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Abstract

This dissertation aims to broaden the study of cinema by investigating the reasons how and why American cinema has decided to depict war. In order to demonstrate the impact society had on the production of war films it compares and examines the 1957 film Paths of Glory and the 2001 movie Black Hawk Down. It will first outline the current debates surrounding war cinema importance as well as its boarder aspects such as the influence of memory and politics. Where memory is employed in film to depict trauma through the lens of war, and politics is intrinsically connected to war cinema through means such as propaganda. It then focuses on the 1950s using Paths of to show how American values and Cold War fears influenced cinema, along with the complexity of calling a film. With Black Hawk Down establishing how catastrophic events such as 9/11 shift the intentions behind a film and how it is viewed. These two films are used to compare censorship, war film continuity, intentions and impact between the two decades. By incorporating reviews of the films in question, this dissertation aims to show how their reception was impacted by the current culture and how successful were the filmmaker’s intentions. It will highlight that war films continue to adapt to contemporary culture and are both a method of combating and reinforcing culture.

Course: History - BA (Hons) - C1087

Date Deposited: 2024-09-20

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis14455.html