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The Scar That Binds: American Culture and the Vietnam War Revised Edition
Contributor(s): Beattie, Keith (Author)
ISBN: 0814798691     ISBN-13: 9780814798690
Publisher: New York University Press
OUR PRICE:   $28.50  
Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats
Published: July 2000
Qty:
Annotation: "Bold. . . . The greatest pleasure the book offers is the often thought-provoking close reading of both familiar and long-forgotten movies andfiction of the Vietnam War era."
"--The Journal of American History"

"Beattie shows us how ideological strategies operate and, thereby, prepares us to outflank them in the future. The importance of his contribution to the study ofAmerican culture can hardly be overstated."
"--Contemporary Sociology"

." . . brilliantly shows how the war lost abroad was subsequently won at home."
"--American Quarterly"

At the height of the Vietnam War, American society was so severely fragmented that it seemed that Americans may never again share common concerns. The media and other commentators represented the impact of the war through a variety of rhetorical devices, most notably the emotionally charged metaphor of "the wound that will not heal." References in various contexts to veterans' attempts to find a "voice," and to bring the war "home" were also common. Gradually, an assured and resilient American self-image and powerful impressions of cultural collectivity transformed the Vietnam war into a device for maintaining national unity. Today, the war is portrayed as a healed wound, the once "silenced" veteran has found a voice, and the American home has accommodated the effects of Vietnam. The scar has healed, binding Americans into a union that denies the divisions, diversities, and differences exposed by the war. In this way, America is now "over" Vietnam.

In The Scar That Binds, Keith Beattie examines the central metaphors of the Vietnam war and their manifestations in American culture and life. Blending history and cultural criticism ina lucid style, this provocative book discusses an ideology of unity that has emerged through widespread rhetorical and cultural references to the war. A critique of this ideology reveals three dominant themes structured in a range of texts: the "wound," "the voice" of the Vietnam veteran, and "home." The analysis of each theme draws on a range of sources, including film, memoir, poetry, written and oral history, journalism, and political speeches. In contrast to studies concerned with representations of the war as a combat experience, The Scar That Binds opens and examines an unexplored critical space through a focus on the effects of the Vietnam War on American culture. The result is a highly original and compelling interpretation of the development of an ideology of unity in our culture.
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Social Science | Sociology - General
- Philosophy | Ethics & Moral Philosophy
Dewey: 959.704
LCCN: 97045456
Physical Information: 0.62" H x 6.16" W x 9.18" (0.74 lbs) 240 pages
Themes:
- Chronological Period - 1960's
- Chronological Period - 1970's
- Cultural Region - Southeast Asian
- Chronological Period - 20th Century
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:

At the height of the Vietnam War, American society was so severely fragmented that it seemed that Americans may never again share common concerns. The media and other commentators represented the impact of the war through a variety of rhetorical devices, most notably the emotionally charged metaphor of the wound that will not heal. References in various contexts to veterans' attempts to find a voice, and to bring the war home were also common. Gradually, an assured and resilient American self-image and powerful impressions of cultural collectivity transformed the Vietnam war into a device for maintaining national unity. Today, the war is portrayed as a healed wound, the once silenced veteran has found a voice, and the American home has accommodated the effects of Vietnam. The scar has healed, binding Americans into a union that denies the divisions, diversities, and differences exposed by the war. In this way, America is now over Vietnam.
In The Scar That Binds, Keith Beattie examines the central metaphors of the Vietnam war and their manifestations in American culture and life. Blending history and cultural criticism in a lucid style, this provocative book discusses an ideology of unity that has emerged through widespread rhetorical and cultural references to the war. A critique of this ideology reveals three dominant themes structured in a range of texts: the wound, the voice of the Vietnam veteran, and home. The analysis of each theme draws on a range of sources, including film, memoir, poetry, written and oral history, journalism, and political speeches. In contrast to studies concerned with representations of the war as a combat experience, The Scar That Binds opens and examines an unexplored critical space through a focus on the effects of the Vietnam War on American culture. The result is a highly original and compelling interpretation of the development of an ideology of unity in our culture.

Contributor Bio(s): Beattie, Keith: - KEITH BEATTIE is Director of the Contemporary Studies Program of the University of Queensland, Australia.