1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910964514303321

Autore

Barker Martin

Titolo

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

Pubbl/distr/stampa

London, : Pluto Press

New York, : Distributed in the United States by Palgrave Macmillan, 2011

ISBN

9781783714483

1783714484

9781849645973

1849645973

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (216 p.)

Disciplina

791.436585670443

Soggetti

Iraq War, 2003-2011

War films - United States - History and criticism

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

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.

Sommario/riassunto

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.