Documentary Review: Bloody Sunday

A top of a man’s head is blown off from a paratrooper’s rifle. Not a normal day in Derry, Northern Ireland, but this death and the death of twelve others that day were a result of what Williams calls “war sensibilities.” When one culture learns a desire for revenge, anger, hatred or punishment towards an “enemy”, they exhibit these war sensibilities in their actions towards the enemy. In the case of England, Ireland is that enemy. Ever since its colonization, Ireland has been fighting back with full force–with peaceful protests as seen in Bloody Sunday and more violent actions by the IRA. English troops have “war sensibilities” about the constant struggle and exhibit them by giving sometimes innocent civilians “what they have coming” whenever they get a chance. In Bloody Sunday, this meant firing off ammunition into crowds of peaceful protesters.

This movie clearly shows permeation of the war sensibilities in the Irish way of life. Children grow up hearing that the Brits are bad and hate them without full reason which leads to more criminal acts (i.e. the young boys throwing stones at the roadblock set up by British troops in Derry). The actions of the IRA has also permeated through the culture of the British, with many of the paratroopers in the movie firing into the crowd because of what the terrorist organization has done to other British soldiers. These paratroopers may not per se have known the soldiers but they “heard” what happened to them and believed the source was truthful, and have hatred against the Irish because of it.

Article 5 talks about how “instances of institutionalized punitiveness are no less ‘evil’ or violent than their non-legitimate counterparts”, meaning that Irish political prisoners placed in intern camps and British soldiers captured by the IRA terrorist organization come from the same type of anger, hatred and desire for revenge. Shutting down the IRA will not solve all of the problems between the British and the Irish. A total transvaluation of the criminal justice systems is necessary.

Transvaluation of the British and Irish criminal justice systems needs to occur because of the long withstanding historical battles between the two. The hatred is inbred in both cultures towards the other and as the movie showed; even the most peaceful acts can be overcome with a desire for revenge. It must begin with education of the youth of both nations, causing them to talk to their families about the existing values that inform their opinions towards the enemy. As seen in the movie, it will be the young who make up the military force in both nations in the future. Older men will encourage younger boys to join the IRA by telling them of Irish’s history of oppression but these boys may “just say no” if they have learned that “the passion for justice does not always beget justice.” Young men wishing to join the military forces in England who are educated on both sides in The Troubles may not act on hatred when armed with a gun. Both nations have suffered loss, but it is only with education that they may be able to logically work out a criminal justice system for dealing with attacks in the future.

Bloody Sunday. Written and directed by Paul Greengrass. 2002.

Victor, Joseph. Annual Editions: Criminal Justice 05/06, 29th Edition. Mercy College-Dobbs Ferry, 2005.