Hollywood’s Representations of the American GI in the Korean War

Chanchul Jung

doi:10.18013/jnar.2014.29.1.006

During the Korean War,1950-1953, Hollywood made about thirty-two feature films, most of which were co-produced with the Department of Defense. The image of American soldiers during the Korean War, as many historians claim, was both part of that of the American soldiers in the World War II and somewhat different. Agony, sorrow, discouragement, and fear formed their war experience in the distant country of Korea. These images were captured by war correspondents such as David Douglas Duncan and effected not only the ways in which the public were to see the war, but also how the Truman administration managed the war. The previous studies on Hollywood’s Korean war movies have focused particularly on these questions: why such different images appeared, how the U.S government responded to them, and how these images changed during the course of the war. But, little attention has been paid to from which these negative images came originally and how Hollywood’s Korean war movies tried to bring it back to the heroic image of the American soldier during World War II. By analyzing two Hollywood’s Korean War films, The Steel Helmet and Battle Circus, this paper will show how and why the image of the American G.I as victims was put into Hollywood’s Korean war movies that were made during the Korean war and how it was recovered to its original status in the history of American G.I., the comeback hero.

Citation status

KCI Citation Counts (3)
열림/닫힘 버튼
REFERENCES (51)
열림/닫힘 버튼
* 2021년 이후 발행 논문의 참고문헌은 현재 구축 중입니다.

[book] 김철범 / 1995 / 한국전쟁과 미국 / 평민사

[book] 브루스 커밍스 / 1987 / 한국전쟁과 한미관계, 1943-1953 / 청사

[book] 브루스 커밍스 / 1989 / 한국전쟁의 전개과정 / 태암출판사

[journal] 심경석 / 2011 / Hollywood Korean War Films and Representations of Koreans/Asians / 문학과 영상 / 문학과영상학회 12(4) : 1017~1036

[journal] 심경석 / 2010 / 잊혀질 수 없는 기억: 할리우드의 한국전쟁 재현 / 안과밖:영미문학연구 / 영미문학연구회 (29) : 326~350

[book] 윌리엄 스툭 / 2005 / 한국전쟁과 미국외교정책 / 나남출판사

[book] Casey, Steven / 2008 / Selling the Korean War / Oxford University Press

[book] Chung, Hey Seung / 2006 / Hollywood Asian: Philip Ahn and the Politics of Cross-Ethnic Performance / Temple University Press

[book] Doherty, Thomas Patrick / 1999 / Projections of War: Hollywood, American Cinema, and World War II / Columbia University Press

[book] Douglas Duncan, David / 1951 / This Is War! Photo-Narrative in Three Parts / Harper and Brothers

[book] Dyer, Richard / 1993 / The Matter of Images: Essays on Representations / Routledge

[book] Huebner, Andrew J. / 2008 / The Warrior Images: Soldiers in American Culture From the Second World War to the Vietnam War / The University of North Carolina Press

[book] Lantz, Robert J / 2003 / Korean War Filmography / McFarland

[book] Lev, Peter / 2003 / The Fifties: Transforming the Screen, 1950-1959 / University of California Press

[book] Mauldin, Bill / 1952 / Bill Mauldin in Korea / Norton

[book] Shepard, Ben / 2001 / A War of Nerves: Soldiers and Psychiatrists in the Twentieth Century / Harvard University Press

[book] Shindler, Colin / 1979 / Hollywood Goes to War: Films and American Society, 1939-1952 / Routledge

[book] Suid, Lawrence H / 2002 / Guts and Glory: The Making of the American Military Image in Film / The University Press of Kentucky

[book] Suid, Lawrence H / 1996 / Sailing on the Silver Screen: Hollywood and the US Navy / US Naval Institute Press

[other] Deputy Corporation / 1951 / The Steel Helmet

[other] 20th Century Fox / 1951 / Fixed Bayonets

[other] Jack Schwarz Productions / 1951 / Korea Patrol

[other] Spartan Productions / 1951 / Mask of the Dragon

[other] Paramount / 1951 / Submarine Command

[other] Breakston-McGowan Productions / 1951 / Tokyo File 212

[other] Columbia / 1951 / A Yank in Korea

[other] Samuel-Goldwyn / 1951 / I Want You

[other] 20th Century Fox / 1951 / Why Korea?

[other] Paramount / 1952 / Submarine Command

[other] Allied Artiest / 1952 / Torpedo Alley

[other] Universal / 1952 / Back at the Front

[other] RKO Radio Pictures / 1952 / One Minute to Zero

[other] United States Pictures Productions / 1952 / Retreat, Hell!

[other] Rainbow Productions / 1952 / My Son John

[other] MGM / 1952 / Glory Alley

[other] Allied Artists / 1952 / Battle Zone

[other] Rockingham Productions, Inc / 1952 / Mr. Walkie Talkie

[other] Bernhard Productions / 1952 / Japanese War Bride

[other] 20th Century Fox / 1953 / The Glory Brigate

[other] MGM / 1953 / Battle Circus

[other] MGM / 1953 / Take the High Ground!

[other] Columbia / 1953 / Sky Commando

[other] Carl Krueger Productions / 1953 / Sabre Jet

[other] Columbia / 1953 / Mission Over Korea

[other] Paramount / 1953 / Cease Fire

[other] Border Production / 1953 / Combat Squad

[other] Republic / 1953 / Flight Nurse

[other] Breakston-Stahl Productions / 1952 / Geisha Girl

[other] 20th Century Fox / 1953 / Niagara

[other] MGM / 1954 / Men of the Fighting Lady

[other] Paramount / 1954 / Bridges at Toko-ri

KJC Korea
Journal Central

Statistics

Tools

Sharing

Issue List

Citation status