Echoes of War: A Thousand Years of Military History in Popular CultureUniversity Press of Kentucky, 2021 M10 21 - 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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... soldiers were a key tool for government intervention in the lives of subjects. Coincidentally, this time period ... soldier in a police role; hence the private militias' image of a New World Order using mercenary troops to threaten our ...
... soldier of this time came to be held up as a symbol of duty and sacrifice, engaging in war as a healthy antidote to the ... soldiers continue to be bearers of cultural burdens. Since the Civil War and the closing of the West, the United ...
... soldier or knight. The battle was brought into popular focus by science historian James Burke in his television series and 1978 book, Connections. In these he suggests that Hastings taught medieval soldiers what they thought was a ...
... soldiers in each army wore a steel cap with a nasal piece to protect the face, a coat of chain mail or overlapping metal scales sewn onto leather, and a long, kiteshaped shield. But there were also fundamental differences. The Saxon or ...
... soldiers aspiring to be knights through gain in battle. At the apex of the military structure were the knights, dressed much like the armored foot, but horsed and carrying a lance. Cavalry were considered the vital arm in Normandy ...
Other editions - View all
Echoes of War: A Thousand Years of Military History in Popular Culture Michael C.C. Adams Limited preview - 2014 |
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 |