Writing history on the page and screen: Mediating conflict through Britain’s First World War ambulance trains

Harrison, Rebecca (2015) Writing history on the page and screen: Mediating conflict through Britain’s First World War ambulance trains. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, 35 (4). pp. 559-578. ISSN 0143-9685

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Abstract

The article explores the significance of 'caregiving' films during the First World War (particularly focusing on newsreels about ambulance trains), in narratives about authenticity in British media during the conflict. In doing so, the article compares public, state-censored moving images with the personal testimonies of those who served on the trains to reveal disparities between what people encountered on the Front Line and what audiences saw back home. However, the research also reveals that official films and secretly written diaries alike used a similar vocabulary to describe the war and its effects on caregivers and the wounded. Thus, the article proposes that the newsreels served an educational, even instructional, purpose, and offer viewers now historical records that represent more than just wartime propaganda.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	british cinema,first world war,propaganda,ambulance trains,caregiving,sdg 16 - peace, justice and strong institutions ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/peace_justice_and_strong_institutions
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Art, Media and American Studies
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	01 Dec 2015 16:00
Last Modified:	21 Oct 2022 01:17
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/55601
DOI:	10.1080/01439685.2015.1096661

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