Abstract:
In response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 the United States government launched the two longest wars in American history: the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the decade since Hollywood has created many films and television storylines that illustrate a veteran's Iraq or Afghanistan homecoming. These stories follow in the literary and later film tradition of the 'coming home' narrative. Iraq and Afghanistan coming home narratives, released between 2005 and 2010, represent the veteran's personal obstacles to reintegration, how the veteran overcomes or succumbs to these obstacles and the contemporary social issues surrounding their experiences. This thesis examines Hollywood's new coming home narratives within the context of older films. Recent coming home films and storylines use cinematic conventions familiar to twentieth century film audiences but also innovate the 'hybrid' genre. This study views the coming home narrative as a hybrid of the war genre and social problem film. The innovations in Iraq and Afghanistan films and television storylines are the inclusion of contemporary obstacles and characteristics of American culture and war in the twenty-first century. By using genre theory and a super-text study, the aim of this thesis is to analyse the meanings and significance of these films, despite their commercial and critical failings, and television storylines. This study argues that Iraq and Afghanistan films and television storylines are important representations of U.S. war veterans in the early twenty-first century.
