MASARYK UNIVERSITY BRNO Faculty of Education VERONICA
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MASARYK UNIVERSITY BRNO Faculty of Education Department of English Language and Literature VERONICA GUERIN (Film and Reality Compared) B. A. Thesis Brno 2009 Author: Supervisor: Michal Mikulec Aaron Marc Collier, B.A. Keywords Adaptation, analysis, comparison, crime, drugs, Dublin, film characters, history, Veronica Guerin Klíčová slova Adaptace, analýza, drogy, Dublin, filmové postavy, historie, srovnávání, Veronica Guerinová, zločin 2 Declaration: I declare that I have written this bachelor thesis myself and used only the sources listed in the bibliography section. Prohlášení: Prohlašuji, že jsem bakalářskou práci napsal sám a použil jsem jen prameny uvedené v seznamu literatury. Brno 2 April 2009 Michal Mikulec 3 Acknowledgments I would like to express my thanks to my supervisor Aaron Mark Collier for his guidance and professional advice on writing the thesis. Poděkování Děkuji svému vedoucímu Aaronu Marku Collierovi za jeho trpělivou pomoc a cenné připomínky při psaní této bakalářské práce. 4 Content Introduction ...................................................................6 PART I (The Facts) 1 Heroin ..................................................................8 2 Situation in Dublin ..................................................9 2.1 Introduction of Drugs in Dublin ................................9 2.2 Local Drug Dealers ................................................10 3 Veronica Guerin ....................................................12 3.1 A Path of Veronica Guerin ......................................12 3.2 A Chase for Drug Dealers .......................................14 4 A Theory of Film Adaptation ...................................21 4.1 Models of Adaptation .............................................23 PART II (Film & Reality Comparison) 1 Veronica Guerin – Film Details ................................26 2 Analysis of the Film Veronica Guerin ........................28 3 Findings ..............................................................51 3.1 Main Theme ………………………………………………………………….51 3.2 Characters …………………………………………………………….......51 3.3 Point of View ………………………………………………………………..54 3.4 Narrative ……………………………………………………………………..55 3.5 Settings ………………………………………………………………………..55 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………………….57 Summary ............................................................................60 Resumé ……………………………………………………………………………………………62 Bibliography …………………………………………………………………………………...64 5 Introduction Our history has given us a number of extraordinary persons, who have had a power to make colossal achievements. Most of them have been men, whose strength, firmness, and determination made them great warriors, leaders and saviours of their people. Nevertheless, once in a while, between those great men appeared exceptional women, whose power surpassed other men, and who became unforgettable for their brave acts, ambitions and achievements in the “male’s world”. One of those women was Veronica Guerin, an Irish investigative reporter who risked her life while investigating Dublin’s criminal underworld in an effort to stop local drug dealers who were selling drugs to young people. Her name is not as much known as others, yet she was very famous already during her life, and after her violent death she became a legend not only in Ireland but also in the whole world of journalism. The thesis will be devided into theoretical and practical part. The theoretical part will deal mainly with a career of Veronica Guerin, especially with the last two years of her life, during which she was investigating the drug problem in Dublin. The thesis will provide a closer look into lesser-known affairs connected to drugs in Dublin in mid-90’s of the 20 th century, and a reader will find causes, which made Veronica Guerin proceed regardless of a danger and threats from criminals, and also the consequences, which happened thanks to her during and after her life. The situation in Dublin was very dangerous at the time and her appearing against the criminals and the whole system was very brave and inspiring. A short part of the theoretical part will deal with a theory of film adaptation and a relationship between literature and film. The theory and analytic techniques from the theoretical part will help us during an analysis of a film about Veronica Guerin in the 6 practical part, even though the film is not based on a book but on a research of the filmmakers. The film Veronica Guerin (2003), directed by Joel Schumacher, with Cate Blanchett in a lead role will be deeply analyzed and the character of Veronica Guerin in the film will be compared to the real personality of Veronica Guerin. The main aim of this thesis is to find accuracies and differences in the portrayal of the life of Veronica Guerin in various scenes of the film, and evaluate an effort of the filmmakers who made this film. The thesis will be also focused on supporting characters, especially Veronica’s greatest antagonist, John Gilligan, and the last section of the practical part will evaluate in general the concrete elements of the film, such as the main theme, a point of view, a narrative and settings. 