War and Film in America: Historical and Critical Essays / Edition 1

by Marilyn J. Matelski, Nancy Lynch Street

Overview

America's chief exports are war and entertainment; combined, they are the war films viewed all over the world. The film industry is a partner of the government; American film shapes the ways in which both Americans and others view war. The authors herein explore differing film perspectives across five decades.

The essays, written especially for this volume, explore topics such as frontier justice, Cold War fervor, government-sponsored terrorism, the "back-to-Nam" films, films as a venue for propaganda, and war's far-reaching effects on personal values, family relationships, and general civility. The movies used in these analyses vary from conventional battle epics like Bridge on the River Kwai and The Green Berets to motion pictures with a war motif either as part of the story (The Way We Were) or as a historical setting (The Graduate). Some of the films are satirical (Dr. Strangelove); some are propagandistic (The Alamo, Big Jim McLain). Other films include Black Hawk Down, True Lies, The Deer Hunter, Patriot Games and Let There Be Light.

Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786416738
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	08/04/2003
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	218
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.44(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Nancy Lynch Street is professor emerita of communication studies at Bridgewater State University in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Marilyn J. Matelski is professor emerita of communication at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     
Preface     
Introduction     

1. The Bridge on the River Kwai: The Collision of Duty and Pride     
2. John Wayne: American Icon, Patriotic Zealot and Cold War Ideologue     
3. The Cold War: Three Episodes in Waging a Cinematic Battle     
4. Troubled Silences: Trauma in John Huston’s Film Let There Be Light     
5. Patriot or Pariah? The Impact of War on Family Relationships     
6. The Cold War, Cinema, and Civility: The Top Films of 1967     
7. Top Guns in Vietnam: The Pilot as Protected Warrior Hero     
8. Trauma, Treatment, and Transformation: The Evolution of the Vietnam Warrior in Film     
9. American Hero Meets Terrorist: True Lies and Patriot Games After September 11, 2001     
10. Stanley Kubrick and America’s “Strange Love” of War     

Filmography     
Bibliography     
About the Contributors     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

recommended”—Choice; “eclectic contributions...merit[s] perusing”—Film & History; “thought-provoking...will appeal to movie fans as well as military professionals...the essays, which are solid, objective, and interesting, show how the movies have to fit into the spectrum of American life over the past 60 years”—Military Review.

From the Publisher

"thought-provoking...will appeal to movie fans as well as military professionals...the essays, which are solid, objective, and interesting, show how the movies have to fit into the spectrum of American life over the past 60 years"

Military Review

eclectic contributions...merit[s] perusing

Film & History

recommended

Choice