Ugly War Pretty Package

Deborah L. Jaramillo investigates cable news' presentation of the Iraq War in relation to "high concept" filmmaking. High concept films can be reduced to single-sentence summaries and feature pre-sold elements; they were considered financially safe projects that would sustain consumer interest beyond their initial theatrical run. Using high concept as a framework for the analysis of the 2003 coverage of the Iraq War -- paying close attention to how Fox News and CNN packaged and promoted the U.S. invasion of Iraq -- Ugly War, Pretty Package offers a new paradigm for understanding how television news reporting shapes our perceptions of events.

Tarek Cherkaoui reveals how geo-political and ideological legacies of the past, which divide the world into a dichotomy of 'us' against 'them', play a dominant role in reinforcing the ensuing polarisation of our media.

A Companion to the War Film contains 27 original essays that examine all aspects of the genre, from the traditional war film, to the new global nature of conflicts, and the diverse formats that war stories assume in today’s digital culture. Includes new works from experienced and emerging scholars that expand the scope of the genre by applying fresh theoretical approaches and archival resources to the study of the war film Moves beyond the limited confines of “the combat film” to cover home-front films, international and foreign language films, and a range of conflicts and time periods Addresses complex questions of gender, race, forced internment, international terrorism, and war protest in films such as Full Metal Jacket, Good Kill, Grace is Gone, Gran Torino, The Messenger, Snow Falling on Cedars, So Proudly We Hail, Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War, Tender Comrade, and Zero Dark Thirty Provides a nuanced vision of war film that brings the genre firmly into the 21st Century and points the way for exciting future scholarship

How was five-year-old Angeline to know that soon, very soon, she would be hurled with unimaginable force straight into the searing flames of a cruel, burning war, called the Second World War? After all, she had lived in La Dolce Vita that was pre-war Singapore—the most extravagantly carefree city after Paris—all her young life. Life was heaven. Of course her mother threatened to pack her off to school whenever she was found playing with her friends (the fisher folk’s kids), but she also got to eat the yummiest hawker-style food every day. Her doting mama even dressed her up, like a walking-talking doll, in such pretty, velvet-and-lace pinafores and matching shoes! It was the year 1939 and there were ugly war-clouds scudding over the horizon. One could, if one cared to look, detect the faintest shadow of secretive impatience on the smooth visage of the Japanese trader who was otherwise of impeccable manners—bowing to you most politely as he saw you out of the shop…

How was five-year-old Angeline to know that soon, very soon, she would be hurled with unimaginable force straight into the searing flames of a cruel, burning war, called the Second World War? After all, she had lived in La Dolce Vita that was pre-war Singapore--the most extravagantly carefree city after Paris--all her young life. Life was heaven. Of course her mother threatened to pack her off to school whenever she was found playing with her friends (the fisher folk's kids), but she also got to eat the yummiest hawker-style food every day. Her doting mama even dressed her up, like a walking-talking doll, in such pretty, velvet-and-lace pinafores and matching shoes! It was the year 1939 and there were ugly war-clouds scudding over the horizon. One could, if one cared to look, detect the faintest shadow of secretive impatience on the smooth visage of the Japanese trader who was otherwise of impeccable manners--bowing to you most politely as he saw you out of the shop...

After eleven weeks of bombing in the spring of 1999, the United States and NATO ultimately won the war in Kosovo. Serbian troops were forced to withdraw, enabling an international military and political presence to take charge in the region. But was this war inevitable or was it the product of failed western diplomacy prior to the conflict? And once it became necessary to use force, did NATO adopt a sound strategy to achieve its aims of stabilizing Kosovo? In this first in-depth study of the Kosovo crisis, Ivo Daalder and Michael O'Hanlon answer these and other questions about the causes, conduct, and consequences of the war. Based on interviews with many of the key participants, they conclude that notwithstanding important diplomatic mistakes before the conflict, it would have been difficult to avoid the Kosovo war. That being the case, U.S. and NATO conduct of the war left much to be desired. For more than four weeks, the Serbs succeeded where NATO failed, forcefully changing Kosovo's ethnic balance by forcing 1.5 million Albanians from their home and more than 800,000 from the country. Had they chosen to massacre more of their victims, NATO would have been powerless to stop them. In the end, NATO won the war by increasing the scope and intensity of bombing, making serious plans for a ground invasion, and moving diplomacy into full gear in order to convince Belgrade that this was a war Serbia would never win. The Kosovo crisis is a cautionary tale for those who believe force can be used easily and in limited increments to stop genocide, mass killing, and the forceful expulsion of entire populations. Daalder and O'Hanlon conclude that the crisis holds important diplomatic and military lessons that must be learned so that others in the future might avoid the mistakes that were made in this case.

Jamee Wills never expected Vanessa Pierce and her friends to go this far. The trouble begins at cheerleading practice when Vanessa starts teasing Angel McAllister, a shy new girl at Bluford High. When the insults turn nasty, Jamee tries to stop them. She wins Angel's friendship but makes many enemies. Now Jamee is a target, and someone is texting lies and pictures of her all over school. Unwilling to tell her family or snitch on her fellow cheerleaders, Jamee is cornered. Will her next move solve her problems- or make them worse?--From back cover.