Description
Book SynopsisAn introduction to the representation of Afghanistan in film that examines the often surprising combination of propaganda and poetry in films made in Hollywood and the East. It incorporates incisive analysis of the market factors, funding sources, and political agendas that have shaped the films.
Trade ReviewA Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2011.
"In analyzing film depictions of Afghanistan, Mark Graham makes a wise and rarely heard argument about the ways the international art film festival circuit is guilty of ethnocentrism. An eloquent and challenging study with much potential for teaching and discussion around issues of the so-called clash of civilization between Islam and the West."--Ellen Seiter, creator of the documentary Projecting Culture: Perceptions of Arab and American Films
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Afghanistan in the Cinema challenges us to see through the web of barely visible ideology spun by pundits and politicians."--
ExpressMilwaukee.com"Thrillingly, dangerously pivotal. If the value of movies about Afghanistan is understanding Afghanistan, this book is a wonder. Essential."--
ChoiceTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix
Introduction: Haunted Eyes 1
PART 1: IMPERIALIST NOSTALGIA 1. Getting in Touch with Our Inner Savage:
The Horsemen 11
2. Butch and Sundance in Afghanistan:
The Man Who Would Be King 22
3. The New Great Game:
Rambo III, The Beast, and
Charlie Wilson's War 36
PART 2: THE BURQA FILMS 4. Land without Images:
Kandahar 59
5. Afghan Gothic:
Osama 85
PART 3: BORDER CROSSINGS 6. The West Unveiled:
In This World 113
7. The Poetry of Silence:
Ellipsis 130
8. A Way to Feel Good Again:
The Kite Runner 146
Conclusion: Ending Charlie Wilson's War 165
Notes 169
Bibliography 181
Index 193
