Is it a cliche that we perpetuate because we want to believe it, at some level?
I would say yes (though with room for some exceptions.) I think when it comes to The Second World War in Europe history has started to edge over into myth, and since the land of myth is always a bit vague and covered in fog then the images of it must be as well. Or more precisely - we (aka western Europe and the US) have turned WWII into a story, and like all stories it has acquired certain plot points that must be repeated, or the story will seem false. Just like the story of Snow-white needs a wicked step-mother, then the story of the WWII has its designated heroes, villains and in a way its specific images.
The blatancy of the work of, say, Spielberg, is just catering to that need in us.
I think it's a bit more complex than that. He caters yes, but he also reinforces the need for such images. So it isn't so much a chain of events as a circle that spins both ways. Spielberg makes films that are popular, but a reason for his films popularity is that they tell us the want to hear.
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Date: 2008-02-18 06:03 pm (UTC)I would say yes (though with room for some exceptions.) I think when it comes to The Second World War in Europe history has started to edge over into myth, and since the land of myth is always a bit vague and covered in fog then the images of it must be as well. Or more precisely - we (aka western Europe and the US) have turned WWII into a story, and like all stories it has acquired certain plot points that must be repeated, or the story will seem false. Just like the story of Snow-white needs a wicked step-mother, then the story of the WWII has its designated heroes, villains and in a way its specific images.
The blatancy of the work of, say, Spielberg, is just catering to that need in us.
I think it's a bit more complex than that. He caters yes, but he also reinforces the need for such images. So it isn't so much a chain of events as a circle that spins both ways. Spielberg makes films that are popular, but a reason for his films popularity is that they tell us the want to hear.