Communication and Culture Dissertation

“THIS IS FOR FIGHTING, THIS IS FOR FUN”: POPULAR HOLLYWOOD COMBAT (WAR) FILMS FROM THE FIRST GULF WAR TO THE PRESENT (1990-2015) by Andrea Marie Schofield Master of Arts, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, 2009 Master of Arts, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, 2008 Honours Bachelor of Arts, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, 2007 A dissertation presented to Ryerson University and York University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy in the Program of Communication and Culture Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2016 © Andrea Schofield 2016 Author’s Declaration for Electronic Submission of a Dissertation: I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this dissertation. This is a true copy of the dissertation, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I authorize Ryerson University to lend this dissertation to other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. I further authorize Ryerson University to reproduce this dissertation by photocopying or by other means, in total or in part, at the request of other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. I understand that my dissertation may be made electronically available to the public. ii Abstract: “This is for Fighting, This is for Fun”: Popular Hollywood Combat (War) Films from the First Gulf War to the Present (1990-2015) Andrea Marie Schofield Doctor of Philosophy in Communication and Culture, 2016 Ryerson University and York University Hollywood has been making war movies since it began making movies. Widely credited as the first ‘Blockbuster,’ and one of the first films to establish Hollywood narrative techniques and conventions, D.W. Griffith’s 1915 film, Birth of A Nation, is an epic melodrama about the American Civil War ending with a literal marriage of the North and the South in the form of a young white heterosexual couple, solidifying the connection between war, families, and nation- building that has become the framework of the genre; hetero-nuclear families are the basis of the nation and war is a threat to these families, but ultimately also a critical component of nation- building/strengthening. These ideologies persist in contemporary combat films. The First Gulf War and those in Iraq and Afghanistan have had a major impact on this genre and this project investigates the (sometimes radical) shifts in representations of gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity, and nationality in popular Hollywood combat films made and released since the first Gulf War (1990) with a particular emphasis on more recent films (2005-2015) since these are the films which have received the least, if any, scholarly attention. Building on existing cultural, feminist, film, and postcolonial theory using a case study of selected popular Hollywood combat films and based primarily upon close textual analysis of the films themselves, this dissertation argues that these post-Cold War combat films are vital in creating and reinforcing cultural scripts about gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity, nationality, and war. This analysis adds to the field by identifying key cycles in the genre and arguing that, in fact, the ideologies of these films whether intentionally or not, reinforce the idea of a white, American, male-headed household as the norm to be protected, removing ‘Others’ from the frame, and implying that war is somehow natural, unending, and/or unavoidable, thereby creating a self-fulfilling prophesy wherein the more it happens, the more we seek to represent it, to gain mastery over it, the more natural and unavoidable it seems, and the more it continues to happen and seem normal and on and on into perpetuity. iii Acknowledgements: An innumerable amount of effort on the part of so many people has helped to get me to this point. Those most directly involved with this dissertation are my committee, to whom immense thanks are due: Steve Bailey and Nima Naghibi, with whom I have worked in various capacities from the very beginning of my journey in the Communication and Culture program and without whose depthless wisdom my intellectual development would doubtless have been less fulsome; and Scott Forsyth, who was my port in the storm when others might have thrown me out of the boat in the middle of the ocean. I will be forever grateful for his support and willingness to take me on and allow me to plod along at my own pace and in my own way. Additionally, the external examiners on my defense, Dr. Suzie Young and Dr. Susan Jeffords, both provided keen insights and I very much appreciate their generous engagement with my work. I would be remiss if I didn’t also thank two other key program figures: Director Paul Moore and Co-ordinator