Spotlight On The Troubles: A Secret History. (2019). BBC Northern Ireland. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3scz1KD9eE
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"Fifty years after troops were sent onto the streets of Northern Ireland, a leading team of investigative journalists uncover secrets about the decades-long conflict that claimed more than 3,700 lives. Reporter Darragh MacIntyre opens the series, discovering an array of new evidence, including previously classified documents, unseen film and fresh testimony from key new witnesses to the origins of the Troubles."
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This factual look back into a decades-long conflict is very thorough, and the new evidence examined after so many years brings a new perspective into the general opinion of The Troubles. Because it is a piece created be investigative journalists, it does its best at remaining nonpartisan.
Feature History. (Sept 12, 2017). Feature History - The Troubles (1/2) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61JisaFGHFY
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This 2-part video from Feature History, a channel that touts being "wholly unqualified to teach you", gives a brief rundown of the ins and outs of the decades-long political conflict in Northern Ireland.
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The graphics and visualization lend a hand in making this video a great learning tool. It gives enough detail for more than just a basic understanding of the conflict.
Imperial War Museums. (Jul 21, 2020). What were The Troubles? | Northern Ireland spotlight [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N70TGMyK0QQ
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"From 1969 to the early 2000s, Northern Ireland was gripped by a period of unrest commonly referred to as ‘The Troubles’. But how did this conflict begin, and who were the key players? IWM curator Carl Warner unpicks this complicated story in a five-minute explainer."
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While brief, it is explained and compiled by a historian and museum curator who specialized in war and revolution history. It provides more than just a cursory knowledge of the subject.
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Feldon, A. (Director). (1994). An essential history of the troubles. [Film] https://search-proquest-com.proxy.ulib.uits.iu.edu/avon/docview/1822946151/1A92BFE475664C9BPQ/5?accountid=7398
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"This film explores 25 bloody years in Northern Ireland from both sides of the divide. In 1969, the official IRA was a political talking shop and almost unarmed. What turned it into the most effective terrorist organisation in the world? And why do the Ulster Loyalists believe they have been betrayed by successive British governments since Partition in 1921?"
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Documentaries like this are invaluable in that it was made while Northern Ireland was still in the midst of The Troubles (the conflict "officially" ended in 1998 with the Good Friday Agreement). Without the benefit of hindsight, the opinions are bold and come from a place of deep struggle while still providing facts from both sides of the conflict.
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Rock, M. (Director). (1997). Daughters of the troubles. Rock, M. [Film] https://search-proquest-com.proxy.ulib.uits.iu.edu/avon/docview/2432926624/1A92BFE475664C9BPQ/9?accountid=7398
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"This documentary offers first-person accounts of the lives of two working-class Belfast women told against the violent history of the last twenty-five years in Northern Ireland. The stories of Geraldine O'Regan (a Catholic) and May Blood (a Protestant) are riveting tales of a society torn by sectarian violence, and reveal how they have been forced by political and social upheaval to transcend the traditional roles of women in a conservative and segregated society."
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This documentary, again made before The Troubles were officially over, is unique in with its firsthand accounts. The focus on two women affected by the conflict on both sides shows how the lives of everyday people were affected, not just members of the IRA or those who participated in the violent struggles.
McGee, Lisa (Executive Producer). (2018-2019). Derry Girls. [TV series]. Hat Trick Productions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derry_Girls
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Derry Girls is available for streaming on Netflix.
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"Erin (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), her cousin Orla (Louisa Harland), their friends Clare (Nicola Coughlan) and Michelle (Jamie-Lee O'Donnell), and Michelle's English cousin James (Dylan Llewellyn) navigate their teen years during the end of The Troubles in Derry, where they all attend a Catholic girls' secondary school."
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"Yes, there are bomb scares, Orange Order marches, and an IRA man trying to hitch a ride over the border, but all that takes a sometimes literal backseat to more typical teen concerns like popularity, romance, and step aerobics. It admittedly took me a while to adjust to the show’s broad comedy...but it’s a genuine phenomenon in the North..."
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-Nate Jones, The Vulture
https://www.vulture.com/2019/08/netflix-derry-girls-northern-irish-family.html
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