I don't think it is McQueen's job, or any other film director's, to educate anyone about any event in history. Primarily an artist, McQueen sought to portray a relatively brief cross section of Northern Irish politics and history in a way that was befitting to the often confusing and conflicting circumstances surrounding the subject matter. If his film was opaque, it was testimony to the fact that the political situation of the time was frustratingly and brutally difficult. We're supposed to struggle with the often abstract imagery in this film.
In any case, a director's version of events will almost always be biased or subjective in some way; look at Schindler's List. We cannot rely on their films for historical fact (if, indeed, that really exists).
reply
share