[ecrea] New Book - Documentary in a Changing State: Ireland since the 1990s

Documentary in a Changing State: Ireland since the 1990s
Edited by Dr. Carol MacKeogh&  Dr. Díóg O'Connell, Cork University Press

http://corkuniversitypress.typepad.com/cork_university_press/2012/02/documentary-in-a-changing-state-ireland-since-the-1990s-.html

This timely collection of essays, Documentary in a Changing State: Ireland since the 1990s, examines the role of Irish documentary in film and television as Ireland experienced dramatic shifts in its social and political make-up in recent decades. Bringing together a diverse range of perspectives, this book tells it from the standpoint of the documentary-maker, the academic and the policy-maker. It reveals the role of documentary in telling stories that challenge the hierarchies of church and state, at the same time reflecting and representing the change brought about as a result in shifts to the political and social landscape.  The writers in this book speak openly and vividly about the highs and lows of the battles they fought not just with institutional powers but also within their own profession and with the pressure towards entertainment media formats.

Essays and contributions are made by independent filmmakers such as Alan Gilsenan, Louis Lentin, Mary Raftery and Donald Taylor Black alongside producers from television series including Would You Believe and Prime Time Investigates. This book looks back over the last two decades through the prism of documentary to get a snap shot of the dramatic shifts and upheavals in Irish society, socially, culturally and politically.

Endorsements
The unblinking gaze of the realist documentary film is undoubtedly television's greatest contribution to an enlightened public sphere. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the persistent force of documentary in the affairs of the nation, especially the media student attuned to questioning the dominant ideologies of Irish society. Written by film-makers and academics, it artfully blends insights from theory, practice and media policy and makes a convincing case for the crucial value of documentary in the future media landscape in Ireland. Professor Farrel Corcoran, Dublin City University and author of RTÉ and the Globalisation of Irish Television, Intellect Books, 2004.

This book gives a fascinating insight into the working life of documentary makers - it captures the passion that drives them, the commitment they make to their craft, and the issues they tackle in defining what constitutes documentary - indeed, what constitutes good documentary.  This book will be read avidly not just by those in the business of creating and producing documentary but by a wide public who have learnt so much about their own society and culture through cutting-edge documentaries. Miriam O'Callaghan, RTÉ Broadcaster.

Whether considering theory, practice, policy or impact, this absorbing collection of essays brings a fresh focus, breadth and welcome insight to our evaluation of the documentary form. John Kelleher, Film&  Television Producer, Former Irish Film Censor

Editors
Dr Carol MacKeogh lectures in media studies at the Institute of Art Design and Technology in Dun Laoghaire Co Dublin.  She is the author of Participant Observation: A Team Study of Young People and Television (Dublin: SAI, 2002). Carol has also worked in television production as a research/producer with Fastnet Films.

Dr. Díóg O'Connell lectures in film and media studies at Institute of Art Design and Technology in Dun Laoghaire Co Dublin. Her book New Irish Storytellers: Narrative Strategies in Film was published by Intellect Press in 2010.

Contact: 	(carol.mackeogh /at/ iadt.ie)
		(diog.oconnell /at/ iadt.ie)  /(diogoconnell /at/ gmail.com)



Posted by,
Dr Cahal McLaughlin
Senior Lecturer
School of Media Film and Journalism
University of Ulster
Cromore Rd
Coleraine
BT52 1SA
00 44 (0) 2870 124018

www.prisonsmemoryarchive.com

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