Echoes of War: A Thousand Years of Military History in Popular CultureUniversity Press of Kentucky, 2014 M10 17 - 296 pages Americans are often accused of not appreciating history, but this charge belies the real popular interest in the past. Historical reenactments draw thousands of spectators; popular histories fill the bestseller lists; PBS, A&E and The History Channel air a dizzying array of documentaries and historical dramas; and Hollywood war movies become blockbusters. Though historians worry that these popular representations sacrifice authenticity for broad appeal, Michael C.C. Adams argues that living history—even if it is an incomplete depiction of the past—plays a vital role in stimulating the historical imagination. In Echoes of War, he examines how one of the most popular fields of history is portrayed, embraced, and shaped by mainstream culture. Adams argues that symbols of war are of intrinsic military significance and help people to articulate ideas and values. We still return to the knight as a symbol of noble striving; the bowman appeals as a rebel against unjust privilege. Though Custer may not have been the Army's most accomplished fighter, he achieved the status of cultural icon. The public memory of the redcoated British regular soldier shaped American attitudes toward governments and gun laws. The 1863 attack on Fort Wagner by the black Fifty-fourth Massachusetts regiment was lost to public view until racial equality became important in the late twentieth century. Echoes of War is a unique look at how a thousand years of military history are remembered in popular culture, through images ranging from the medieval knight to the horror of U.S. involvement in the My Lai massacre. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 56
... action 12 Cromwell dissolves Parliament 51 Culloden reenactment 57 The Battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775 63 Lexington and Concord folklore version 84 The New Man 88 The beleaguered Alamo garrison 99 Storming Fort Wagner 127 Mourners ...
... actions can be conducted. I conclude that many people do not fully grasp the nature of modern war and that they need to be well educated in the broadest sense about this most costly of human activities. Thus, society benefits from the ...
... only certain at close range. The archer drove a pointed stake into the ground forward of his position so that he had some measure of protecEnglish longbowmen in action. A French soldier, who has exposed his Knights on Horseback 11.
... action. A French soldier, who has exposed his buttocks to taunt the English, finds his bowels feathered with a clothyard shaft. By permission of the British Library, manuscript number: COTT.JUL.E.IV Art 6 f20v. tion should his arrows ...
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Other editions - View all
Echoes of War: A Thousand Years of Military History in Popular Culture Michael C.C. Adams Limited preview - 2021 |
Echoes of War: A Thousand Years of Military History in Popular Culture Michael C. C. Adams No preview available - 2002 |
Echoes of War: A Thousand Years of Military History in Popular Culture Michael C.C. Adams No preview available - 2002 |