Ketlyn Mara Rosa THE CONTOURS OF AN EXPLODING TERRITORY: LANDSCAPE AND TECHNOLOGY IN CONTEMPORARY WAR FILMS Tese submetida ao Programa de Pós- Graduação em Inglês: Estudos Linguísticos e Literários da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina para obtenção do grau de Doutora em Inglês: Estudos Linguísticos e Literários. Orientadora: Prof.a Dr.a Anelise Reich Corseuil Co-Orientador: Prof. Dr. Robert James Burgoyne Florianópolis 2019 Ketlyn Mara Rosa THE CONTOURS OF AN EXPLODING TERRITORY: LANDSCAPE AND TECHNOLOGY IN CONTEMPORARY WAR FILMS Esta Tese foi julgada adequada para obtenção do Título de “Doutora em Inglês: Estudos Linguísticos e Literários”, na área de concentração Estudos Literários e Culturais e aprovada em sua forma final pelo Programa de Pós-Graduação em Inglês: Estudos Linguísticos e Literários da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Florianópolis, 22 de fevereiro de 2019. _________________________________ Prof. Celso Henrique Soufen Tumolo, Dr. Coordenador do Curso _________________________________ Prof. a Anelise Reich Corseuil, Dr.a Orientadora Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina Banca Examinadora: _________________________________ Prof. Robert James Burgoyne, Dr. Co-Orientador University of St. Andrews (via interação virtual) _________________________________ Prof. a Maria Lúcia Milléo Martins, Dr.a Presidente Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina _________________________________ Prof. a Alessandra Soares Brandão, Dr.a Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina _________________________________ Prof. a Cláudia Junqueira de Lima Costa, Dr.a Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina _________________________________ Prof. a Jonna Kayne Eagle, Dr.a University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (via interação virtual) _________________________________ Prof. a Beatriz Kopschitz Xavier Bastos, Dr.a Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There is a table in my study room, a wooden table where I’ve worked on my laptop for the past six years of my graduate journey. I just now realize that I can hardly see the texture of the tabletop because of all the objects covering it. On my left, there are stacks of books that vary from film theory, war testimonies, history, war film analysis, and war poetry. On my right, notebooks and several bits of paper are thrown together with pencils and pens of assorted colors. I share this table with my sister Janaina, so right in front of me I can see a similarly chaotic mixture of books, notebooks and stationary items, but this time they are all about Shakespeare, especially Hamlet. Really, Hamlet is everywhere I look. I still see some traces of Othello, the focus of her MA thesis, here and there, just as I still see my MA books on World War II and violence in between those on Afghanistan and Iraq wars. This table tells a story. A story about growth, cooperation, hardships, excitement, and laughs. Every object triggers a memory to a different time and place, but what these experiences have in common is that I lived them to the fullest, surrounded by the amazing company of so many family members, friends, university staff, and professors. My family has supported me throughout these years in every way they can. My mom and dad have always inspired me to be kind and patient, to do my best and never be disheartened by the difficulties along the way. These are values that can be applied in both my personal and academic life, and that is what I have been trying to do. I am also thankful for the encouragement from my brother, sister-in-law, and niece, always cheering for me. I feel very lucky to have such a special support system at home. Six years in the graduate program is enough to have collected a good number of friends, some who are still completing their studies, others who have graduated and are already successfully trailing their path. Classes, conferences, talks, presentations, these were all spaces where we shared meaningful moments and encouraged one another to do well. Coffee breaks, lunch, and dinners were occasions to unwind and laugh at our own mistakes and talk about plans for the future. Some of the students from my Teaching Assistant experiences became my friends as did the staff from the PPGI coordination who have always assisted me with patience and diligence. I could not be happier to look back on the classes I had and the professors who taught them. Poems, plays, short-stories, and films, I had contact with them all because of the diverse cultural range of the professors at the program. It was a pleasure to spend the afternoons discussing Shakespeare, Jane Bennet, Maya Deren, Yusef Komunyakaa, Clarice Lispector, Sean O’Casey, and others. These are all wonderful memories of experiences that have showed me the beauty of teaching with passion and excitement. I also want to express my gratitude to the professors who kindly accepted the invitation to be part of my defense