Noah Tsika
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780520291508
- eISBN:
- 9780520965263
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520291508.003.0011
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This chapter, by Noah Tsika, considers the U.S. military’s cultivation of documentary as a form of “useful cinema,” arguing that the institution’s emphasis on formal hybridity and pedagogic ...
More
This chapter, by Noah Tsika, considers the U.S. military’s cultivation of documentary as a form of “useful cinema,” arguing that the institution’s emphasis on formal hybridity and pedagogic adaptability, far from being a neutral reflection of the contingencies of wartime, was, in fact, strategic—part of a broader attempt to naturalize the large-scale military and ensure its permanence. Even when the military identified them as timely documents designed to catalyze an Allied victory, many World War II training films were meant to last—to remain useful tools of the American military-industrial state, whether screened in conjunction with the public-education initiatives of local newspapers or excerpted for use in private manufacturing plants.Less
This chapter, by Noah Tsika, considers the U.S. military’s cultivation of documentary as a form of “useful cinema,” arguing that the institution’s emphasis on formal hybridity and pedagogic adaptability, far from being a neutral reflection of the contingencies of wartime, was, in fact, strategic—part of a broader attempt to naturalize the large-scale military and ensure its permanence. Even when the military identified them as timely documents designed to catalyze an Allied victory, many World War II training films were meant to last—to remain useful tools of the American military-industrial state, whether screened in conjunction with the public-education initiatives of local newspapers or excerpted for use in private manufacturing plants.
Kalissa Alexeyeff
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824832445
- eISBN:
- 9780824870102
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824832445.003.0002
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Pacific Studies
This chapter examines debates surrounding contemporary dance practice principally on the island of Rarotonga, where the contiguity between dance, government sponsorship, tourism, and other global ...
More
This chapter examines debates surrounding contemporary dance practice principally on the island of Rarotonga, where the contiguity between dance, government sponsorship, tourism, and other global forces gives these contests an urgency that is not experienced to the same degree on the outer islands. Its starting point is the contemporary dance scene on Rarotonga and the relationship between cultural producers and the tourist industry. While tourism is crucial to the performing arts, debates about the industry inflect local concerns about globalization and its impact on Cook Islands values. The main areas of concern that emerge are the perceived rise in individualism over communalism, the commodification of cultural forms, and the influence of religious belief in shaping moral evaluations of tradition and modernity. The chapter pays particular attention to the stark generational difference of opinion about tradition and modernity, and local and global, in contests about culture.Less
This chapter examines debates surrounding contemporary dance practice principally on the island of Rarotonga, where the contiguity between dance, government sponsorship, tourism, and other global forces gives these contests an urgency that is not experienced to the same degree on the outer islands. Its starting point is the contemporary dance scene on Rarotonga and the relationship between cultural producers and the tourist industry. While tourism is crucial to the performing arts, debates about the industry inflect local concerns about globalization and its impact on Cook Islands values. The main areas of concern that emerge are the perceived rise in individualism over communalism, the commodification of cultural forms, and the influence of religious belief in shaping moral evaluations of tradition and modernity. The chapter pays particular attention to the stark generational difference of opinion about tradition and modernity, and local and global, in contests about culture.
