Customer Reviews

Prisoners of Culture: Representing the Vietnam P.O.W (Communications, Media, and Culture Series)

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Elliott Gruner's book is destined to be a benchmark, if not a classic study of how we see ourselves through the men and women we send in to war and conflict. His appreciation for the disconnects between the realities of what POW's face and the images that media have put to them are timeless. Although it was written principally from the experiences of Vietnam, it grows in value with every media expansion in to every kind of conflict.

The book holds meaning for a cross section of society: certainly the soldier, probably the corresondent, and hopefully the policy maker. Excellent, clear, scholarly work.

I used this as on of four or five textbooks in a Vietnam War class. It was all right, but not as insightful as he others It talks about how the war was presented in and to America, by way of certain cultural standards. Its title relates to the idea that the soldiers were perhaps inaccurately represented in the media to the common populace, but that cultural standards and expectations prevented them from deviating. They had something to live up to, so they were prisoners to that idea. On one hand it's good to see the war in the media at all, but on the other, it's too bad that the soldiers couldn't show how they truly felt. It had some good examples, but it talked a lot about film. So if you're studying Vietnam, you might be interested in this (as long as you have the extra time for it), but I think it's better as a resource for someone going into media to understand the effects that their wok have on the subject matter. You could also take the book's main premise (there's more to the war and its soldiers than what's in the media) and apply it to to other wars. It's okay if you're new to he concept but I was critical of it i the essay I had to write on it. Basically, it depends on where the reader is at on the ideas whether they will gain from it or not. If you're not interested in media or the the Vietnam War, this may not interest you in teh least.

I would obtain this book through a local library or an inter-library loan system before making the purchase. The text addresses specific areas related to the media's reinterpretation of POW events, whether through the printed or film medium. Even though the book is full of endnotes I still found many statements or conclusions needing documentation--which he doesn't provide. Furthermore, some of the material related to the involvement of Sybil Stockdale is in error or taken out of context. Regarding VADM Stockdale: after in "Love and War" he wrote additonal books, which are not used as sources to address the development of his thought post 1973. And, leaving out the influence of Epictetus in his POW experience neglects a significant part of his story.