes a new look at contemporary culture in Ireland through the filter of three main developments - the 'Celtic Tiger' economy in the South, the peace process in the North and the general rise in Ireland of 'diasporan awareness'. The book considers the impact of these three factors on the film, television, and music produced in Ireland, mostly since the 1990s, and speculates on how this popular culture reflects both what has been gained in the new Ireland but also what has been lost." "Specific concerns of the book are the secularisation of Ireland and popular culture's assault on the Church generally (and the priest in particular); the changing cityscapes and landscapes of the new Ireland; the 'death' of politics; sexual freedom and personal liberation; the problem of representing unionist culture in the North; Van Morrison's Belfast and the rise of 'possessive individualism' in Ireland." "The book celebrates the new Ireland but also raises issues about the loss of aspects of Irish identity that were valuable and suggests the need for a new 'collective imaginary' that might reinvigorate Irish identity in the new millennium."--BOOK JACKET.