The hidden reality of war in Afghanistan and Iraq: challenges for the fiction film

Edited book (chapter)

Gehrmann, Richard. 2015. "The hidden reality of war in Afghanistan and Iraq: challenges for the fiction film." Drummond, Phillip (ed.) The London film and media reader 3: the pleasures of the spectacle. London, United Kingdom. London Symposium. pp. 630-641
Chapter Title

The hidden reality of war in Afghanistan and Iraq: challenges for the fiction film

Book Chapter CategoryEdited book (chapter)
ERA Publisher ID0
Book TitleThe London film and media reader 3: the pleasures of the spectacle
Authors
AuthorGehrmann, Richard
EditorsDrummond, Phillip
Page Range630-641
Chapter Number60
Number of Pages12
Year2015
PublisherLondon Symposium
HV McKay Charitable Trust
Place of PublicationLondon, United Kingdom
ISBN9780957363151
Web Address (URL)http://www.thelondonfilmandmediaconference.com/conference-ebooks-available-for-download/
Abstract

Representations of war can emphasise hyperrealist levels of violence, pathos and heroism but this does not represent the real experience of most soldiers. For most soldiers war comprises tedium, routine work and occasional violence, but these images are not part of the spectacle of war that we construct and consume. The vast majority of war film discourse is focused on ‘realistic’ or ‘critical’ war films that represent small, isolated peaks of military experience. Representations of war in film and media range from the Second World War model of mythic heroism, the Vietnam era genre of disillusionment and despair, or for the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts the image of soldiers as war junkies raised in an amoral historical vacuum. In an environment where actual media images of the YouTube war are readily available online, and where many western communities are increasingly divorced from daily contact with real soldiers, this essay examines the distorted misrepresentation of the war on terror, with reference to case studies that include The Hurt Locker, Restrepo and Taking Chance.

Keywordswar on terror, Afghanistan, Iraq, war films, war and society
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020439999. Other history, heritage and archaeology not elsewhere classified
470214. Screen and media culture
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Byline AffiliationsSchool of Arts and Communication
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
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