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
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... 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 at Stonewall Jackson's grave 133 Civil War reenactors 139 153 170 200 ...
... BATTLE of other ways. When, in. Historical reenactments draw thousands of spectators. Knights joust three times daily during the annual Renaissance festivities in Harveysburg, Ohio. Courtesy of the Ohio Renaissance Festival, Harveysburg ...
... BATTLE of other ways. When, in the 1990s, Disney proposed developing a Civil War theme park in northern Virginia, many historians and conservationists objected. Yet we should not oppose Disney getting further into the history business ...
... battle was freighted with symbolic meaning, often as a model of character. But chapter 5 argues that, as cultural needs changed in the twentieth century, the earlier figure of manliness came to carry different and more negative symbolic ...
... battle, as illustrating the opportunities and dangers posed by an era of rapid technological change. Thus, these legendary soldiers continue to be bearers of cultural burdens. Since the Civil War and the closing of the West, the United ...
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 |