The Media & Collective Memory of
War
 Americans
understand the nation through its past. Narratives of self-determination,
democracy, equality, and liberty form national identity,
and memory of war is entwined with these narratives. Like
other elements of American culture, the news media constructs
and re-constructs memories of war. Why did the nation go
to war? What is war’s consequence? How do we consider
those who fought? By trying to answer these questions,
the media can reinforce or disrupt received meanings of “America.”
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| « video » |
| Vietnam:
A Television History |
Promo
for PBS Documentary Series
This promo on the PBS American Experience Web site is
from the original 1983 series "Vietnam: A Television History," one
of the most successful and controversial documentaries
ever to air on American television. |
« websites » |
| United
We Stand |
July
1942: United We Stand
In July 1942, some 500 American magazines featured the
U.S. flag on their covers in an effort "to promote national unity, rally support for the war, and celebrate
Independence Day." The Smithsonian Institution marked the 60th anniversary of
the magazines' campaign with an exhibit and this Web site. |
| Vietnam:
A Television History |
Vietnam: A
Television History
The 13-part series "Vietnam: A Television History" was "the most successful documentary
produced by public television at the time it aired in 1983," according to the
Museum of Broadcasting's Encyclopedia of Television. At the same time, the series
evoked controversy and criticism over the way it depicted the long U.S. involvement
in Southeast Asia. This site from PBS's American Experience is a companion to
the series. |
| Instant
History - Image History |
Velvet
Light Trap (BC Community Only)
Gerbner, George. "Instant History - Image History: Lessons
of the Persian Gulf War." Velvet Light Trap.31 (1993): 3-14 |
| Present
Pasts |
Public
Culture (BC Community Only)
Huyssen, Andreas. "Present Pasts: Media, Politics, Amnesia." Public Culture (2000)
12.1: 21-38 |
| The
Uses of Historical Memory |
Rhetoric & Public
Affairs (BC Community Only)
Noon,
David Hoogland. "Operation Enduring Analogy: World War II,
the War on Terror, and the Uses of Historical Memory." Rhetoric & Public
Affairs 7.3 (2004): 339-65 |
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