In this book, World War II veterans compare their wartime experiences--as soldiers, pilots, "code talkers," and prisoners of war--to on-screen portrayals of the war in Hollywood films. In addition, ...two women--real life "Rosie the Riveters"--compare depictions of women and the home front at wartime with their experiences.
This paper explores how the German TV production Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter (2013) characterizes the 'war generation' with regard to its role in Nazi crimes and as perpetrators, both on screen and ...as a historical TV event. The three-part TV miniseries tells the story of five young Germans between 1941 and 1945. The narrative of the episodes follows the five friends who supposedly symbolize representative experiences of the war: four non-Jewish characters-two soldiers, a nurse, an artist-and one Jewish one. The involvement of the Gentile characters in crimes is shown, but they are never portrayed as antisemitic or ideological; rather, their deeds are explained by the overwhelming circumstances they find themselves in. They might become perpetrators, but they remain innocent in their intentions. The first screening of the TV miniseries in Germany and Austria was accompanied by educational materials, on-screen roundtable discussions, and documentaries. I argue that the TV production and its promotional campaign portrayed Germans primarily as victims of the war rather than exploring questions concerning the willing involvement of Germans in Nazi atrocities. This is done using references to and aspects of Holocaust cinema and Holocaust memory that serve as the blueprint for an apologetic story that presents Germans as a community of victims rather than perpetrators. Beyond the silver screen, Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter represents broader contemporary developments in 'coming to terms with the past' in German film, focusing on 'German victimhood' that resonate with contemporary debates in German society about its immediate past.
The American popular imagination has long portrayed World War II as the "good war," fought by the "greatest generation" for the sake of freedom and democracy. Yet, combat films and other war media ...complicate this conventional view by indulging in explosive displays of spectacular violence. Combat sequences, Tanine Allison argues, construct a counter-narrative of World War II by reminding viewers of the war's harsh brutality.Destructive Sublimetraces a new aesthetic history of the World War II combat genre by looking back at it through the lens of contemporary video games likeCall of Duty. Allison locates some of video games' glorification of violence, disruptive audiovisual style, and bodily sensation in even the most canonical and seemingly conservative films of the genre. In a series of case studies spanning more than seventy years-from wartime documentaries likeThe Battle of San Pietroto fictional reenactments likeThe Longest DayandSaving Private Ryanto combat video games likeMedal of Honor-this book reveals how the genre's aesthetic forms reflect (and influence) how American culture conceives of war, nation, and representation itself.
This interdisciplinary study of how 9/11 and the ‘war on terror’ were represented during the Bush era, shows how culture often functioned as a vital resource, for citizens attempting to make sense of ...momentous historical events that frequently seemed beyond their influence or control. Illustrated throughout, the book discusses representation of 9/11 and the war on terror in Hollywood film, the 9/11 novel, mass media, visual art and photography, political discourse, and revisionist historical accounts of American ‘empire’, between the September 11 attacks and the Congressional midterm elections in 2006. As well as prompting an international security crisis, and a crisis in international governance and law, David Holloway suggests the culture of the time also points to a ‘crisis’ unfolding in the institutions and processes of republican democracy in the United States. His book offers a cultural and ideological history of the period, showing how culture was used by contemporaries to debate, legitimise, qualify, contest, or repress discussion, about the causes, consequences and broader meanings of 9/11 and the war on terror.
In this unique introduction to the representations of the Vietnam War in American history, literature and film, author Mark Taylor offers a concise, interdisciplinary approach to this most popular ...but complex of subjects. His aim is to show the intricate nature of crucial events in Vietnam, indicate the different ways in which historians and other writers and film makers have sought to make sense of them, and explore the sorts of truths which each claims to be telling - how can we know what is 'authentic'?After a contextualising introduction which outlines the chronology of events during the Vietnam War, the book covers five key episodes during the war - including the massacre at My Lai, the siege at Khe Sanh, and the experience of homecoming for Vietnam veterans - analysing the way they have been treated by historians, by film-makers and by novelists.Films and texts discussed include The Green Berets, JFK, John Newman's JFK and Vietnam, Dispatches, the Peers Report, In the Lake of the Woods, The Deerhunter and the Rambo films.Key Features:*Interdisciplinary approach to this popular subject, in keeping with the way American Studies is taught*Includes a timeline of the Vietnam War*Illustrated with maps and film stills*Courses on Vietnam appear on most American Studies degrees
Forced to contend with unprecedented levels of psychological trauma during World War II, the United States military began sponsoring a series of nontheatrical films designed to educate and even ...rehabilitate soldiers and civilians alike. Traumatic Imprints examines wartime and postwar debates about, aspirations for, and uses of cinema as a vehicle for studying, publicizing, and even 'working through' war trauma.
Even a century after its conclusion, the devastation of the Great War still echoes in the work of artists who try to make sense of the political, moral, ideological, and economic changes and ...challenges it spawned. This volume provides the first book-length study of World War I as it is featured in French cinema, from the silent era to contemporary films. Presented in three thematic sections--Recording and Remembering the Great War, Women at the Front, and Interrogating Commemoration--the essays in this volume explore the ways in which French film contributes to the restoration and modification of memories of the war. Films such as La Grande Illusion,King of Hearts, A Very Long Engagement, and Joyeux Noel are among those discussed in the volume's examination of the various ways in which film mediates personal and collective memories of this critical historical event.
This new, updated edition of The Battle of Britain on Screen examines in depth the origins, development and reception of the major dramatic screen representations of 'The Few' in the Battle of ...Britain produced over the past 75 years. Paul MacKenzie explores both continuity and change in the presentation of a wartime event that acquired and retains near-mythical dimensions in popular consciousness and has been represented many times in feature films and television dramas. Alongside relevant technical developments, the book also examines the social, cultural, and political changes occurring in the second half of the 20th century and first decade of current century that helped shape how the battle came to be framed dramatically. This edition contains a new chapter looking at the portrayal of the Battle of Britain at the time of its 70th anniversary. Through its perceptive demonstration of how our memory of the battle has been constantly reshaped through film and television, The Battle of Britain on Screen provides students of the Second World War, 20th-century Britain and film history with a thorough and complex understanding of an iconic historical event.
Situated on Europe's northern periphery, Denmark, Finland,
Iceland, Norway, and Sweden found themselves caught between warring
powers during World War II. Ultimately, these nations survived the
...conflict as sovereign states whose wartime experiences have
profoundly shaped their historiography, literature, cinema and
memory cultures. Nordic War Stories explores the
commonalities and divergences among the five Nordic countries,
examining national historiographies alongside representations of
the war years in canonical literary works, travel writing, and film
media. Together, they comprise a valuable companion that challenges
the myth of Scandinavian homogeneity while demonstrating the
powerful influence that the war continues to exert on national
identities.
