'Movie-of-the-Week' docudrama, 'historical-event' television, and the Steven Spielberg series Band of Brothers

摘要

In this paper we consider the Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks series Band of Brothers from several perspectives: the theory and history of the docudrama; its sub-generic war film manifestation (contrasted to cinema); the current cultural significance of testimony in television documentary and docudrama representation; and the emergence of 'historical-event' television in post-cold war Europe. We identify new codes and conventions in the series that respond to cultural and political change in the post-9/11 conjuncture. Two episodes of Band of Brothers are analysed in relation to American responses to the events of 9/11, and the series is compared and contrasted to the European 'historical-event' docudrama of the post-cold war period.