Projections of War: Hollywood, American Culture, and World War II [Paperback]

Thomas Doherty (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0231116357 | ISBN-13: 978-0231116350 | Edition: Revised

Thomas Doherty reveals how and why Hollywood marshaled its artistic resources on behalf of the war effort and interprets the cultural meanings and enduring legacies of the motion picture record of the war years. He explains the social, political, and economic forces that created such genre classics as Mrs. Miniver, as well as comedies, musicals, newsreels, documentaries, cartoons, and army training films. He examines the Hollywood Production Code, government propaganda films, the portrayal of women and minorities in films of the period, and Hollywood's role in World War I and Vietnam.

This revised edition includes new sections exploring the recent resurgence of interest in World War II films, including Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line.

(Film Comment )

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Doherty ( Teenagers and Teenpics ) analyzes the WW II alliance between Hollywood and Washington, an unprecedented partnership that generated new kinds of films. He explains why General George C. Marshall, the Army chief of staff, gave movies a high priority in maintaining troop morale, and how directors such as John Ford, Frank Capra and John Huston employed their artistry in orientation/training films and combat documentaries. Doherty traces Hollywood's transition from a producer of peacetime entertainment to a supplier of homefront melodramas, wartime comedies and martial musicals that were "information-heavy and value-laden." Characterizing the motion-picture industry as "the foremost purveyor and chief custodian of the images and mythos of 1941-45," he describes the changing perceptions reflected in Hollywood movies with regard to the war effort, the enemy, death in battle and other subject of wartime concern. Doherty's penetrating study conveys the extraordinary impact and cultural power of American movies during World War II and, to a lesser degree, during the Korean and Vietnam wars. Photos.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Superlatives apply to this analysis of how World War II affected the American movie industry and how Hollywood's ensuing films influenced both wartime and postwar audiences. Doherty (American Studies, Brandeis Univ.), who is associate editor of Cineaste , evaluates commercial features about war and the homefront, documentaries, Nazi propaganda films, battle footage, and the presentation of black and Japanese American soldiers. A final chapter discusses how succeeding generations viewed war and war films, surveying movies about Korea and Vietnam. Also included are notes and an appendix of the most popular Hollywood films from 1941 to 1945. This engrossing and superbly written book is difficult to put down. Recommended for most libraries.
- Kim Holston, American Inst. for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters, Malvern, Pa.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 381 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press; Revised edition (August 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231116357
• ISBN-13: 978-0231116350
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #174,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.