The Vietnam War has been depicted by every available medium; each presenting a message; an agenda; of what the filmmakers and producers choose to project about Americas involvement in Southeast Asia. This collection of essays; most of which are previously unpublished; analyzes the themes; modes; and stylistic strategies seen in a broad range of films and television programs. From diverse perspectives; the contributors comprehensively examine early documentary and fiction films; postwar films of the 1970s such as The Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now; and the reformulated postwar films of the 1980s--Platoon; Full Metal Jacket; and Born on the Fourth of July. They also address made-for-television movies and serial dramas like China Beach and Tour of Duty. The authors show how the earliest film responses to Americas involvement in Vietnam employ myth and metaphor and are at times unable to escape glamorized Hollywood. Later films strive to portray a more realistic Vietnam experience; often creating images that are an attempt to memorialize or to manufacture different kinds of myths. As they consider direct and indirect representations of the war; the contributors also examine the power or powerlessness of individual soldiers; the racial views presented; and inscriptions of gender roles. Also included in this volume is a chapter that discusses teaching Vietnam films and helping students discern and understand film rhetoric; what the movies say; and who they chose to communicate those messages. ExcerptRead an excerpt from Chapter 1 (pdf).ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction - Michael Anderegg 1. Hollywood and Vietnam: John Wayne and Jane Fonda as Discourse - Michael Anderegg 2. "All the Animals Come Out at Night": Vietnam Meets Noir in Taxi Driver - Cynthia J. Fuchs 3. Vietnam and the Hollywood Genre Film: Inversions of American Mythology in The Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now - John Hellmann 4. "Charlie Dont Surf": Race and Culture in the Vietnam War Films - David Desser 5. Finding a Language for Vietnam in the Action-Adventure Genre - Ellen Draper 6. Narrative Patterns and Mythic Trajectories in Mid-1980s Vietnam Movies - Tony Williams 7. Rambos Vietnam and Kennedys New Frontier - John Hellmann 8. Gardens of Stone; Platoon; and Hamburger Hill: Ritual and Remembrance - Judy Lee Kinney 9. Primetime Televisions Tour of Duty - Daniel Miller 10. Women Next Door to War: China Beach - Carolyn Reed Vartanian 11. Male Bonding; Hollywood Orientalism; and the Repression of the Feminine in Kubricks Full Metal Jacket - Susan White 12. Vietnam; Chaos; and the Dark Art of Improvisation - Owen W. Gilman; Jr. 13. Witness to War: Oliver Stone; Ron Kovic; and Born on the Fourth of July - Thomas Doherty 14. Teaching Vietnam: The Politics of Documentary - Thomas J. Slater Selected Bibliography Selected Filmography and Videography The Contributors IndexAbout the Author(s)Michael Anderegg is Professor of English at the University of North Dakota; and author of two other books: William Wyler and David Lean.Contributors: Cynthia J. Fuchs; John Hellman; David Desser; Ellen Draper; Tony Williams; Judy Lee Kinney; Daniel Miller; Carolyn Reed Vartanian; Susan White; Owen W. Gilman; Jr.; Thomas Doherty; Thomas J. Slater; and the editor.
#2231695 in eBooks 2006-09-08 2006-09-08File Name: B002AS9WCW
Review
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Four StarsBy Jan Jvery nice book10 of 11 people found the following review helpful. Taste is Not a Moral IssueBy DC Book AngelI admit to reading the book cover to cover one lazy winter afternoon. My first creative heroes were William Morris and others who taught themselves how to do so many different things in order to enact their vision in every element of the house-- tiles. fabric. furniture. and so on. The aesthetic movement changed the middle class American house and family life in urban areas. integrating family time and encouraging creative pursuits. It is a positive reading experience marred only the authors failure to catch some really awful misuse of words in the text (e.g. liable for libel and tenant for tenet). her belief that taste is a moral issue. her lack of awareness of the incredible positive impact of television and magazine house porn. and her belief that somehow two workers in a family adversely affects their aesthetic reach. The conclusion left a bad taste after a thoroughly interesting and informative ride through an era of incredible democratization of beauty and a DIY ethic that continues today. and yet. no acknowledgement that the Kenners lifestyle required phenomenal amounts of cheap labor by people who could only dream of having time. energy. space. and finances to host a pink luncheon.13 of 13 people found the following review helpful. A pick for some college-level arts collectionsBy Midwest Book ReviewCreating the Artful Home: The Aesthetic Movement is. surprisingly. the first close examination of late 19th-century American home design and its culture. offering up details on how the Aesthetic movement left a legacy of houses. developments. and ideas which linger into modern times. Historians. collectors and home and garden readers will learn about the movement and its impact on home furnishing trends. offering many rare color photo views of past interiors and exteriors along with dozens of drawings not seen elsewhere. A scholarly tone is added with an analysis of gender roles and architectural history. but while this scholarly tone allows CREATING THE ARTFUL HOME to be a pick for some college-level arts collections. its more likely audience will be the public or general-interest lending library. which will find it a unique coverage.Diane C. DonovanCalifornia Bookwatch
