The Great War on the Small Screen: Representing the First World War in Contemporary Britain

Emma Hanna

Published by Edinburgh University Press 2009

The Great War on the Small Screen

Representing the First World War in Contemporary Britain

Emma Hanna

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780748633906

Overview
Contents

About this book

In Britain since the 1960s television has been the most influential medium of popular culture. Television is also the site where the Western Front of popular culture clashes with the Western Front of history.

This book examines the ways in which those involved in the production of historical documentaries for this most influential media have struggled to communicate the stories of the First World War to British audiences. Documents in the BBC Written Archives Centre at Caversham, Berkshire, the Imperial War Museum, and the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives all inform the analysis. Interviews and correspondence with television producers, scriptwriters and production crew, as well as two First World War veterans who appeared in several recent documentaries provide new insights for the reader.

Emma Hanna takes the reader behind the scenes of the making of the most influential documentaries from the landmark epic series The Great War (BBC, 1964) up to more recent controversial productions such as The Trench (BBC, 2002) and Not Forgotten: The Men Who Wouldn't Fight (BBC, 2008). By examining the production, broadcast and reception of a number of British television documentaries this book examines the difficult relationship between the war's history and its popular memory."

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Acknowledgements Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
List of abbreviations Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
List of illustrations Publicly Available Download PDF	x
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1 An Unhealed Wound: Britain and the First World War Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	7
2 A Monumental Monument: The Great War (BBC, 1964) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	32
3 Survivors: Veterans and the Nature of Personal Testimony Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	63
4 Heroes and Villains Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	89
5 Drama, Comedy and Drama Documentary Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	116
6 Over the Top: Reality Experiential Television Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	143
7 The Fear of Forgetting Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	163
Filmography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	173
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	175
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	180

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Audience: College/higher education;
Pages
- Main content: 200
Illustrations
- Other: 21 B/W halftones
Keywords: Film, Media & Cultural Studies

eBook

Published: October 20, 2009
ISBN: 9780748633906