Brett Holden, Ph.D.Assistant Professor, Film StudiesDepartment of Theatre and FilmBowling Green State UniversityONG RISFAC MEETING 1.10.2017

GENERAL SKILL DEVELOPMENT

Refine film-analysis abilities

Reinforce argumentative writing skills

Perform close, careful reading of texts

Develop presentation skills

Model respectful discussion/debate

Encourage close collaboration in class

ADDITIONAL SKILLS

Interact directly with subjects

Develop observation skills

Learn how to perform interviews

Model community-partnerships

Demonstrate needs assessment

Tie work in the community to course

Overview of the Class: 3 credit, general education, film studies course Met Wednesdays from 6 p.m.—9 p.m. during Fall 2014 term Course description:

War, Film, and the Soldier Experience is an examination of the image of modern and contemporary military-service personnel in popular film in comparison/contrast to the images they portray of themselves and their military-service experiences in personal writings and testimony. The course examines such central topics as the physical and mental effects of combat, the challenges of deployment, the wounded soldier and recovery, the challenge of re-assimilation into civilian life, the myth of war, and the impact of service upon military families. World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War will serve as our main foci, with special explorations of the more recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for comparison.

During the semester we will watch a variety of popular war films and compare and contrast these with combat veteran witness accounts as a means of more fully understanding the military-service experience. We will view the veteran texts as works of witness, and the combat veteran as an agent/victim of trauma while, at the same time, exploring attempts on the part of filmmakers to present the civilian public with representations of war throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

By the conclusion of the term, we should be able to: draw parallels between the military-service experience in the aforementioned wars, consider the works we’ve viewed/read as acts of witness, draw some general parallels between our own life experiences and those reflected in the works, and explain how war has oftentimes been portrayed in cinema. It is also my hope that we can begin to intelligently discuss several broad, philosophical questions that have challenged humankind:1. What is “war”?2. How are wars propagated and perpetuated? Do filmmakers play a role in this

propagation/perpetuation?3. Can film, as an artistic medium, effectively capture the nature of war?4. What is war propaganda? How do we know it when we see it? How does it affect us?5. Is it in humankind’s nature to fight or is conflict a learned behavior?6. Is it possible for a combat veteran to ever “recover” from the experience of war?7. Can comparisons be made between other types of human trauma and trauma resulting from

combat?8. What can we learn from the witnessing of combat veterans? In the end, do we learn anything

from this witnessing, or are we destined to go to war despite these accounts?9. Can witnessing on the part of combat veterans and non-combatants aid us in our own personal

lives? How?10. In a world where multiple wars occur on a daily basis, is peace a possibility?11. How does military service impact military families?

VS

Zack Snyder, 2006 Kevin Sites, 2013

THE MYTH OF WAR THE REALITIES OF WAR

Chapter 1: “Killing Up Close”

Students:• Screen most films independently in the Wolfe Video Viewing Center• Complete a study guide, of my design, for each film• Select one film during the term which they present to the class,

following a rubric of my design• Discuss each film in detail in class• Engage in three take-home essay exams

Featured Writers:

Introductions to modern war, WWI, WWII, and Vietnam by Paul Fussell

World War I: Rupert Brooke; R.A. Scott Macfie; Daniel Sweeney; Siegfried Sassoon; Robert Graves; Erich Maria Remarque; Wilfred Owen

World War II: Herbert Read; Gavin Ewart; James Jones; Norman Mailer; William Ellison; Randall Jarrell; John M. Bennet; Rudolf Höss; Eugene Sledge; Heinrich Böll; Howard Nemerov

Vietnam: Philip Caputo; John Clark Pratt; Seymour Hersh; John Ketwig; Truong Nhu Tang; Hayden Carruth

Taking on PosttramaticStress Disorder

and

Acute Stress Disorder:

The Image of the “Broken” Veteran

The BGSU Office of Service Learning defines “service learning” as: a curriculum-based, "credit-bearing educational experience in which students (a) participate in an organized service activity that meets identified community needs, and (b) reflect on the service activity in such a way as to gain further understanding of curricular content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of personal values and civic responsibility."

