Journal of Transnational American Studies

This article reviews the implications of two film categories developed in the last few decades (the transnational and post-Westerns ) and applies them to two films produced in Ireland and usually not identified as such. After a review of the concepts of post-Westerns and transnationalism, two examples from Afghanistan ( The Kite Runner ) and Turkey ( Once Upon a Time in Anatolia ) are provided to illustrate the proposed category. A review of the cultural implications of the West in Ireland follows, with examples from James Joyce’s Dubliners and John Ford’s film The Quiet Man . Finally, two Irish films ( Into the West and Mickybo and Me ) are analyzed. These films, like other transnational post-Westerns, make explicit references to American Westerns, establish a dialogue with the original film genre, question its values and assumptions, and, at the same time, probe into the national identities and conflicts of both Ireland and the US.