Why We Fought: America's Wars in Film and History

by Peter C. Rollins, John E. O'Connor

Overview

A “wide-ranging and sophisticated anthology” comparing theaters of war to wars in the movie theater (Dennis Showalter, author of Patton and Rommel). 

Why We Fought 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.
 
A comprehensive look at war films, from depictions of the American Revolution to portrayals of September 11 and its aftermath, this 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, Sands of Iwo Jima, Apocalypse Now, Platoon, and Saving Private Ryan—revealing how film depictions of the country’s wars have shaped our values, politics, and culture, and offering a unique lens through which to view American history.
 
Named as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813138749
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	07/07/2020
Series:	Film and History
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	624
File size:	14 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

Foreword   Robert Fyne     xi
Acknowledgments     xiii
Introduction   John E. O'Connor   Peter C. Rollins     1
The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries: Revolution, Conquest, and Union     39
The American Revolution on the Screen: Drums Along the Mohawk and The Patriot   John E. O'Connor     41
Reprinting the Legend: The Alamo on Film   Frank Thompson     63
Assessing Television's Version of History: The Mexican-American War and the KERA Documentary Series   James Yates     77
Ken Burns's Rebirth of a Nation: The Civil War as Madefor-Television History   Gary R. Edgerton     99
"It's What People Say We're Fighting For": Representing the Lost Cause in Cold Mountain   Robert M. Myers     121
The Twentieth Century: Total War     135
The Great War Viewed from the 1920s: The Big Parade   Michael T. Isenberg     137
Technology and "Reel Patriotism" in American Film Advertising of the World War I Era   James Latham     156
Culture Wars and the Local Screen: The Reception of Westfront 1918 and All Quiet on the Western Front in One German City   David Imhoof     175
The Peace, Isolationist, and Anti-interventionist Movements and Interwar Hollywood   JohnWhiteclay Chambers II     196
The B Movie Goes to War in Hitler, Beast of Berlin   Cynthia J. Miller     226
Why We Fight and Projections of America: Frank Capra, Robert Riskin, and the Making of World War II Propaganda   Ian S. Scott     242
On Telling the Truth about War: World War II and Hollywood's Moral Fiction, 1945-1956   Frank J. Wetta   Martin A. Novelli     259
James Jones, Columbia Pictures, and the Historical Confrontations of From Here to Eternity   J. E. Smyth     283
Hollywood's D-Day from the Perspective of the 1960s and 1990s: The Longest Day and Saving Private Ryan   Robert Brent Toplin     303
Cold War and Insurgency: The Paradox of Limited Wars     315
Cold War Berlin in the Movies: From The Big Lift to The Promise   Thomas W. Maulucci Jr.     317
Invaders of the Cold War: Generic Disruptions and Shifting Gender Roles in The Day the Earth Stood Still   Susan A. George     349
Using Popular Culture to Study the Vietnam War: Perils and Possibilities   Peter C. Rollins     367
Fragments of War: Oliver Stone's Platoon   Lawrence W. Lichty   Raymond L. Carroll     390
The Quiet American: Graham Greene's Vietnam Novel through the Lenses of Two Eras   William S. Bushnell      404
The Twenty-first Century: Terrorism and Asymmetrical Conflicts     429
Operation Restore Honor in Black Hawk Down   John Shelton Lawrence   John G. McGarrahan     431
Documentary and the Iraq War: A New Genre for New Realities   Jeffrey Chown     458
Jessica Lynch and the Regeneration of American Identity Post 9/11   Stacy Takacs     488
Representing the Unrepresentable: 9/11 on Film and Television   James Kendrick     511
Filmography   John Shelton Lawrence     529
Bibliography   John Shelton Lawrence     566
Contributors     575
Index     584

Editorial Reviews

Winner of the 2008 Ray and Pat Browne Award.

From the Publisher