Revisiting World War I in contemporaneity: The Myth of the War and the game Battlefield 1

Authors

  • Tom Burns Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
  • Marcela de Oliveira e Silva Lemos Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17851/2317-2096.29.2.13-28

Keywords:

World War I, the myth of the war, Battlefield 1, first-person shooter

Abstract

What is left of World War I a hundred years after the Armistice? Besides monuments and national holidays, texts are, in their various forms, among the remains of WWI. Together, they write what Samuel Hynes calls “the Myth of the War,” a narrative of signification that gradually became what and how we know about the war. A look at the relationship contemporary recreations of WWI establish with this myth is important to understand our sense of historical consciousness and collective memory. In this article, we propose a study of the single-player campaign mode of the video game Battlefield 1 (2016) to inquire into its treatment of the myth. We claim that this narrative, partially constructed by the player, simultaneously reiterates and denies Hynes’s Myth of Disillusionment. We also argue that this paradox derives from an attempt at retelling the traditional version of the war through the first-person shooter (FPS) game genre.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Tom Burns, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

Professor de literaturas de língua inglesa da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Vice-coordenador do Núcleo de Estudos de Guerra e Literatura (NEGUE) da mesma instituição.

Marcela de Oliveira e Silva Lemos, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

Doutoranda e mestre em letras: estudos literários, área de concentração literaturas de língua inglesa, pelo Programa de Pós-Graduação em Estudos Literários, Faculdade de Letras, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Integrante do Núcleo de Estudos de Guerra e Literatura (NEGUE) da mesma instituição.

References

AU REVOIR Là-Haut. Direction: Albert Dupontel. Production: Catherine Bozorgan. Neuilly-sur-Seine: Gaumont Film Company, 2017.

BRITTAIN, Vera. Testament of Youth: An Autobiographical Study of the Years 1900-1925. London: Victor Gollancz Limited, 1933.

BURNS, Tom. A Myth of Disillusionment?. Belo Horizonte: Archives of Professor Tom Burns, 2018. Unpublished Manuscript.

DYBEK, Nick. The Verdun Affair: A Novel. New York: Scribner, 2018.

EA DICE. Battlefield 1. PlayStation 4. Redwood City: Electronic Arts Inc., 2016. Electronic game.

FORD, Ford Madox. Parade’s End. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1950.

FRANTZ. Direction: François Ozon. Production: Éric Altmayer and Nicolas Altmayer. Paris: Mars Films, 2016.

GALLIPOLI. Direction: Peter Weir. Production: Robert Stigwood and Patricia Lovell. Melbourne: Village Roadshow Film Distributors, 1981.

GRAVES, Robert. Goodbye to All That: An Autobiography. London: Anchor Books, 1929.

HEMINGWAY, Ernest. A Farewell to Arms. New York: Scribner, 1929.

HOBSBAWM, Eric J. The Age of Empire: 1875-1914. New York: Random House, 1989.

HOBSBAWM, Eric J. The Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century: 1914-1991. London: Abacus, 1995.

HUTCHEON, Linda. A Poetics of Postmodernism: History, Theory, Fiction. New York: Routledge, 1988.

HYNES, Samuel. A War Imagined: First World War and English Culture. London: Pimlico, 1992. E-book

HYNES, Samuel. The Soldiers’ Tale: Bearing Witness to Modern War. New York: Penguin Books, 1997.

JÜNGER, Ernst. Storm of Steel. New York: Penguin Books, 2004.

McKEAN, Dave. Black Dog: The Dreams of Paul Nash. Milwaukie: Dark Horse Books, 2016.

OWEN, Frank; ATKINS, H. W. Through Mud & Blood to the Green Fields beyond: The First Official Account of the Royal Armoured Corps. Hoosick Falls: Merriam Press Military Archives Series, 1945.

PARADE'S End. Direction: Susanna White. Production: Michel Buck and Damien Timmer. London: BBC, 2012.

REMARQUE, Erich Maria. All Quiet on the Western Front. Columbus: Little, Brown and Company, 1929.

RICHARDS, Frank. Old Soldiers Never Die. Uckfield: The Naval and Military Press, 2009.

TAWNEY, R. H. Some Reflections of a Soldier. In: TAWNEY, R. H. The Attack and Other Papers. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1953. p. 22-25.

UBISOFT MONTPELLIER. Valiant Hearts: The Great War. PlayStation 4. Montreuil: Ubisoft Entertainment, 2014. Electronic game.

UBISOFT QUEBEC. Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. PlayStation 4. Montreuil: Ubisoft Entertainment, 2015. Electronic game.

Downloads

Published

2019-06-28

How to Cite

Burns, T., & Lemos, M. de O. e S. (2019). Revisiting World War I in contemporaneity: The Myth of the War and the game Battlefield 1. Aletria: Revista De Estudos De Literatura, 29(2), 13–28. https://doi.org/10.17851/2317-2096.29.2.13-28

Issue

Section

Dossier – Contemporary North-American Literature - Visions and Revisions