Black Hawk-Down: Adaptation and the Military-Entertainment Complex
This article investigates the non-fiction book Black Hawk Down (1999) by Mark Bowden, Black Hawk Down the movie (2001) directed by Ridley Scott, and the computer game Delta Force: Black Hawk Down (2003). The article suggests that while the movie and the game must be studied as adaptations of the fir...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Linköping University Electronic Press
2018-02-01
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| Series: | Culture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://cultureunbound.ep.liu.se/article/view/17 |
| _version_ | 1818148590610022400 |
|---|---|
| author | Johan Höglund Martin Willander |
| author_facet | Johan Höglund Martin Willander |
| author_sort | Johan Höglund |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article investigates the non-fiction book Black Hawk Down (1999) by Mark Bowden, Black Hawk Down the movie (2001) directed by Ridley Scott, and the computer game Delta Force: Black Hawk Down (2003). The article suggests that while the movie and the game must be studied as adaptations of the first text, the tools developed by adaptation studies, and that are typically used to study the transfer of narratives from one media form to another, do not suffice to fully describe the ways in which these narratives change between iterations. To provide a more complete account of these adaptations, the article therefore also considers the shifting political climate of the 9/11 era, the expectations from different audiences and industries, and, in particular, the role that what James Der Derian has termed the Military-Industrial-Media-Entertainment Network (MIME-Net) plays in the production of narrative. The article thus investigates how a specific political climate and MIME-Net help to produce certain adaptations. Based on this investigation, the article argues that MIME-Net plays a very important role in the adaptation of the Black Hawk Down story by directing attention away from historical specificity and nuance, towards the spectacle of war. Thus, in Black Hawk Down the movie and in Delta Force: Black Hawk Down, authenticity is understood as residing in the spectacular rendering of carnage rather than in historical facts. The article concludes that scholarly investigations of the adaptation of military narratives should combine traditional adaptation studies tools with theory and method that highlight the role that politics and complexes such as MIME-Net play within the culture industry. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T12:53:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5a5b7639cce34a33902259e76ff367f8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2000-1525 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T12:53:34Z |
| publishDate | 2018-02-01 |
| publisher | Linköping University Electronic Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Culture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-5a5b7639cce34a33902259e76ff367f82022-12-22T01:06:38ZengLinköping University Electronic PressCulture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research2000-15252018-02-019310.3384/cu.2000.1525.1793365Black Hawk-Down: Adaptation and the Military-Entertainment ComplexJohan Höglund0Martin Willander1Linnaeus UniversityStockholm UniversityThis article investigates the non-fiction book Black Hawk Down (1999) by Mark Bowden, Black Hawk Down the movie (2001) directed by Ridley Scott, and the computer game Delta Force: Black Hawk Down (2003). The article suggests that while the movie and the game must be studied as adaptations of the first text, the tools developed by adaptation studies, and that are typically used to study the transfer of narratives from one media form to another, do not suffice to fully describe the ways in which these narratives change between iterations. To provide a more complete account of these adaptations, the article therefore also considers the shifting political climate of the 9/11 era, the expectations from different audiences and industries, and, in particular, the role that what James Der Derian has termed the Military-Industrial-Media-Entertainment Network (MIME-Net) plays in the production of narrative. The article thus investigates how a specific political climate and MIME-Net help to produce certain adaptations. Based on this investigation, the article argues that MIME-Net plays a very important role in the adaptation of the Black Hawk Down story by directing attention away from historical specificity and nuance, towards the spectacle of war. Thus, in Black Hawk Down the movie and in Delta Force: Black Hawk Down, authenticity is understood as residing in the spectacular rendering of carnage rather than in historical facts. The article concludes that scholarly investigations of the adaptation of military narratives should combine traditional adaptation studies tools with theory and method that highlight the role that politics and complexes such as MIME-Net play within the culture industry.https://cultureunbound.ep.liu.se/article/view/17Adaption studieswarBlack Hawk DownMilitary-Entertainment ComplexMIME-NetPopular culture |
| spellingShingle | Johan Höglund Martin Willander Black Hawk-Down: Adaptation and the Military-Entertainment Complex Culture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research Adaption studies war Black Hawk Down Military-Entertainment Complex MIME-Net Popular culture |
| title | Black Hawk-Down: Adaptation and the Military-Entertainment Complex |
| title_full | Black Hawk-Down: Adaptation and the Military-Entertainment Complex |
| title_fullStr | Black Hawk-Down: Adaptation and the Military-Entertainment Complex |
| title_full_unstemmed | Black Hawk-Down: Adaptation and the Military-Entertainment Complex |
| title_short | Black Hawk-Down: Adaptation and the Military-Entertainment Complex |
| title_sort | black hawk down adaptation and the military entertainment complex |
| topic | Adaption studies war Black Hawk Down Military-Entertainment Complex MIME-Net Popular culture |
| url | https://cultureunbound.ep.liu.se/article/view/17 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT johanhoglund blackhawkdownadaptationandthemilitaryentertainmentcomplex AT martinwillander blackhawkdownadaptationandthemilitaryentertainmentcomplex |