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. |
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... Cartoonist Steve Benson suggests one possible result of Disney's interest in history, Steve Benson reprinted by permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc. images of the medieval military world. What we need to. Preface xi.
... medieval period and so we remember him as an important historical figure of that time. But he also has contemporary meaning for us as a potential symbol of strong character and nobility of motive. The bowman, a common soldier, was ...
... has many subgroups, composed of people with different interests in and reasons for exploring the past. For example, there are adolescents who play with dragons in medieval dungeons; African Americans in search of a xvi Preface.
A Thousand Years of Military History in Popular Culture Michael C.C. Adams. dragons in medieval dungeons; African Americans in search of a prideful past; beleaguered white males who seek affirmation in frontier military legends; the ...
... medieval knighthood as a viable military-political order. Our discussion will be illustrated through the examination of three battles, all of them important in the history of the knight. They are Hastings (1066), Agincourt (1415), and ...
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 |