Jo Ann Mackie. Paul’s clear and unfailing dedication to the success of all of the students in the program have meant his continuously going above and beyond throughout my time in the program, and Jo Ann’s similar commitment, meticulousness and attention to detail keep the unwieldy ComCult beast under control. Having been in school without interruption since kindergarten, I also need to thank the many other educators that I've encountered along the way who have helped challenge my thinking, improve my writing, and encouraged and assisted me in my academic pursuits. Outside of academia, I must thank my parents, who have supported me in every way and to whom I owe not just my very existence, but many of the ways in which I think and act in the world. I couldn't have gotten very far without them. I also need to thank Alexa Tullett, who has long been my partner in crime, helping shape the best parts of who I am by challenging me to be and do better, and sharing in both my joys and my sorrows. Having picked me up and dusted me off repeatedly, she is someone with whom I have grown over the years, and is still someone I want to grow old with. Too, I thank “The feminists” (you know who you are) who have been a steady positive force in my life since we all met. I am so thankful that I have such a great group of kindred spirits upon whom I can always rely for a smile, a laugh, and a willing and understanding ear. Finally, I have so much gratitude for my partner who has done nothing but love and support me continuously through life’s highs and lows every day and who always makes me want to be better in every way. iv Table of Contents Author’s Declaration ii Abstract iii Acknowledgements iv Table of Contents v 1. Introduction: Hollywood Combat Films, The ‘Birth’ of a Nation and a Genre 1 2. Made for TV: Band of Brothers & The Pacific and Intertextuality/Reflexivity in 47 Three Kings, Jarhead, Stop Loss and Generation Kill 3. Phantasms, Women as Wartime Metaphor: Courage Under Fire, G.I. Jane, 88 Saving Private Ryan, The Patriot, Pearl Harbor, We Were Soldiers, Jarhead, Stop Loss, and The Hurt Locker 4. The Self-Consolidating Enemy ‘Other’: Three Kings, Black Hawk Down, 143 We Were Soldiers, Flags of Our Fathers/Letters From Iwo Jima, Band of Brothers/ The Pacific, Jarhead, The Hurt Locker, and Generation Kill 5. The Soft-body Counterpart to Vietnam’s Hard Bodies and the Newer, ‘Softer’ 211 Masculinity in Post Gulf-War Combat Films: Thin Red Line, The Patriot, We Were Soldiers, Black Hawk Down, Jarhead, The Hurt Locker, and Generation Kill 6. Brotherhood vs. Infighting and the Break-Down of Communication and the 282 Chain of Command: Saving Private Ryan, Three Kings, Black Hawk Down, Band of Brothers, Jarhead, Stop Loss, The Hurt Locker, and Generation Kill 7. Fathers, Mothers, Sons and Brothers, Hegemonic Masculinity as the 324 Foundational Element for Nation-Building: Saving Private Ryan, The Patriot, We Were Soldiers, Stop Loss, Jarhead, and Hurt Locker 8. Fighting the Inevitable: Thin Red Line, Black Hawk Down, Jarhead, 362 The Hurt Locker, and Stop-Loss 9. Consequences/Conclusions, Back to Birth of A Nation, and a new 387 Cycle of Combat films: Act of Valor, Lone Survivor, Fury, and American Sniper Endnotes 405 Works Cited 414 v Chapter 1 Introduction: Hollywood Combat Films, The ‘Birth’ of a Nation and a Genre Hollywood has been making war movies since it began making movies. Widely credited as the first ‘Blockbuster,’ and one of the first films to establish Hollywood narrative techniques and conventions, D.W. Griffith’s 1915 film Birth of A Nation is an epic melodrama about the American Civil War and its connections to and impact on the gendered, sexualized, and racialized relationships between people, families, and nation-building; the film ends with the literal marriage of the North and the South in the form of a young couple whose families are, respectively, from those parts of the country, solidifying the connection between war, families, and nation-building. The framework thus established in this film -- hetero-nuclear families as the basis of the nation and war as a threat to these families but also ultimately a challenge to be risen to and overcome, a critical component of nation-building and strengthening -- has carried forward throughout the genre and still has strong echoes in today’s combat films. Hollywood’s preoccupation with war doesn’t end with Birth of a Nation; multiple Hollywood films have been made about every major conflict that America has been involved in since. The films of this genre, frequently vehicles used to display special effects techniques and more able to transcend language barriers than some other genres (e.g. dramas), are often very popular and therefore reach and influence a wide audience.

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