Cinema's Military Industrial Complex
Haidee Wasson and Lee Grieveson
Abstract
Cinema’s Military Industrial Complex examines how the American military has used cinema and related visual, sonic, and mobile technologies to further its varied aims. The essays in this book address the way cinema was put to work for purposes of training, orientation, record keeping, internal and external communication, propaganda, research and development, tactical analysis, surveillance, physical and mental health, recreation, and morale. The contributors examine the technologies and types of films that were produced and used in collaboration among the military, film industry, and technology ... More
Cinema’s Military Industrial Complex examines how the American military has used cinema and related visual, sonic, and mobile technologies to further its varied aims. The essays in this book address the way cinema was put to work for purposes of training, orientation, record keeping, internal and external communication, propaganda, research and development, tactical analysis, surveillance, physical and mental health, recreation, and morale. The contributors examine the technologies and types of films that were produced and used in collaboration among the military, film industry, and technology manufacturers. The essays also explore the goals of the American state, which deployed the military and its unique modes of filmmaking, film exhibition, and film viewing to various ends. Together, the essays reveal the military’s deep investment in cinema, which began around World War I, expanded during World War II, continued during the Cold War (including wars in Korea and Vietnam), and still continues in the ongoing War on Terror.
Keywords:
useful cinema,
media history,
film history,
military history,
American history,
American military,
propaganda,
documentary,
military industrial complex,
World War I,
World War II,
Cold War,
imperialism/globalization,
technology,
War on Terror
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2018 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780520291508 |
| Published to California Scholarship Online: September 2018 |
DOI:10.1525/california/9780520291508.001.0001 |
