A Companion to the War Film

A Companion to the War Film contains 27 original essays that examine all aspects of the genre, from the traditional war film, to the new global nature of conflicts, to the diverse formats war stories assume in today’s digital culture. It includes new work from experienced and emerging scholars that expands the scope of the genre by applying fresh theoretical approaches and archival resources to the study of war films. The essays discuss “the combat film” but then also move beyond those limited confines to cover home-front films, international and foreign- language films, and the uses of alternative media--including Internet videos, military recruitment ads, government-produced films, and TV programs--across a range of conflicts, nations, and time periods. The essays address complex questions of gender, race, forced internment, international terrorism, and war protest in films such as American Sniper, Good Kill, Grace is Gone, Gran Torino, The Messenger, Snow Falling on Cedars, So Proudly We Hail, Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War, Tender Comrade, and Zero Dark Thirty. Taken together, these essays provide a nuanced vision of war film that brings the genre firmly into the 21^st century and points the way for exciting future scholarship.