Recontextualizing the Iconography of War in Contemporary American Culture through the Narrative and Therapeutic Dimension of Immersive Interactive Media

Authors

  • Radu-Cristian Pop UNATC ”I.L. Caragiale”, Bucharest, Romania Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37130/hcgn1y73

Keywords:

War, American culture, cinema, new media, realism, immersion

Abstract

The article represents an exploration of the various approaches to the themes of war in contemporary American popular culture, with an emphasis on the relationship between fiction and reality. In a media landscape that has been saturated with spectacle and violence, the reality of war tends to become minimized as iconography or genre, even while attempting a meditative approach on the subject. These themes are often explored within new immersive media – namely video games and VR experiences – both with the goal of entertainment, this aspect raising certain concerns about glossing over the consequences of the bombastic actions portrayed, and within military systems, with training and therapeutic applications. A particular interest is shown towards the cauterizing properties of deconstructing such a traumatic subject matter, for soldiers and veterans on one hand and for the general audience on the other, the latter having to face the social, economic, and emotional effects of contemporary war.

Author Biography

  • Radu-Cristian Pop, UNATC ”I.L. Caragiale”, Bucharest, Romania

    Radu-Cristian Pop, PhD student with the Doctoral School of the ”I.L. Caragiale” National University of Theatre and Film in Bucharest, Cinema and Media department, has a foundation as an illustrator and animator, with a vast professional portfolio in the practical sphere of these artistic media, active as a partner and founding member of Worksheep Studio. He is also an associate teacher in the Animation and Interactivity department of the Film Faculty of UNATC, working for the Digital Animation Laboratory in the CINETic Center and a trainer for the most recent editions of an intensive workshop for animation called Animation Worksheep.

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Downloads

Published

2022-06-05

Issue

Vol. 24 No. 1 (2022): Contemporary Theatre and Cinema: Regional Identity and Cultural Specificity

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Pop, R.-C. (2022). Recontextualizing the Iconography of War in Contemporary American Culture through the Narrative and Therapeutic Dimension of Immersive Interactive Media. CONCEPT, 24(1), 236-249. https://doi.org/10.37130/hcgn1y73