Tres formas de atender y entender la violencia política en Irlanda del Norte: Agenda oculta (1990), En el nombre del Padre (1993) y En el nombre del hijo (1996)

Three ways of addressing and understanding political violence in Northern Ireland: Hidden Agenda (1990), In the Name of the Father (1993) and Some Mother’s Son (1996)

Abstract

Film production constitutes a primary source in the construction of historical knowledge, although approval of its contributions is very recent and coincides with the renewal of research techniques in historiographical analyses that go beyond the documentary primacy of written texts. The potential relevance of film in social studies is supported by its primary status, exemplifying an ‘international mass medium’. Starting from this premise, this paper attempts to analyse and problematise different approaches that break with the traditional predominant approach to the Northern Irish political conflict in film. In this respect, Hidden Agenda, In the Name of the Father and Some Mother’s Son are three film productions that offer different ways of attending to and understanding polysemic categories that are problematic in the understanding of the Ulster political reality, such as democracy, justice, violence, terrorism or human rights.