TY - JOUR

T1 - ‘The war is so young’

T2 - masculinity and war correspondence in Welcome to Sarajevo and Territorio Comanche.

AU - Maroto Camino, Mercedes

PY - 2005

Y1 - 2005

N2 - The paradigm faced by war correspondents can be paralleled to that encountered by ethnographic observers in that, while often claiming to merely watch, they cannot but become involved in the situation before them. The war correspondent is determined not only by his or her culture, but also by the constraints of the discourses of war reporting. Also, and, perhaps more importantly, they are clearly influenced by the ratings that their items have to attract. This is apparent in two films located during the siege of Sarajevo (1992–95), which were made soon after the Bosnian War ended: Gerardo Herrero's Territorio Comanche (1997), and Michael Winterbottom's Welcome to Sarajevo (1996). In both films, the directors present the work of journalists as enabling audiences to see events from their armchairs; so that our voyeurism renders us accomplices in the presentation of war as spectacle. Ultimately both films bring home the impossibility of neutral reporting and demonstrate how claims to stand aside can be seen as nothing but political positions that are as ethical (or unethical) as they are utopian. In addition, although the directors set out to criticize war, the films deal with gender stereotypes that effectively undermine their challenge.

AB - The paradigm faced by war correspondents can be paralleled to that encountered by ethnographic observers in that, while often claiming to merely watch, they cannot but become involved in the situation before them. The war correspondent is determined not only by his or her culture, but also by the constraints of the discourses of war reporting. Also, and, perhaps more importantly, they are clearly influenced by the ratings that their items have to attract. This is apparent in two films located during the siege of Sarajevo (1992–95), which were made soon after the Bosnian War ended: Gerardo Herrero's Territorio Comanche (1997), and Michael Winterbottom's Welcome to Sarajevo (1996). In both films, the directors present the work of journalists as enabling audiences to see events from their armchairs; so that our voyeurism renders us accomplices in the presentation of war as spectacle. Ultimately both films bring home the impossibility of neutral reporting and demonstrate how claims to stand aside can be seen as nothing but political positions that are as ethical (or unethical) as they are utopian. In addition, although the directors set out to criticize war, the films deal with gender stereotypes that effectively undermine their challenge.

KW - Spanish cinema

KW - British cinema

KW - Michael Winterbottom

KW - Arturo Pérez-Reverte

KW - Gerardo Herrero

KW - Bosnian War

U2 - 10.1386/seci.2.2.115/1

DO - 10.1386/seci.2.2.115/1

M3 - Journal article

VL - 2

SP - 115

EP - 124

JO - Studies in European Cinema

JF - Studies in European Cinema

SN - 1741-1548

IS - 2

ER -