War and film in America : historical and critical essays / edited by Marilyn J. Matelski and Nancy Lynch Street.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Matelski, Marilyn J., 1950-

Nancy, Lynch Street.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

War films--United States--History and criticism.

War films.

United States.

Motion pictures and war.

Physical Description:

x, 208 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland, [2003]

Summary:

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.

Contents:

1 The Bridge on the River Kwai: The Collision of Duty and Pride / Richard A. Kallan 13

2 John Wayne: American Icon, Patriotic Zealot and Cold War Ideologue / Bonnie S. Jefferson 25

3 The Cold War: Three Episodes in Waging a Cinematic Battle / Donald Fishman 43

4 Troubled Silences: Trauma in John Huston's Film Let There Be Light / John J. Michalczyk, Susan A. Michalczyk 67

5 Patriot or Pariah? The Impact of War on Family Relationships / Marilyn J. Matelski 79

6 The Cold War, Cinema, and Civility: The Top Films of 1967 / Barbara J. Walkosz 94

7 Top Guns in Vietnam: The Pilot as Protected Warrior Hero / Sharon D. Downey 114

8 Trauma, Treatment, and Transformation: The Evolution of the Vietnam Warrior in Film / Karen Rasmussen, Sharon D. Downey, Jennifer Asenas 134

9 American Hero Meets Terrorist: True Lies and Patriot Games After September 11, 2001 / Suzanne McCorkle 159

10 Stanley Kubrick and America's "Strange Love" of War / Nancy Lynch Street 175.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 199-202) and index.

Includes filmography: pages 195-197.

ISBN:

0786416734

OCLC:

52269781