Cultural glocalization or resistance? Interrogating the production of YouTube videos at an Irish summer college through practice-based research

Abstract

This thesis includes the film Dúshlán Lurgan/The Lurgan Challenge and a written exegesis which reflects on the film's 'generative performance'. The film asks if making Irish-language versions of music videos in English at Coláiste Lurgan, Connemara, Ireland can be understood as an example of the cultural hybridity described by Nederveen Pieterse (2004a) as evidence of cultural vigour, or if the phenomenon is better understood as an act of assimilation, by reworking cultural products in a hegemonic language (English) into a lesser-spoken language (Irish) that is threatened with erasure for a variety of reasons, not least of which is the increasing dominance of the hegemonic language in a globalized era. It also presents prima facie evidence of the impact of creativity and creative processes (including singing, music-making, dance and video production) on language learning among adolescent learners. The principal method of inquiry is through the production of an essay film that incorporates elements of self-reflexive documentary with ethnographic footage shot on location at Coláiste Lurgan during the summer of 2014. The master version of the film is in Irish, and a second version with subtitles in English is also available. Two short precursor films form part of the thesis and are included in the submitted body of film practice; these are Cochaillín Dearg/Little Red Riding Hood and Aisling san Áis/A Vision in Asia. The written exegesis comprises a contextual analysis which situates the film in relation to the literature on practice-based research in film and the creative arts; the literature on the nature of the essay film; and academic discourses concerning cultural globalization. It also includes a critical reflection which examines the development of the creative approach during pre-production, production, and post-production, and focuses on how the structure of the final film emerged through processes of trial and error, and through 'rituals of making' (Kentridge, 2016). A number of theoretical questions arising from the study are analysed, and some implications of the research for public policy are discussed. In accordance with the practice-based methodological approach adopted, the written exegesis is best understood in relation to the artwork produced during the creative research process. For that reason the reader is encouraged to view the film before reading the written text.