The Wonder

Equally, the harrowing moment when Elizabeth force feeds Anna could be said to be an implicit reference to the Irish hunger strikers during the war of Independence, many of whom had food forcibly inserted into their bodies via tubes (most notoriously, this happened to Terence MacSwiney, the Mayor of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEstudios irlandeses no. 18; pp. 359 - 362
Main Author Price, Graham
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Seattle Dra. Rosa Gonzalez on behalf of AEDEI 01.01.2023
Subjects
Audiences
Authenticity
Children
Children & youth
Cultural heritage
Famine
Friel, Brian
Motion pictures
Narratives
Nuns
Religion
Storytelling
Ireland
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Summary:Equally, the harrowing moment when Elizabeth force feeds Anna could be said to be an implicit reference to the Irish hunger strikers during the war of Independence, many of whom had food forcibly inserted into their bodies via tubes (most notoriously, this happened to Terence MacSwiney, the Mayor of Cork, who died whilst on hunger strike). Equally, the theme of child abuse and its concealment by a family - a revelation that is uncovered near the climax of The Wonder - is very topical when one considers the numerous revelations in recent years concerning the abuse of children in various 'home' settings, whether they be religious or familial. Interestingly, on the former, although the negative impact of religiosity on Irish culture and people is starkly considered in this film, we are also given an ultimately sympathetic portrayal of a nun in the form of Elizabeth's fellow 'watcher', and it is she who partially enables a somewhat happy ending to occur at the film's conclusion. [...]The Wonder can take credit for endeavouring to take a more complex approach to the representation of the Catholic Church than is, arguably, typical in contemporary Irish texts. The need to care for children is an aspect of the film's title that is given utterance near the end of the film when Will writes in his column that communities are too often neglectful when it comes to acknowledging "the wonder" that is all children. Because the narrative of The Wonder centres around trying to prevent a child from willingly departing the realm of physical existence and going to an indeterminate "other place", I would argue too that the film can be read as a subtle reimagining of
ISSN:1699-311X