The War Allegory in The Banshees of Inisherin Explained

at midnight on the 27th of June 1922 two artillery pieces were wheeled through the soft mid-summer rain on Dublin's coupled streets they took up their positions along the river and set their sights on the highest court in Ireland for days the Four Courts have been the center of a tense standoff between the Irish free states that supported a newly signed anglo-irish peace treaty and the anti-treaty IRA who had occupied the building in protests this uneasy stalemate could only last so long and at 4am the Free State guns fired their first volley Irish Civil War had begun dear as you're fighting about the treaty in question was supposed to conclude the Irish war of independence with Britain but many in the Irish Republican Army bitterly opposed it the head of the anti-treaty forces stated that if the treaty were accepted the fight for Freedom would still go on and the Irish people instead of fighting foreign soldiers will have to fight the Irish soldiers of an Irish government set up by Irish men this self-sabotaging threat is eerily similar to columns threats in the Banshees of inner Sharon I have a set of shears at home and each time you bother me from this day on I'll take those shears and I'll take one of my fingers off with them here Colin threatens to mutilate his own fingers just as the anti-treaty IRA threatened to assault its own nation and just as poric refuses the ultimatum to leave column alone the Free State fired on the IRA men in the Four Courts leading to a Cascade of violence the parallels here are intentional banshees is after all set at the time of the Irish Civil War the only difference is that the film takes place on the fictional island of inner Sharon just off the coast of the Mainland the island is apparently Untouched by the conflict despite constant reminders from far away explosions and rifle fire this sets up an interesting dynamic as the Civil War can be seen in a purely allegorical sense within the confines of inner Sharon in fact almost every character in the movie represents a different aspect of the conflict one that we explore not through two warring factions but two old friends that fall out with each other [Music] Madonna's film starts after the Irish war of independence a time of immense optimism about the future of Ireland however it soon became clear that this future Nation would not be the independent republic that many had fought for instead the anglo-irish peace treaty would make it an autonomous Dominion of the British Empire with the British monarch as head of state [Music] America yes unsurprisingly this caused the rift within the Nationalist movement supporters argued that the treaty provided the freedom to achieve Freedom whilst its opposition believed it would never lead to full Independence both sides wanted the same Freedom they just disagreed about how to achieve it this disagreement was deeply personal it turned comrades that had fought side by side in the war of independence into sworn enemies almost overnight tear up that treaty the only thing we've got so then it starts what we fight this is where the Bunches of inner Sharon kicks off with a sudden heartbreaking and seemingly trivial ends to a lifelong friendship it didn't say unto me they didn't do happen to me well that's what I was thinking like I just don't like you no more Anne's just as pooric desperately tries to reconcile his friendship with column so did the Free State try to compromise with the anti-treaty IRA but it was all in vain the situation quickly deteriorated into an all-out Civil War surprising many in Ireland and around the world this bewilderment at a disproportional escalation is hinted at when poric questions why Colin jumped to severing his own fingers instead of trying to settle their differences in a more rational way you've lowered our options left open to you how's fingers the first part of call so it seems as if column may represent the anti-treaty IRA whilst poric could be the Free State further clues that point to this interpretation can be found in columns attacks on poric for being too nice I suppose niceness doesn't last then does a parake this is a possible hint at how the Free State compromised with the British Empire to prevent further War instead of carrying on the fight for a republic this also may be why column begins to light Port more when he is drunk and aggressive the fighting Spirit has returned to his old friend it's the most interesting it's ever been I think I like him again now another theme that links column to the anti-treaty IRA is impatience column fears that time is running out to compose his magnum opus and cement his legacy just have this tremendous sense of time slipping away enemy Pollock rather than continuing to work as he had been he decides the only way to achieve this goal is to cast poric out of his life this parallels the Ira's view that a republic would not be achieved if Ireland had to be a Dominion of Britain meaning that the free state was simply an obstacle that had to be pushed aside it's also worth noting that the Catholic Church sided with the free state and refused to administer sacraments to anti-treaty Fighters just as we see the priests sympathize with poric and refuse confession to call him well I better not be dying in the meantime than a father I'll be pure [ __ ] you want to be pure fudge yes you will be pure though it is tempting it's important not to get too wrapped up in trying to understand which side of the Civil War each of these characters represents this is because there are so many contradictory hints that column is not actually the IRA but the free states such as when he tells Siobhan that all he wants is peace for a bit of peace to find that's hard for a bit of peace let me heart like this ambiguity is a point in itself the Free State Lads are actually killed in a couple of the Air airlines or is it the other way around oh you find it hard to follow these days well they're so much easier when we dial