Title For no reason at all : the changing narrative of the First World War in American film / Jeffrey A. Hinkelman

Published Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, [2022]

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Description 1 online resource : illustrations Contents Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Chapter 1: The cradle of courage: warfare in American film in the 1910s and 1920s -- Chapter 2: Combat, literature, and film: combat veterans and the production of narratives of wartime service, 1925-1930 -- Chapter 3: Comedies, cartoons, and carnage: World War I in American comic short films -- Chapter 4: Race film and the depiction of African American military service, 1918-1939 -- Chapter 5: Girls in Hell: the changing depiction of women in the First World War -- Chapter 6: For no reason at all: homecoming, disillusionment, and the failure of tradition -- Chapter 7: Morals and muck: from suicide to superheroes -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Filmography -- Index Summary "The years following the signing of the Armistice saw a transformation of traditional attitudes regarding military conflict as America attempted to digest the enormity and futility of the First World War. During these years popular film culture in the United States created new ways of addressing the impact of the war on both individuals and society. Filmmakers with direct experience of combat created works that promoted their own ideas about the depiction of wartime service-ideas that frequently conflicted with established, heroic tropes for the portrayal of warfare on film. Those filmmakers spent years modifying existing standards and working through a variety of storytelling options before achieving a consensus regarding the fitting method for rendering war on screen. That consensus incorporated facets of the experience of Great War veterans, and these countered and undermined previously accepted narrative strategies. This process reached its peak during the Pre-Code Era of the early 1930s when the initially prevailing narrative would be briefly supplanted by an entirely new approach that questioned the very premises of wartime service. Even more significantly, the rhetoric of these films argued strongly for an antiwar stance that questioned every aspect of the wartime experience. For No Reason at All: The Changing Narrative of the First World War in American Film discusses a variety of Great War-themed films made from 1915 to the present, tracing the changing approaches to the conflict over time. Individual chapters focus on movie antecedents, animated films and comedies, the influence of literary precursors, the African American film industry, women-centered films, and the effect of the Second World War on depictions of the First. Films discussed include Hearts of the World, The Cradle of Courage, Birthright, The Big Parade, She Goes to War, Doughboys, Young Eagles, The Last Flight, Broken Lullaby, Lafayette Escadrille, and Wonder Woman, among many others"-- Provided by publisher Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and filmography Notes Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on February 02, 2022) Subject World War, 1914-1918 -- Motion pictures and the war Motion pictures -- United States -- History -- 20th century Historical films -- United States -- History -- 20th century War films -- United States -- History -- 20th century World War, 1914-1918 -- African Americans World War, 1914-1918 -- Women Comedy films -- United States -- History and criticism PERFORMING ARTS / Film & Video / History & Criticism African Americans. Comedy films. Historical films. Motion pictures. War and motion pictures. War films. Women. United States. Genre/Form Criticism, interpretation, etc. History. Form Electronic book LC no. 2021046867 ISBN 9781496836977 1496836979 9781496836960 1496836960 1496836952 9781496836953 1496836987 9781496836984

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