Why We Fought (eBook)

America's Wars in Film and History

John E. O'Connor, Peter C. Rollins (Autoren)

eBook Download: EPUB

2008
624 Seiten
The University Press of Kentucky (Verlag)
978-0-8131-7297-2 (ISBN)

Infos

This book makes a powerful case that film can be as valuable a tool as primary documents for improving our understanding of the causes and consequences of war. Why We Fought: America's Wars in Film and History is a comprehensive look at war films, from depictions of the American Revolution to portrayals of September 11 and its aftermath. The volume contrasts recognized history and historical fiction with the versions appearing on the big screen. The text considers a selection of the pivotal war films of all time, including All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), Apocalypse Now (1979), Platoon (1986), and Saving Private Ryan (1998). Why We Fought reveals how film depictions of the country's wars have shaped our values, politics, and culture, and it offers a unique understanding of American history.

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Film moves audiences like no other medium; both documentaries and feature films are especially remarkable for their ability to influence viewers. Best-selling author James Brady remarked that he joined the Marines to fight in Korea after seeing a John Wayne film, demonstrating how a motion picture can change the course of a human life-in this case, launching the career of a major historian and novelist. In Why We Fought: America's Wars in Film and History, editors Peter C. Rollins and John E. O'Connor explore the complexities of war films, describing the ways in which such productions interpret history and illuminate American values, politics, and culture. This comprehensive volume covers representations of war in film from the American Revolution in the 18th century to today's global War on Terror. The contributors examine iconic battle films such as The Big Parade (1925), All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), From Here to Eternity (1953), and Platoon (1986), considering them as historical artifacts. The authors explain how film shapes our cultural understanding of military conflicts, analyzing how war is depicted on television programs, through news media outlets, and in fictional and factual texts. With several essays examining the events of September 11, 2001, and their aftermath, the book has a timely relevance concerning the country's current military conflicts. Jeff Chown examines controversial documentary films about the Iraq War, while Stacy Takacs considers Jessica Lynch and American gender issues in a post-9/11 world, and James Kendrick explores the political messages and aesthetic implications of United 93. From filmmakers who reshaped our understanding of the history of the Alamo, to Ken Burns's popular series on the Civil War, to the uses of film and media in understanding the Vietnam conflict, Why We Fought offers a balanced outlook- one of the book's editors was a combat officer in the United States Marines, the other an antiwar activist-on the conflicts that have become touchstones of American history. As Air Force veteran and film scholar Robert Fyne notes in the foreword, American war films mirror a nation's past and offer tangible evidence of the ways millions of Americans have become devoted, as was General MacArthur, to "e;Duty, honor, and country."e; Why We Fought chronicles how, for more than half a century, war films have shaped our nation's consciousness.

Autor

Peter C. Rollins is Regents Professor Emeritus of English and American Film Studies at Oklahoma State University and is former editor of the journal Film & History. He is the coeditor of numerous books, including Hollywood's Indian: The Portrayal of the Native American in Film. John E. O'Connor is professor emeritus of the Federated Department of History at New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers University. He is also a founding editor of Film & History and the coeditor of several books.

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 25.7.2008
• Reihe/Serie: Film and History
• Reihe/Serie: Film and History
• Reihe/Serie: Film and History
• Zusatzinfo: 143 illustrations
• Verlagsort: Lexington
• Sprache: englisch
• Maße: 160 x 160 mm
• Themenwelt: Kunst / Musik / Theater ► Film / TV
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Geschichte / Politik ► Allgemeines / Lexika
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
• Themenwelt: Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Militärgeschichte
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Kommunikation / Medien ► Medienwissenschaft
• Schlagworte: 18th century • 19th century • 20th century • 21st Century • accuracy • Accurate • American History • Analysis • antiwar • Civil War • combat • Cultural • Entertainment • Essays • Historical • Historiography • Hollywood • images • media potrayal • Military • Movies • Patriotic • Patriotism • Politics • popular culture • Popular memory • portrayals • Realistic • Revolutionary War • screenplays • Studies • Study • Vietnam • War Film • war movies • WW1 • WWII
• ISBN-10: 0-8131-7297-7 / 0813172977
• ISBN-13: 978-0-8131-7297-2 / 9780813172972