in the same side and it was just the English where he was killing I think it was they preferred it to Peta the conflict has become so meaningless that he forgets who is fighting who and what exactly they're fighting for nonetheless it is apparent that the war is becoming increasingly severe this tally is with real events as the war went on both sides started to carry out more atrocities with politicians and prisoners being ruthlessly executed often in retaliation for other atrocities creating an endless cycle of violence soon there would be no such thing as Calling it Quits we won't call it quits we call it the start again these events are paralleled by the growing animosity between the two old friends porrick begins to insult column with increasingly harmful words and actions whilst column chops more of his own fingers off though not as visceral as columns porrick's escalations are also a form of self-harm by lying to one of column's musician friends about their father's death and encouraging them to leave the islands poric develops a reputation for being cruel which loses him his friendship with Dominic I used to think you were the nicest of them turns out you're just the same as though So poric eventually becomes no different from the cruelty he is trying to fight this senseless fighting culminates with one of column's severed fingers killing Jenny the donkey this is an interesting moment as both characters seem to be United in their grief column sees the brutal consequences of his actions and for the first time it seems genuinely sorry for the harm he has caused this is likely because donkeys are strongly linked with traditional Irish life and despite the fighting column and poric are still old friends that share a love of their country just like the free states and the IRA moreover donkeys are often portrayed in spiritual texts such as the Bible as symbols of peace and humility in this way the donkey may represent the innocence of Ireland that has been poisoned by bitter conflict of course Jenny isn't the only innocent casualty Siobhan and Dominic are both heavily impacted by the fighting rep presenting a whole generation that had their Futures transformed by War despite the Heartbreak of leaving her friends and family behind Siobhan sees that there is no future for her on the small island of inner Sharon can't be waiting round for any more of this madness and fake hates her Homeland in a way that parallels the Irish diaspora the same Bleak future lies ahead for Dominic though he does allow himself to dream about wedding Siobhan and living happily ever after he probably wouldn't ever want to I don't know I fell in love with a boy like me would you unsurprisingly this is refused just as the hope for a prosperous future following the War of Independence was crushed by even more fighting another possible link is between the character of peda and the British State as the sole authority figure on the island peda freely exercises his power over its inhabitants in a way that mirrors the British Empire at the time despite granting Independence to Ireland in 1921 Britain remained closely involved in Irish Affairs it threatened to invade if Ireland stopped being a loyal dominion and supplied the free state with weapons to fight the IRA many on both sides despise this continued association with their former overlords which is represented through columns and porrick's attacks on peda his abuse of his son Dominic may also indicate the mistreatment of Ireland at the hands of the British this leaves the question of Mrs McCormick what exactly does she represent well her many warnings of impending death would suggest that she symbolizes a banshee a female Spirit from Irish folklore that Heralds the death of a family member and also forms the title of the film the fact that they only predict and announce the deaths of family members is particularly relevant some accounts from Irish folklore suggests that there may have been a different Banshee for each family which makes the lone figure of Mrs McCormick especially tragic it suggests that the inhabitants of inner Sharon are so close-knit that they may as well be one family a realization that makes each act of violence even more heartbreaking I haven't had any rifle fire from the mainland in a day or two you think they're coming to the end of it eventually the Civil War did come to an end with a victory of the Free State over the IRA but little did it matter as Ireland became a republic anyway a few decades later a year of vicious Bloodshed had simply postponed the inevitable yet unlike the minimal effect of War on Ireland's sovereignty the effects on friends and families was much more tragic hundreds were killed and many took bitter memories of the conflict to their grave leading to rivalries that long outlasted the war this sense of irreversible damage is felt in the closing moments of the film some things there's no moving on from and I think that's a good thing despite the lasting wounds there is still some hope for reconciliation after all column and poric are still fellow Irishmen thanks for looking after me dog for me anyways anytime yet the reappearance of McCormick's Banshee indicates that there's more Bloodshed to come a fact of Modern Irish history that we sadly know to be true thanks for watching socio Cinema a channel where I read between the lines of the screenplay if this sounds like something you're interested in please do hit that subscribe button and check out my other videos

Channel: Sociocinema

Views: 212,970

Keywords: the banshees of inisherin, martin mcdonagh, colin farrell, the banshees of inisherin 2022, the banshees of inisherin explained, the banshees of inshrin, the banshees of inisheren, the banshees of inisherin analysis, banshees of inisherin explained, banshees of inisherin, the banshees of inisherin review

Id: 74KPJ--cb7Q

Length: 12min 57sec (777 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 03 2023

Reddit Comments

[u/wastedpixls]

Damnit - I'm way *late with this