7 Part I 1 Heroin a molecule of heroin The use of drugs is connected to a human race from its origins. People used drugs during rituals and in medicine for instance as painkillers. The most widespread drug was opium, which was later used to create morphine by a German chemist, whose name was F. W. Serturner, in 1804. After Alexander Woodin’s invention of syringe in 1843, the use of morphine rapidly increased. In 1874, another chemist, C. R. Alderwright, produced a compound of morphine and acetic anhydride, which was in 1878 named heroin by Heinrich Dresser, who used this drug to cure pneumonia and other diseases. However, an uncontrollable distribution of narcotics became a serious global problem, and for that reason an agreement about medical use only of narcotics was approved in the Hague Convention in 1912. In 1914, the United States passed the Act which allowed the sale of narcotics only for medical doctors, and this Act became an example for Britain which passed a similar Act in 1920. Despite of the effort to prevent the addictive drugs from an excessive consumption, the number of the addicts was increasing, together with the number of crimes commited by the addicts, and for that reason special treatment institutions for addicts needed to be established. (*10)1 1 10 - “Methadone: What’s the Story?” Nicdtf. 2003. 8 April 2009 <http://www.nicdtf.ie/RESOURCES/upload/UISCE_methadone_whats_the_story.pdf> 8 2 Situation in Dublin 2.1 Introduction of Drugs in Dublin The origins of the heroin problem in Dublin date back to late 1960s, when the heroin was introduced and many people became addicted upon it. The increasing number of the addicts was caused by local crime lords who supplied the drugs on a large scale, and the addicts then caused the growth of unemployment and criminality. In 1980’s, a new virus (HIV) started to spread worldwide among the addicts who shared syringes, and new programmes and formations were established, such as Concerned Parents Against Drugs, which marched the streets of Dublin protesting against the drug business and addressing the known drug dealers, who they wanted to stop by putting empty children’s coffins in front of their houses. However, these marches were very small and ineffective. (*10)1 In 1990’s, the situation in Dublin became desperate. The drugs were dealing and injected in public, and the rise of the addicts was faster than ever. People were losing their jobs, and for that reason the masses of people migrated to the Great Britain or the United States hoping to find new jobs. In 1994, the number of people who injected heroin exceeded the number of 15,000, whereas among those people were even children as young as 14. The kids gathered in empty flats called “the squat” and injected drugs there. Very few old people lived in those flats, and they were often robbed by those kids of their money and valuable objects, so that the kids could buy drugs. The neighbourhood was literally covered by hypodermic needles and little children were commonly seen playing with them on the streets. Everybody knew local drug 1 10 - “Methadone: What’s the Story?” Nicdtf. 2003. 8 April 2009 <http://www.nicdtf.ie/RESOURCES/upload/UISCE_methadone_whats_the_story.pdf> 9 dealers and about their crimes, but nobody could touch them. They earned a huge amount of money, so the local police, also known as “the Garda”, was powerless against them. The Irish law was full of excessive liberalism and eventually on the criminal’s side. The imperfect Irish law was created after Ireland gained its independence from the Great Britain, and the Irish wanted to make their own laws in order not to be under the influence of the Great Britain. After Irish Republican Army (IRA) joined the drug- trafficking, crime was out of control and the situation in Ireland became desperate. (*10; *13; *14; *15)1 2.2 Local Drug Dealers Among the most powerful drug dealers in Dublin belonged John Gilligan, a brutal, cold and violent drug lord who smuggled cigarettes and laundered his money in Amsterdam’s casinos. Everytime he just bought chips in the casinos, but instead of playing, he later changed the chips for clean money. When he was caught in the act, he was taken prisoner, but soon he left the prison and starter to build his horse ranch and his criminal empire. Journalists nicknamed him Factory John, because the strict Irish libel law did not allow them to name