After discussing whether or not “Uptight” and “The Informer” are trying to equate the two narratives of the black struggle in America and the Irish struggle, I do not believe that to be the case. The two stories are not trying to equate the Irish quest for independence and resulting internal strife with the black struggle for equality. However the reason Dassin would create his adaptation of “The Informer” is to show how despite the differences of the two movements, both faced the same breaking point and sense of crisis as they looked to turn to violence.
The striking similarity of both movements that built up to their respective breaking points that we witnessed in both works was the duration of tolerance of mistreatment and injustice by the oppressed. Obviously the problems faced by both groups are very different; the Irish lived under British rule for 800 years while black people faced four centuries of discrimination and oppression in America.
However as Martin Luther King Jr. talked about in “Our Struggle,” in America – the South, specifically – the black community almost accepted white people’s rationalization of their actions and some started to believe it. And then at the start of “Uptight” we see King’s funeral procession and the committee’s decision to take up arms. After centuries of discrimination, they turn to violence because they’re too frustrated. Not only have they been mistreated, but once progress starts to actually occur, one of their most prominent leaders is killed in an act of violence. This is the breaking point we witness in “Uptight.”
For the Irish, their breaking point comes after the Easter Rising. Following their first significant uprising in over 100 years, the British execute the leaders at Kilmainham. This sparks outrage and increases support for Irish independence causing a period of violence in which the War of Independence and Civil War occur – the settings of O’Flaherty’s and Ford’s versions, respectively. The brutal acts of violence by the British, mainly the executions, are the breaking point for the Irish revolutionaries causing the sense of crisis and paranoia that we witness in “the Informer” as they get tangled into violence and begin to question how to proceed with their movement.
While the problems faced by both groups are obviously different, Dassin turns to the Irish struggle because the period of crisis and internal strife among revolutionaries captured in “the Informer” is what the Civil Rights Movement experienced as it grew increasingly violent following the death of leaders such Malcolm X and King.
I agree with your assertion that Dassin’s goal in modeling “Uptight” on “The Informer” was not to equate the two struggles but rather to highlight the similar internal tensions that drive desperate people to violence. I find it interesting that the breaking points you mentioned for both works stem from violence perpetrated by the oppressor, as seen in the murders of Easter Rising leaders by British forces in Ireland and in the assassination of MLK in the U.S. These violent acts are so provoking to the movements because of the unjust immunity the oppressors have, able to attack the oppressed without any fear of retribution. I think for the characters Gypo and Tank, however, their own mental breaking points are the slow pain of poverty and their lack of belonging. Whereas the IRA and Black Power movements were pushed to violence by public murders, estranged members of those movements were pushed to violence and betrayal by their alienation and instinctive need to survive. Looking at “The Informer” and “Uptight” together illuminates the similarities not necessarily in the national struggles of oppression for Black Americans and the Irish but in the individuals involved or cast out of those struggles.
Taking the longer history of the Irish into account, you could easily make the case that the Easter Rising was the most successful and poignant rebellion by the Irish rebels – The O’Neills and people like Wolfe Tone achieved varying levels of success, at some points forcing the British to essentially reconquer the island several times. The differentiating factor between those dozens of previous rebellions and the 1916 Easter Rebellion is the international spotlight and international pressures felt by the British government. In an era frowning upon any colonies, with many countries beginning to lose their grip and the Irish American population rallying their political strength, Britain felt more societal pressures to comply with the rebels demands.
I agree with you here. When you think about what inspires a storyteller (filmmakers, in this case) to adapt/interpret a story for a new context, it is not always about equating two time periods or experiences. Sometimes, the true message can be found in the differences exposed and highlighted when you take one story and transplant it. For example, Spike Lee’s 2015 film Chi-Raq is an adaptation of the Greek comedy Lysistrata. The original text tells the story of two groups of women who participate in a sex strike to get their male partners to end a war. In the film, Lee reimagines this story in the context of gang violence in Chicago. The original text read superficially reads as a piece of true feminist dramatic literature, but it is really a dogs-playing-poker depiction of “powerful” women. To say that Spike Lee intended to equate the war between Athens and Sparta in ancient Greece and the plight of women in that male-dominated society with 21st century Chicago would be absurd. In the same way that the divergences in these two tellings of the same fundamental story is revealing, the differences, in addition to the similarities, between The Informer and Uptight are brought to life by their juxtaposition.
I think you’re spot on that both of these works make a point of showing off the tipping points towards violence in revolutionary thought. In fact, I would even say that they showcase the tipping point for the individual in the revolutionary movement, demonstrating at what point they are willing to prioritize individual gain over the needs of the collective movement. I think that often the individual is overlooked and that is what I liked so much about these.
Also, I agree with you that there might not necessarily be a direct comparison between the respective struggles being drawn. At least, I can’t clearly see what it would be.