Mediating War and Identity

Figures of Transgression in 20th- and 21st-century War Representation

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Edited by Lisa Purse and Ute Wölfel

Type

Studies

Subject

Genre > War films

Keywords

war, representation, war films

Publishing date

2020

Publisher

Edinburgh University Press

Language

English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Hardcover • 226 pages
6 x 9 ¼ inches (15.5 x 23.5 cm)

ISBN

978-1-4744-4626-6

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Book Presentation:
Examines the processes of conceptualising the self through ambivalent figures like traitors in representations of war
• Offers a genealogy of figures of transgression, and proposes the functions to which such figures are put in the cultural debate about war and its consequences
• Case studies from a range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives, examining different types of cultural representation
• Pushes forward understanding of specific forms and circumstances of transgression, but also the variety of figures of transgression that can be manifest in cultural representation
• Extends understanding of how figures of transgression are situated in Western visual and media culture, and to what ends

In state and public discussion about war and conflict, figures of transgression such as deserters, pacifist and emigrants are often marginalised, but they also play a key role in rethinking cultural and national identity in the wake of military violence. Raising questions of agency, responsibility and culpability in relation to the ‘other’, their cultural representation can enable reflection on and renegotiation of values and collective norms after the destabilisation of war.

Through an interdisciplinary lens, this collection analyses the depiction of these transgressive figures in a variety of visual media, as well as the narrative, socio-cultural, political and historical contexts in which they emerge.

About the authors:
Dr Lisa Purse is Associate Professor in Film in the Department of Film, Theatre & Television at the University of Reading.
Dr Ute Wolfel is Lecturer in German Studies at the University of Reading

Press Reviews:
This remarkable study illuminates the cultural imaginary of war in a fundamentally new way. Exploring the deep veins of resistance within a narrative frame dominated by symbols of consensus, the authors offer a wholly original reading of one of the most consequential genres of 20 and 21st century life. Timely and important.– Robert Burgoyne, author of The Hollywood Historical Film

See the publisher website: Edinburgh University Press