BERTOLINO genre paper: war

Benjamin Bertolino
Prof. Hammond
COM 241
15 March 2010
Genre Paper: War Films

The war film genre has a solid fan base that features many different stories, time periods, and contexts. War films are a subgenre of many different kinds of film, and are very adaptable, including comedy, drama, documentary, and biographical genres. The origin, development, conventions, and current status of war films are very rich with its own unique appeal. The emotional roller coaster of a time of war can be mixed with the political or painful realities of a country or the world at war. Whether the story is about the past, present, or future, the broad connection with fans of many different film genres highlights the success of the genre of war.

The origins of the war film genre stems from the early 1900’s. World War I was the topic of many films from the 1910’s to the 1930’s, including the films Shoulder Arms, All Quiet on the Western Front, and Doughboys. Some films displayed scenes of battle, as they aimed to show the frightening aspects of war. These kinds of films also showed the horrible nature of war, and some movies used the war genre to relay an angle of distress. War films focused on different aspects of military as well, from the navy, army, and marines, as well as the United States of America, European or Asian countries, or other parts of the world. The war film industry established different topics based on non-fiction events, but either documented a twist on real-life events or created a fictional film with a creative story.

The development of war films stems from multiple situations of military conflict. The adaptations of situations that could arise in a warfare environment, such as political conflict, economic status, power struggles between countries, or even prisoner of war troubles are all bases for different subcategories of the war genre. Silent films first began the war genre, as the aforementioned Shoulder Arms, from 1918, is widely regarded as one of the very first comedies about war in the history of film. This film, despite being one of Charles Chaplin’s shortest, devised a popular layout for other films to come. As the film industry progressed into productions with sound, more films based on WWI came about. Into the 1940’s and 1950’s, American films featured the patriotic aspect of war, and the light of national unity placed against the darkness of the enemy. Throughout further development of the war genre, each period of military history has provided an increase in war film production, with more films through the rest of the 1900’s and into the 2000’s. Into the 90’s, the genre entered a quiet period, until Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan injected life back into the war film industry in 1998. From then on, war films considered both the past and present, such as Pearl Harbor for World War II, or The Hurt Locker, based on modern warfare in Iraq.

Like any other genre, the war genre consists of many different conventions that define this category. First, one of the biggest conventions of war films is the relation to nonfiction, even in a fictional movie. This relation could be about the Civil War, WWII, or even the War in Iraq. Although some films are based on true stories, people, or situations, some of the most critically acclaimed films tell a fictional story, such as Full Metal Jacket. Next, a controversial convention of war films is the political and moral conflicts that take place among the characters, countries, and militaries. This may include the thrill and horror of killing another human being, the negotiation of a country’s president with terrorists, or pro- or anti-war views on the events in real life. These elements are used to invoke an emotional response or to raise awareness of a certain issue, theme or value. Another conventional element of war films, especially present in post-WWII films, is the patriotic sense of pride and unity in a nation. This is very common in American films. The convention of the anti-war film also exists, which consists of mostly opinionated documentaries with arguments against war and all the elements of war, battle and bloodshed, as well as the political aspects that send a country or countries to war.

Today, war films have developed a very comfortable niche in the film industry. The genre carries a wide fan base that supports many different genres, so that war comedies, war dramas, war documentaries, and other war subgenres, can thrive. There are many Hollywood-produced war films, and even some independent films, such as the 2009 Oscar winner for Best Picture and Best Director, The Hurt Locker, that are very successful and popular in the United States and the rest of the world today. Even though the Iraq War has been a common subject in war films since the start of the war in the 2000’s, historic wars, like WWII, have been adapted into current films as well, such as Quentin Tarantino’s unique war comedy Inglorious Basterds. Fans and students of each war subgenre and historical time period are coming back for more even today.

From war of the past to war of the present, this genre still has the ability to adapt to different stories, perspectives, and situations throughout the military and government in order to show an audience something new about the realities, hardships, and troubles of war. The origins, development, conventions, and current status of the war film genre show that throughout the history of film, war has been a subject given much thought. War is never something that a country wants to take part in, but without the conflict to send a country to war, some of the greatest films of all time may not have even been a thought.