In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television Studies 34.2 (2004) 1-8


[Access article in PDF]

The Editor's Reflections and Reports

Peter C. Rollins

We of Film & History have been busy since the last issue of the journal and here are some of the highlights of the past few months.

Film & History Conference News for November 11-14, 2004 Dolce Conference Center (near DFW airport)


Click for larger view		 Figure 1
War in Film

The "War in Film, TV, and History" conference for November of 2004 is taking shape. The most recent information is available on the Film & History web site, to include favored airline details, hotel data for the Dolce Convention Center, and partial academic area information. The Dolce Conference Center is linked to our web site and prospective participants are invited to stroll (electronically) on a guided tour. (This tour is an impressive experience unto itself, a real example of the Internet at work.) There will be a significant contribution by Canadian and Continental scholars to this meeting, evidently encouraged by the Dallas location and by the topic. My impression is that the Europeans are still connected with the large issues of film scholarship while our American neighbors are currently turning to methodologies with a limited shelf life. Whatever the reason, we welcome our scholars from abroad and admire their courage to travel so far in the name of scholarship.


Click for larger view		 Figure 2
Adrian Cronauer

We have a number of important participants with special expertise. Adrian Cronauer is a real person whose "story" was put into a script by Cronauer, himself, and presented to filmmakers who then modified it into a feature film entitled Good Morning, Vietnam (Dir. Barry Levinson, 1987). As an improviser and comic, actor Robin Williams then added his special talents to an excellent film which exhibits some of the defects of the Hollywood vision, but also some uncommon virtues—esp. in its humanized view of the Vietnamese people—so often missing from motion pictures about the American presence in Vietnam. Cronauer will be our luncheon speaker on Saturday and will show clips from the film as he discusses the vicissitudes of working with Hollywood on a depiction of one's own life experience. Adrian is an experienced public speaker and always starts his presentations with the well-known, signature cry "Gooooooood Moooooorning, Vietnam!" He visits college campuses and many will want to invite him to speak to classes and colloquia at their schools.


Click for larger view		 Figure 3
Larry Suid

We have known Lawrence Suid for decades and have respected his work since we encountered the first edition of his Guts and Glory: The Making of the American Military Image in Film (1978. UP of Kentucky, 2002). The original version of the book was out of print for a long time until the University Press of Kentucky agreed to put it back into the marketplace—this time with additional materials bringing the story up to date and with further research on previously covered topics. Many readers will know that Suid is famous for his oral history approach to filmmaking: he interviews the sound people, the lighting directors, the editors as well as the Department of Defense personnel who often become a part of the filmmaking project during the planning and production of war films. The kind of insights supplied by this research can be found nowhere else; alas, the book has not received the kind of use it deserves—perhaps because of its traditional methodology of real research with primary sources. So many scholars, these days, do not deign to delve into facts in their rush to theory. We have given Dr. Suid two hours on Thursday night to lay out his methods; we have asked him to illustrate his findings with scenes from a broad spectrum of war films. The session should inspire scholars to reintroduce this stimulating book to their classrooms and professional discussions. In its revised edition, it deserves renewed interest and will be on display at the conference. [End Page 1]


Click for larger...

pdf

Share