American Media and the Memory of World War II PDF
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American Media and the Memory of World War II For three generations of Americans, World War II has been a touchstone for the understanding of confl ict and of America’s role in global affairs. But if World War II helped shape the perception of war for Americans, American media in turn shape the understanding and memory of World War II. Con- centrating on key popular fi lms, television series, and digital games from the last two decades, this book explores the critical infl uence that World War II continues to exert on a generation of Americans born over thirty years after the confl ict ended. It explains how the war was confi gured in the media of the wartime generation and how it came to be repurposed by their progeny, the Baby Boomers. In doing so, it identifi es the framework underpinning the mediation of World War II memory in the current genera- tion’s media and develops a model that provides insight into the strategies of representation that shape the American perspective of war in general. Debra Ramsay teaches and researches in fi lm and media in the UK and is currently a researcher at the University of Glasgow, UK. Routledge Research in Cultural and Media Studies For a full list of titles in this series, please visit www.routledge.com 42 Violence and the Pornographic 49 Reading Beyond the Book Imaginary The Social Practices of The Politics of Sex, Gender, Contemporary Literary Culture and Aggression in Hardcore Danielle Fuller and DeNel Pornography Rehberg Sedo Natalie Purcell 50 A Social History of Contemporary 43 Ambiguities of Activism Democratic Media Alter-Globalism and the Jesse Drew Imperatives of Speed Ingrid M. Hoofd 51 Digital Media Sport Technology, Power and Culture in 44 Generation X Goes Global the Network Society Mapping a Youth Culture in Motion Edited by Brett Hutchins and Christine Henseler David Rowe 45 Forensic Science in 52 Barthes’ Mythologies Today Contemporary American Readings of Contemporary Culture Popular Culture Edited by Pete Bennett and Julian Gender, Crime, and Science McDougall Lindsay Steenberg 53 Beauty, Violence, Representation 46 Moral Panics, Social Fears, Edited by Lisa A. 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Jason Middleton Edited by James Bennett and Niki Strange 62 Serialization in Popular Culture Edited by Rob Allen and Thijs van 70 Neuroscience and Media den Berg New Understandings and Representations 63 Gender and Humor Edited by Michael Grabowski Interdisciplinary and International Perspectives 71 American Media and the Edited by Delia Chiaro and Memory of World War II Raffaella Baccolini Debra Ramsay This page intentionally left blank American Media and the Memory of World War II Debra Ramsay First published 2015 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2015 Taylor & Francis The right of Debra Ramsay to be identifi ed as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ramsay, Debra, 1965– American media and the memory of World War II / Debra Ramsay. pages cm. — (Routledge research in cultural and media studies; 71) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. World War, 1939–1945—Motion pictures and the war. 2. World War, 1939–1945—Mass media and the war. 3. Collective memory—United States. 4. Mass media and public opinion—United States. I. Title. D743.23.R365 2015 791.43'6584053—dc23 2014039391 ISBN: 978-1-138-80552-1 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-75235-8 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by Apex CoVantage, LLC For Warwick. Because the sun rises in your eyes, and always will. This page intentionally left blank Contents List of Figures xi Acknowledgments xiii Introduction: Objects on the Shelf and Long-Running Stories 1 PART I 1 Notes on Approach: Memory and Generations 19 2 World War II as a Transmedia Structure 36 PART II 3 Inspiring the World to Remember 83 4 It’s Not War, It’s HBO’s World War II 123 5 Brutal Games 162 Conclusion: Stories without End 198 Index 209
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