A "toxic genre" : the Iraq War films / Martin Barker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Barker, Martin.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Iraq War, 2003-2011.

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

War films.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (216 p.)

Place of Publication:

London : Pluto Press ; New York : Distributed in the United States by Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Over the last five years, a cycle of films has emerged addressing the ongoing Iraq conflict. Some became well-known and one of them, The Hurt Locker, won a string of Oscars. But many others disappeared into obscurity. What is it about these films that led Variety to dub them a 'toxic genre'? Martin Barker analyses the production and reception of these recent Iraq war films. Among the issues he examines are the borrowing of soldiers' YouTube styles of self-representation to generate an 'authentic' Iraq experience, and how they take refuge in 'apolitical' post-traumatic stress disorder. Barker also looks afresh at some classic issues in film theory: the problems of accounting for film 'failures', the shaping role of production systems, the significance of genre-naming and the impact of that 'toxic' label. A 'Toxic Genre' is fascinating reading for film studies students and anyone interested in cinema's portrayal of modern warfare.

Contents:

The disappearing Iraq War films

No true glory: the film that never was

Constructing an "Iraq War experience"

From doughboys to grunts: the "American soldier"

Understanding film "failures"

Bringing the war home

Explaining the Iraq War

Producing a "toxic genre"

Free-riders and outliers

Latino grunts: the new victim-heroes

The hurt locker and beyond.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781783714483

1783714484

9781849645973

1849645973

OCLC:

742516238