Morality and Responsibility in the “Non-Irish” Works of Martin McDonagh

• Thesis title in Czech: Etika a zodpovědnost v "neirských" dílech Martina McDonagha"
• Thesis title in English: Morality and Responsibility in the “Non-Irish” Works of Martin McDonagh
• Key words: etika|Martin McDonagh|divadelní hry|film|The Pillowman|Behanding in Spokane|Hangmen|In Bruges|Seven Psychopaths|Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri|černá komedie|moralita|morální kodex|morální relativismus|post-moderna|zodpovědnost|spravedlnost|násilí|rasové předsudky|humor
• English key words: ethics|Martin McDonagh|play|film|The Pillowman|Behanding in Spokane|Hangmen|In Bruges|Seven Psychopaths|Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri|dark comedy|morality|moral code|moral relativism|post-modernism|responsibility|justice|violence|racial prejudice|humour
• Academic year of topic announcement: 2018/2019
• Thesis type: Bachelor's thesis
• Thesis language: angličtina
• Department: Department of Anglophone Literatures and Cultures (21-UALK)
• Supervisor: prof. Mgr. Ondřej Pilný, Ph.D.
• Author: hidden - assigned and confirmed by the Study Dept.
• Date of registration: 28.02.2019
• Date of assignment: 28.02.2019
• Administrator's approval: not processed yet
• Confirmed by Study dept. on: 04.03.2019
• Date and time of defence: 03.09.2020 00:00
• Date of electronic submission: 12.08.2020
• Date of proceeded defence: 03.09.2020
• Submitted/finalized: committed by student and finalized
• Opponents: doc. Clare Wallace, M.A., Ph.D.

Guidelines

McDonagh’s early dramas, which were all set in Ireland, have been subject to an extensive critical attention, which in great portion related to the settings of the plays and the context of Irish drama. When Martin McDonagh chose to leave the settings of his highly stylized version of Ireland, his plays undoubtedly lost an important theme. At the same time, by “freeing“ his literary work from this context, McDonagh allowed for other themes to gain more prominence. Moreover, his more recent works such as Hangmen and A Behanding in Spokane are yet to be explored thoroughly by critical analyses. In these works, McDonagh contemplates significantly the themes of responsibility and morality. From this perspective, McDonagh’s “non-Irish“ production, creates a peculiar layer of morality in seemingly amoral and absurd theatrical and cinematic worlds and develops the otherwise one-dimensional characters in them. This applies to both theatrical and cinematic production and both will be the focus of this thesis.
The thesis‘ introductory chapter is going to outline the context of McDonagh’s plays and their transition from Ireland to other settings, and the obvious and subtle changes that went along with it. It will also introduce the method, in which each of the plays will be discussed in relation to ethics and responsibility. Other similar works of contemporary drama will also be mentioned to provide comparison. What follows is the discussion of the themes of responsibility and morality in McDonagh’s “non-Irish“ literary dramas: The Pillowman, A Behanding in Spokane, Hangmen and A Very Very Very Dark Matter. The central focus will be on The Pillowman and Hangmen. While the first provides extraordinary insight in moral codes as well as considers important issues regarding authorial responsibility, the latter creates morally ambiguous characters, who are more credible and grounded (compared to McDonagh’s previous characters). Afterwards, the focus will shift on the films McDonagh directed and wrote scripts for: Sixshooter, In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Scripted and released after McDonagh’s Irish plays, the films may be argued to feature a similar engagement with moral and social issues as McDonagh’s later plays. This part of the thesis will mainly focus on In Bruges and Three Billboards Outside Missouri, Ebbing as these two mark the most significant development in ethics and responsibility. Both of them are concerned with morality and responsibility in a general sense, and both contain characters with specific moral codes. Certain differences between cinema and theatre will also be considered: the commercial concerns, codes of ethics for films and genre specifics of both forms.

References

Cadden, Michael. “Violence, Storytelling, and Irish Aesthetics: A Theatergoer's Guide to Martin McDonagh.” The Princeton University Library Chronicle, vol. 68, no. 1-2, 2007, pp. 671–683. JSTOR,www.jstor.org/stable/10.25290/prinunivlibrchro.68.1-2.0671.
Chambers, Lilian, and Eamonn Jordan. The Theatre of Martin McDonagh: A World of Savage Stories. Dublin: Carysfort Press, 2006.
Diehl, Heath A. “Classic Realism, Irish Nationalism, and a New Breed of Angry Young Man in Martin McDonagh's ‘The Beauty Queen of Leenane.’” The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association, vol. 34, no. 2, 2001, pp. 98–117. JSTOR,www.jstor.org/stable/1315142.
Foster, John Wilson. Between Shadows: Modern Irish Writing and Culture. Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 2009.
Jordan, Eamonn. Dissident Dramaturgies: Contemporary Irish Theatre. Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 2010.
Jordan, Eamonn. From Leenane to L.A.: The Theatre and Cinema of Martin McDonagh. Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 2014.
Lonergan, Patrick. Theatre and Globalization: Irish Drama in the Celtic Tiger Era. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
Lonergan, Patrick. The Theatre and Films of Martin McDonagh. London: Methuen Drama, 2012.
McDonagh, Martin. A Behanding in Spokane. New York: Dramatists Play Service, 2011.
McDonagh, Martin. A Very Very Very Dark Matter. London: Faber & Faber, 2018.
McDonagh, Martin. Hangmen. London: Faber & Faber, 2015.
McDonagh, Martin. Plays: 1. 3rd print. London: Methuen, 1999.
McDonagh, Martin. The Pillowman. London: Faber & Faber, 2003.
McDonagh, Martin. The Lieutenant of Inishmore. London: Faber & Faber, 2001.
McDonagh, Martin. The Cripple of Inishmaan. London: Methuen, 1997.
McDonagh, Martin. The Beauty Queen of Leenane. London: Methuen, 1997.
Pinter, Harold. Celebration & The Room. London: Faber & Faber, 2000.
Pinter, Harold. The Caretaker. London: Faber & Faber, 2000.
Sammells, Neil. Beyond borders: IASIL essays on modern irish writing. Bath: Sulis Press, 2004.
Thorson, Greg. The new grotesque: the theatre of Martin McDonagh and Tracy Letts. Saarbrücken: VDM Verl. Dr. Müller, 2009.
Watt, Stephen, Eileen M. Morgan, and Shakir Mustafa. A century of Irish drama: widening the stage. Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2000.

Movies:
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Dir. Martin McDonagh. Prod.,Martin McDonagh. Writ. Martin McDonagh. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2017.
In Bruges. Dir. Martin McDonagh. Prod.Graham Broadbent,Peter Czernin. Writ. Martin McDonagh. Universal Studios, 2008.
Sixshooter. Dir. Martin McDonagh. Prod. Mia Bays. Writ. Martin McDonagh. The Works, 2004.
Seven Psychopaths. Dir. Martin McDonagh. Prod.Graham Broadbent,Peter Czernin. Writ. Martin McDonagh. Momentum Pictures, 2012.