Chapter 17 - The Forever Wars

Summary

Contemporary war seems to be both perpetual and everywhere – not enclosed by neat pair of finite dates nor limited to a particular field of battle. Yet despite that ubiquity, war stories remain largely on the margins. The Hurt Locker, for instance, won the Academy Award for Best Picture (and five other Oscars to boot), but remains the lowest-grossing film ever to do so. This essay addresses the field of twenty-first-century representations of war, including work by Kevin Powers, Kayla Williams, Brian Castner, Siobhan Fallon, Brian Turner, and others, noting common themes such as the nature of an all-volunteer military, the widening gap between military and civilian cultures, the expanding presence of women, and changing experiences with technology and the nature of trauma. The essay also addresses the war stories that are immensely popular with the public – the ever-expanding cinematic universes of superheroes that are built on never-ending conflict and combat. These, too, are forever wars.