Home > Research > Publications & Outputs > Framing terror : cinema, docudrama and the war ...
View graph of relations

Framing terror : cinema, docudrama and the war on terror.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published

Standard

Framing terror : cinema, docudrama and the war on terror. / Bennett, Bruce.
In: Studies in Documentary Film, Vol. 4, No. 3, 12.2010, p. 209-225.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Harvard

APA

Vancouver

Bennett B. Framing terror : cinema, docudrama and the war on terror. Studies in Documentary Film. 2010 Dec;4(3):209-225. doi: 10.1386/sdf.4.3.209_1

Author

Bennett, Bruce. / Framing terror : cinema, docudrama and the war on terror. In: Studies in Documentary Film. 2010 ; Vol. 4, No. 3. pp. 209-225.

Bibtex

@article{2ab4caabf5424a959a3e84fc439c06ce,
title = "Framing terror : cinema, docudrama and the war on terror.",
abstract = "One of the primary ways in which Anglo-American film-makers have responded critically to the {\textquoteleft}war on terror{\textquoteright} and its spectacular hyper-mediation is through a proliferation of documentary films and television programmes, and documentary/fiction hybrids. Through a close analysis of two docudramas, Redacted (Brian de Palma, 2007), and A Mighty Heart (Michael Winterbottom, 2007), this paper asks why this turn towards a documentary aesthetic has taken place, and how effective it is as a political response to current events. The paper also examines the stylistic and thematic characteristics of these self-reflexive docudramas in order to identify the key features of this aesthetic shift. The narratives of these two films centre on jihadist videos showing the beheading of an American kidnap victim. Such videos constitute a documentary sub-genre that has become a fetishised symbol of the ongoing conflict and the mediated forms it has taken. Through a discussion of the different ways in which the two films treat this inflammatory material, the paper explores the ethical and political challenges faced by film-makers attempting to produce affective, critical cinematic accounts of the ongoing conflict.",
keywords = "Docudrama, Michael Winterbottom, war on terror, cinema, Brian DePalma, Angelina Jolie, documentary, Mariane Pearl, A Mighty Heart, Rendition",
author = "Bruce Bennett",
year = "2010",
month = dec,
doi = "10.1386/sdf.4.3.209_1",
language = "English",
volume = "4",
pages = "209--225",
journal = "Studies in Documentary Film",
issn = "1750-3280",
publisher = "Taylor and Francis Ltd.",
number = "3",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Framing terror : cinema, docudrama and the war on terror.

AU - Bennett, Bruce

PY - 2010/12

Y1 - 2010/12

N2 - One of the primary ways in which Anglo-American film-makers have responded critically to the ‘war on terror’ and its spectacular hyper-mediation is through a proliferation of documentary films and television programmes, and documentary/fiction hybrids. Through a close analysis of two docudramas, Redacted (Brian de Palma, 2007), and A Mighty Heart (Michael Winterbottom, 2007), this paper asks why this turn towards a documentary aesthetic has taken place, and how effective it is as a political response to current events. The paper also examines the stylistic and thematic characteristics of these self-reflexive docudramas in order to identify the key features of this aesthetic shift. The narratives of these two films centre on jihadist videos showing the beheading of an American kidnap victim. Such videos constitute a documentary sub-genre that has become a fetishised symbol of the ongoing conflict and the mediated forms it has taken. Through a discussion of the different ways in which the two films treat this inflammatory material, the paper explores the ethical and political challenges faced by film-makers attempting to produce affective, critical cinematic accounts of the ongoing conflict.

AB - One of the primary ways in which Anglo-American film-makers have responded critically to the ‘war on terror’ and its spectacular hyper-mediation is through a proliferation of documentary films and television programmes, and documentary/fiction hybrids. Through a close analysis of two docudramas, Redacted (Brian de Palma, 2007), and A Mighty Heart (Michael Winterbottom, 2007), this paper asks why this turn towards a documentary aesthetic has taken place, and how effective it is as a political response to current events. The paper also examines the stylistic and thematic characteristics of these self-reflexive docudramas in order to identify the key features of this aesthetic shift. The narratives of these two films centre on jihadist videos showing the beheading of an American kidnap victim. Such videos constitute a documentary sub-genre that has become a fetishised symbol of the ongoing conflict and the mediated forms it has taken. Through a discussion of the different ways in which the two films treat this inflammatory material, the paper explores the ethical and political challenges faced by film-makers attempting to produce affective, critical cinematic accounts of the ongoing conflict.

KW - Docudrama

KW - Michael Winterbottom

KW - war on terror

KW - cinema

KW - Brian DePalma

KW - Angelina Jolie

KW - documentary

KW - Mariane Pearl

KW - A Mighty Heart

KW - Rendition

U2 - 10.1386/sdf.4.3.209_1

DO - 10.1386/sdf.4.3.209_1

M3 - Journal article

VL - 4

SP - 209

EP - 225

JO - Studies in Documentary Film

JF - Studies in Documentary Film

SN - 1750-3280

IS - 3

ER -