America and the war in Afghanistan; Hollywood's narration of the symptoms of war and politics in "War Machine" and "Outpost"

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ph.D. student of political science at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

2 Associate Professor and Faculty Member, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Birjand University, Birjand, Iran

3 Associate Professor Political Science Department of Birjand University

Abstract

The war in Afghanistan, one of the most significant events of the post-communism era in the 2000s, has had a profound and widespread impact on the international system's structure and U.S. foreign policy. Essentially, the war, as a form of attrition warfare, has influenced the political and media landscape of the country, shaping American behavioral patterns towards Afghanistan. In this context, the United States, along with Hollywood, has acted as a power-building catalyst, contributing to the representation of the struggle and war for security and peace. Hollywood's media representation during the war on terrorism in countries like Afghanistan fundamentally served the purpose of American-centric order-making. Considering this, the primary question of this research is: What signs does Hollywood cinema's narrative of the war in Afghanistan contain, and what goal does it ultimately pursue? The aim of this analysis is to examine the war in Afghanistan from the perspective of semiotic framing, both self-constructed and other-constructed. This premise is based on the assumption that films such as "War Machine" and "The Outpost" attempt to establish American order in Afghanistan. Methodologically, this article is based on media semiotics with a narrative on international relations, directly referencing the mentioned works to analyze the primary question.

Keywords

American Strategic Studies
Volume 4, Issue 15 - Serial Number 15
Autumn 2024
December 2024
Pages 121-147

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History

  • Receive Date: 11 January 2024
  • Revise Date: 24 December 2024
  • Accept Date: 25 December 2024
  • Publish Date: 28 December 2024

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