Enemies of the state(s): cultural memory, cinema, and the Iraq War
Edited book (chapter)
Chapter Title | Enemies of the state(s): cultural memory, cinema, and the Iraq War |
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Book Chapter Category | Edited book (chapter) |
ERA Publisher ID | 2865 |
Book Title | Memory and the wars on terror: Australian and British perspectives |
Authors | |
Author | Gehrmann, Richard |
Editors | Gildersleeve, Jessica and Gehrmann, Richard |
Page Range | 69-89 |
Series | Palgrave Macmillan Memory Studies |
Chapter Number | 4 |
Number of Pages | 21 |
Year | 2017 |
Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan |
Place of Publication | Houndmills, United Kingdom |
ISBN | 9783319569758 |
9783319569765 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56976-5_4 |
Web Address (URL) | https://www.palgrave.com/de/book/9783319569758 |
Abstract | Nearly 17,000 Australians served in Iraq, but memories of this experience are far removed from the film and television representations such as American Sniper (2014), The Hurt Locker (2008), and Generation Kill (2008). For most Australians in Iraq the war was not one of constant fighting, and their marginal role caused angst for some Australian soldiers expecting to undertake direct combat action. Australians at home had few realistic frames of reference regarding war and soldiers, other than film. Many US films have been made about the war in Iraq; some of these have achieved distribution success in Australia and have been absorbed by Australian audiences. Yet these cinematic images watched by Australians were US-made, were about Americans and explored a US experience of war. This might have resonated and been appropriate for a US society that was intimately connected with this conflict, but was not appropriate for an Australia whose military role in Iraq was peripheral. Australian memories were less visceral and heroic, and the distorted cinematic images contribute to the ongoing dissonance and an unrealistic representation of Australia’s Iraq War. |
Keywords | war; memory; film; war on terror; Iraq; military history |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 439999. Other history, heritage and archaeology not elsewhere classified |
430302. Australian history | |
440804. Defence studies | |
470214. Screen and media culture | |
Public Notes | Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions. |
Byline Affiliations | School of Arts and Communication |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q480v/enemies-of-the-state-s-cultural-memory-cinema-and-the-iraq-war
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