Irish-American, Irish, or American?: Contemporary Genre Films and the American in Ireland (original) (raw)

Abstract

While notions of identity are often simplified, categorized by nationality, generalizations and stereotypes, the concept of identity is a very complicated one, with its protean nature making an attempt at any linear definition very difficult. When identity becomes hyphenated even more complications arise. However, using the hyphen as a focal point for the examination of identity reveals the mediation and ideology at the root of identity formation and performance in a manifest way, as hyphenated identities are often the focus of media attention. My paper, which looks particularly at the hyphenated Irish-American identity, begins with an historical overview of the unique journey of this identity in America, rising from the bottom rungs to the top, amidst changing opinions on hyphenation in the country. From this historical context, I use film as a magnifying lens for examining the contemporary hyphenation of Ireland and America, and the problematic performance of this identity. By applying Rick Altman’s “A Semantic/Syntactic Approach to Film Genre” to my examination of Irish and Irish-themed films which portray American characters in Ireland, I demonstrate with some brief examples how, by using key signifiers or tropes of the Irish-American identity and relationship within the conventions of a particular genre, these films, through different methods, ultimately take a conservative approach to the hyphenated identity by portraying a singular identity as “safer”, despite often encouraging an Irish American relationship.

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