This paper discusses Peter Mullan's 2002 movie, "The Magdalene Sisters" depicting the dark side of Irish culture, church
and history. The paper explains that from the late nineteenth to the late twentieth century, the Sisters of Mercy in Ireland ran profitable asylums for women. The paper claims that the laundry businesses allowed the convents to earn money while keeping socially scorned women behind bars. The paper contends that far from being a place of spiritual refuge, the Magdalene
laundries often became
torture houses closely resembling concentration camps. The paper explores how Mullan illustrates that spirituality was completely overrun by cruelty, greed, torture and manipulation. The paper states that the brutality shown on screen reveals a chilling behind-the-scenes glimpse of what actually did occur regularly in Magdalene asylum laundries.