Screening Bosnia : geopolitics, gender and nationalism in film and television images of the 1992-1995 war

The Bosnian war of 1992-1995 was one of the most brutal conflicts to have erupted since the end of the Second World War. But although the war occurred in 'Europe's backyard' and received significant media coverage in the West, relatively little scholarly attention has been devoted to cultural representations of the conflict. Stephen Harper analyses how the war has been depicted in global cinema and television over the past quarter of a century. Focusing on the representation of some of the war's major themes, including humanitarian intervention, the roles of NATO and the UN, genocide, rape and ethnic cleansing, Harper explores the role of popular media culture in reflecting, reinforcing -- and sometimes contesting -- nationalist ideologies. The Bosnian war of 1992-1995 was one of the most brutal conflicts to have erupted since the Second World War. But although the war occurred in what many have called 'Europe's backyard' and received significant media coverage in the West, relatively little scholarly attention has been devoted to media representations of the conflict. Stephen Harper analyses how the political contexts and historical events of the war have been represented, arguing that the Western media have--both during the war and afterwards - tended to present a one-sided, pro-Western view of the conflict. Examining images of the war across a variety of media forms such as films, television documentaries and news media, Harper focuses on the representation of some of the war's major themes--including humanitarian intervention, the roles of NATO and the UN, genocide, rape and ethnic cleansing - and considers the role of popular media texts in reflecting and reinforcing Western geopolitical hegemony Cover -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- 1 The Fragmentation of Yugoslavia -- 2 The First Draft of History: (Mis)Reporting the Bosnian War -- 3 Humanitarianism and Its Others: Three 'Liberal' 1990s Bosnian War Dramas -- 4 Going in Hard: Masculinism, Militarism andMelodrama in the Bosnian War Action Film -- 5 The Subject of Rape: Phenomenological and Ideological Representations of Sexual Violence in the Bosnian War Film -- 6 From Nationalism to Normalization: Yugoslav and Post-Yugoslav Films about the Bosnian War -- Conclusion: Neither Hollywood Nor Belgrade: Towards an Unpatriotic Cinema of the Bosnian War -- Bibliography -- Index