committee: Professor Jonna Eagle, whose academic work I find fascinating and inspiring; Professor Cláudia de Lima Costa, who taught a class on post-humanism that made me step out of my comfort zone and see the world differently; Professor Alessandra Brandão, an amazing scholar with a welcoming attitude and a kind way of sharing her knowledge; and Professor Beatriz Kopschitz, whose friendship I deeply cherish. She was responsible for teaching incredible classes on Irish theater and including me in the organization of events that, I must say, are among the highlights of my graduate years. In 2017 I had the pleasure of spending four months doing research at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, and this trip would not have been possible without the support of my co-advisor, Professor Robert Burgoyne. We met back in 2014 when he came to Florianópolis to teach a course at PPGI and ever since he has been part of my graduate journey, first as an external reader for my MA committee and then as an advisor for my PhD dissertation. As we worked together in our drafts, I could perceive the unmistakable excellence of his work while he patiently guided me through the hardships of writing and revising, always with a word of encouragement. Our informal contacts both in Floripa and St Andrews made me realize his warm and caring personality and that is why I treasure our friendship and hope we can continue collaborating and sharing memories. I am forever grateful to my advisor, Professor Anelise Corseuil, for believing in my potential since my undergraduate years. Her full support has been indispensable in every aspect of my academic experience. It was with Anelise that I learned the basics of film studies and built confidence to go further into my research. It was beside her that I taught my first literature class as a Teaching Assistant and received positive feedback that allowed me to feel more inspired to continue teaching. It was in her office that we discussed topics that ranged from film theory and movies related to my research, details of my trip to St Andrews, classes we would teach together, plans for the future, and even best places to eat seafood. Her resilience when facing problems in her personal life has encouraged me to work harder and not give up easily. She is an example of courage and perseverance, a true fighter. There were many times during my graduate journey that I felt happy because of a job well done or discouraged in the face of obstacles. In both situations, and those in between, I knew I could count on someone beside me who would either dance along with me in celebration or firmly look me in the eyes and say “of course you can do it.” My partner in crime, my sister, part-time wannabe Broadway singer, Janaina. We started together and came all the way revising each other’s work. Our future is bright and prosperous, and we will continue supporting one another all the way through. I hope we can share many other tables and cover them with books, thoughts, laughs, and beautiful memories. I also want to thank CAPES for the financial support given to me in these past four years of PhD scholarship, especially during my research abroad. This funding has allowed me to dedicate myself exclusively to the graduate program and my research. Today I can say I have fulfilled my lifetime dream of finishing my PhD knowing that it has been an amazing journey of growth and learning. ABSTRACT The present research analyzes landscape as a complex cinematic element that is directly linked to the representation of corporeality, conquest, and dominance in films and miniseries that portray contemporary warfare in the twenty-first century. More specifically, I analyze the role of landscape in relation to violence and technology in films that portray the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts. The five films chosen for this purpose are Lone Survivor (Berg 2013), the documentaries Restrepo (Hetherington and Junger 2010) and Korengal (Junger 2014), the miniseries Generation Kill (Simon prod. 2008), and The Wall (Liman 2017). In each of the films, my analysis foregrounds the way that landscape frames and highlights issues of conquest, ethnic intolerance, and history that are embedded in the war film genre. I argue that the imagery and narrative patterning of these films rehearses long standing themes of dominance, power, and discovery that have found expression in American film genres such as the Western and the road movie, and that have framed the American iconography of landscape around motifs of wilderness, the frontier, the homeland, and the Other. Landscape and technology determine the sensory environment of the soldiers during combat in the films, immersing them in a world that confronts their notions of mastery. The intractability of the territory and the unfamiliarity of its people and their combat skills contribute to the deconstruction of the ethos of invulnerability that is connected to the hyper-male microcosm of the soldiers.