Bibliograph

A "toxic genre", the Iraq War films, Martin Barker

Type

Label

A "toxic genre", the Iraq War films, Martin Barker

Language

eng

Index

no index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

A "toxic genre"

Medium

electronic resource

Nature of contents

dictionaries

Responsibility statement

Martin Barker

Sub title

the Iraq War films

Summary

Over the last five years, a cycle of films has emerged addressing the ongoing Iraq conflict. Some became well-known and one of them, The Hurt Locker, won a string of Oscars. But many others disappeared into obscurity. What is it about these films that led Variety to dub them a 'toxic genre'? Martin Barker analyses the production and reception of these recent Iraq war films. Among the issues he examines are the borrowing of soldiers' YouTube styles of self-representation to generate an 'authentic' Iraq experience, and how they take refuge in 'apolitical' post-traumatic stress disorder. Barker also looks afresh at some classic issues in film theory: the problems of accounting for film 'failures', the shaping role of production systems, the significance of genre-naming and the impact of that 'toxic' label. A 'Toxic Genre' is fascinating reading for film studies students and anyone interested in cinema's portrayal of modern warfare

Target audience

adult

Classification