Women in War Films From Helpless Heroine to G.I. Jane [Hardcover]

This excellent book covers a really important topic: women in war films. To the best of this reviewer's knowledge, this is the first text to do so in such detail, and it is a complete success in all respects. Covering a wide range of films in chronological order, with a 60-page annotated bibliography at the end of book, Women in War Films is thoughtfully organized from start to finish. Covering many of the basic archetypes of women in the war film--Madonna figures; loose women; the insolent, tough Hawksian woman (in the films of Howard Hawks); GI Janes; spies; nurses; doctors; and other familiar figures in war films-- the book moves smoothly through hundreds of films, offering careful analysis throughout. From Starship Troopers to Back to Bataan and all the stops in between, Women in War Films covers the constantly changing roles of women on the cinematic battlefield with verve and style. A companion piece to the authors' Reel Men at War, this is an encyclopedic, knowledgeable, and accessible book. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.This companion volume to Reel Men at War takes a look at how women have been portrayed in war films, from silents of the 1920s to films of the twenty-first century. The authors explore the full range of women on the home front, covering nurses and doctors on the war front and women in combat. Films examined include Wings, A Farewell to Arms, Since You Went Away, So Proudly We Hail, Mrs. Miniver, A Guy Named Joe, The Best Years of Our Lives, From Here to Eternity, M*A*S*H, Coming Home, Aliens, G. I. Jane, Courage under Fire, Starship Troopers, Inglorious Basterds, and Zero Dark Thirty. This volume also includes an extensive filmography with brief assessments of how women are portrayed in each of these films.War has been depicted in cinema for more than a century, from early silent films to more recent blockbusters such as Saving Private Ryan and Lone Survivor. Most war films, especially combat films, are about men engaged ilã¥