Movie Review: Philomena (2013)

  Poster of the movie. Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philomena_(film) , accessed May 2025. Historical background In 1950s Ireland, the Catholic Church wielded immense influence over nearly every aspect of life, including education, healthcare, and social services. This dominance extended into the moral and sexual lives of citizens, particularly women. The Church, in collaboration with the Irish state, operated a network of institutions designed to enforce strict moral codes. Among the most notorious were the Magdalene Laundries, also known as Magdalene asylums, run by Catholic religious orders. (Ostberg 2024) These laundries were originally established in the 18th century to house so-called "fallen women," a term that came to include not only sex workers but also unwed mothers, rape victims, orphans, and girls who simply defied social norms (Ostberg 2024). By the 1950s, the laundries had become prisons for thousands of women and girls, many of whom were transfe...