1. Service is valuable to the community2. Service directly contributes to achievement of course learning outcomes3. Impact of the service upon the community is obtained4. Students understand relationships between their service and learning

outcomes and they demonstrate this in papers, projects, discussions, etc.5. Students learn how they can actively contribute to the “welfare of a

diverse, democratic society.”

The Veteran Project: Interviewing veteran of

student’s choice following script of my

design. Crafting report for veteran and his/her

family

180TH Fighter Wing, Ohio National Guard, and the Yellow Ribbon

Program: Equine Conflict Resolution

Workshop for Families of the Deployed

Identity Project: Hosted campus visit by filmmaking team and a screening/ discussion of

Collecting Sergeant Dan

(Matthew Patron, 2014)

STEP 1 (9/19/2015; 7 hrs): I visited the 180th, on base, to initiate community partnership--following phone calls and military clearance.

STEP 2 (9/2014; 3 hrs): Phone conversations and in-person meeting with ONG and Riverbend at BGSU.

Step 3 (10/15/2015; 2 hrs): In-class orientation to ONG, 180th, and equine therapy with Jennifer Lowinski (AmeriCorps Vista) and Amanda Thompson (equine therapist). Clarification of event and roles.

Taking a brief rest as we prepare for families to arrive

Working with Children

Helping Prepare the Meal

Observing the Workshop

Debriefing with Families

Serving the Meal

In-class orientation between Ohio National Guard and students enrolled in the course

Step 5 (10/22/2014; 1 hour):In-class debriefing with ONG representative

Step 6: Submission of Reflection Assignment—assessing impact of service-learning experience

Step 7: Discussion of potential future collaborations

Questions to address in your reflection:

1. What is the Ohio National Guard, what is its mission, and who does it serve?2. What is the function of the Ohio National Guard’s Family Readiness Program

and how did the evening at Riverbend address its mission?3. What did you witness occurring with military families at Riverbend during our

service-learning event?4. Despite the fact that we were not permitted to be present for an equine therapy

session due to medical-privacy restrictions, how do you see Amanda Thompson’s work with horses assisting veterans recovering from war traumas?

5. Why, ultimately, do you feel that families of the deployed are often overlooked, or only dealt with tangentially, in popular war films? (20 points)

Student #1: “This great experience relates back to our classroom discussions in terms of the sad realization that families of the deployed are often overlooked in popular war films. I strongly believe that there is a disconnection between families of the deployed and war films because movies are a sense of entertainment, thus, most of the audiences want to watch a film as a form of “getaway” and not necessarily want to know the real life terrors of how families may be psychologically damaged, too.”

Student #2: “Action is what draws audiences, and the other side of the military isn’t always exploited in the film scene as filmmakers usually stick to what they know works with audiences and can be successful…society, in general, overlooks the struggles that the families of the deployed must endure and how it affects everyone in the family.”

Student #3: “I agree that the trials and tribulations which military families go through are highly under- and mis-represented not only in film, but in media and culture in general. As to why they are overlooked in war films, it is easy to see that the genre has become very narrow in its definition of “war” as the only things which seem to get proper exposure are the activities on the front lines, or occasionally, in the offices of leaders. [M]ilitary families…are simply not ‘marketable’ largely due to audience expectations.”

Ehrlich, Thomas. Civic Responsibility and Higher Education. Westport, CT: The American Council on Education and The Oryx Press, 2000. Print.

Holden, Brett. “Incorporating Service Learning into Established Learning Community Courses.” Journal of Learning Community Research 4.1. (2009): 65-74. Print.

Jacoby, Barbara and Associates. Building Partnerships for Service-Learning. San Francisco: Josey-Bass, 2003. Print.

Kuh, George D., Jillian Kinzie, John H. Schuh, Elizabeth J. Whitt, and Associates. Student Success in College: Creating Conditions that Matter. San Francisco: Josey-Bass, 2005. Print.

Kronick, Robert F., Robert B. Cunningham, and Michele Gourley. Experiencing Service-Learning. Knoxville: Tennessee UP, 2011. Print.