Heroes in Ireland

Warning : This post contains spoilers for the first five episodes of Heroes Season 2, but if you are not a fan of the show, your comments are still relevant


As mentioned exclusively on this blog, the second season of Heroes has set some scenes in Ireland. When a Heroes' insider gave me this scoop I had no idea which characters would be in the Emerald Isle and how many episodes would be set there. But five episodes in, County Cork is the basis of much Peter Petrelli action.

Irish people have had to endure decades of celluloid misrepresentation. Dodgy accents, drunken bowsies, international terrorists, it's not a particularly glamorous image. But those stereo types are waning. Thanks to Bono, Mary Robinson and Colin Farrell, we are sexy again, caring, saving the world (not necessarily in that order).

Still, I can't help being on edge when the Irish are portrayed on mass media. I don't know whether other nationalities feel the same about how their citizens and native land are displayed, but I am hyper-critical when an Irish person or setting is represented by Hollywood. Since I emigrated, I find myself constantly explaining to North Americans that Ireland is not part of the UK. I have had to reprimand colleagues for co-relating my homeland with excessive drinking. I was recently advised by a co-worker to carry my passport at all times as I was from a country of known terrorists. The misconceptions are not only absurd but often hurtful. Canada is a country built on immigrants, and the Irish are held in high regard as a nation. I shudder to think of how other immigrants are dealing with their stereotypes.

So let the hyper-criticism of Heroes: The Irish Adventure, begin, and remember that all of this is filmed in LA.

An amnesiac Peter Petrilli has found himself in a cargo container in the docks of County Cork. Is there an active dock in Cork? Is it not filled with designer apartments and wine bars like Dublin's docklands? The first people he encounters are thugs, gurriers, criminals (0 points). None of them have Cork accents (0 points). In fact they are slightly Northern Irish accents (-1 point). One of them is black with a northern accent (+ 5 points for not conforming to stereotypes)
The first thing they do is try to kill him (0 points). So much for a thousand Irish welcomes.
Tally so far : 4 points

There is a lovely Irish colleen. With a bad accent (-1 point). Her name is Catlin (-2 points, no Irish female is called Catlin, Colleen or Erin. Fact.). She works in a bar (+1 point) which has just three customers and regularly shuts up early(-10 points). The closed sign on the bar says "Dunta" (+2 points, Irish word for "Closed"). There is a massive wood burning fire at all times even when the bar is empty (-1 point, physical impossibility). It is often raining. (+2 points, this is unfortunately, very true). An Irish dock worker allows a beautiful blonde tourist to walk away without asking her what she's doing so far from home (-5 points, a woman, particularly a blonde one, is incapable of walking past a manual labourer without being hit on). Said blonde woman is corrected for thinking she's in Scotland (+ 5 points, Irish people don't even know what haggis is.) but barman failed to mention the delights of a toasted ham and cheese sandwich (0 points, the staple food of an Irish pub menu). A woman who generates electricity is sent on a mission to Ireland in a rain storm (incalculable, bound to cause problems)

Tally so far : - 5 points.
Verdict: Not bad. Producers of the show have grasped on to the fact that there is nothing more Irish than a lovable thug, and that is why so many of them are elected into government.