G.I. Joe and Joe Six-Pack : what war and military movies reveal about civil-military relations in the post-9/11 era
"War and military movies, even more than news reports, have the power to shape public perception and opinion. Bandura's ... social cognitive theory allows for the assumption that what audiences see in theaters both reflects and informs their perception of the military, particularly if they have little personal experience with the armed forces. Scholars proclaim the relationship between America and its military has grown strained and distant over the past decade ... but precise measurements of the civil-military 'gap' have remained elusive. As the American military transitions from wartime to peacetime amidst heavy budget cuts the post-9/11 civil-military relationship can provide insight into the nature of the future force structure. This study examines the public discourse of the civil-military relations by analyzing popular war and military films using a modified version of Gamson's ... constructionist model of discourse analysis. Studying the relationship between military elite and policymakers to understand civil-military relations may not suffice in the post-9/11 era. Military films of the era lump military elite and policymakers into a single, untrustworthy entity, but support for the service member never wanes. The military, though respected, is disassociated from mainstream American culture. Simultaneously, the service members, more so than any just cause, have become the silver lining of warfare. Tension between service members and representatives of that entity is a common theme. However, because of their close association with rank and file members, military elites remain a notch above policymakers"--Abstract
Thesis, Dissertation, English, 2013
University of Kansas
dissertations
iv, 77 leaves : color illustrations
897913667
Print reproduction