Cinematic Echoes of Covenants Past and Present

National Identity in the Historical Films of Steven Spielberg and Andrzej Wajda

Christopher Garbowski

• Publisher: Peter Lang Group
• Year: 2018
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9783631738597
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: History & Theory in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

The author analyzes appropriately selected historical films of Steven Spielberg and Andrzej Wajda with respect to historical memory in relation to film. Cultural and moral foundations of national identity are also taken into account. Spielberg films particularly valuable for this comparative analysis are: «Schindler's List», «Amistad», «Saving Private Ryan» and «Lincoln»; crucial Wajda films include: «Korczak», «Holy Week», «Katy? and Wa??sa». These works are analyzed in relation to the problem of representing the Holocaust, self-scrutiny in historical memory, commemoration of sacrifices for the national community during war, and foundation myths evoked through national heroes. The larger thematic framework for the above concerns is the underlying sense of covenant present within the two national communities that Spielberg and Wajda draw upon, a sense that explores the possibility of moral renewal under contemporary circumstances.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction: National Storytellers
• Chapter 1: Sacred and Moral Sources of National Identity and Historical Memory
• Chapter 2: Spielberg and Wajda in Their National Cinemas
• Chapter 3: Korczak and Schindler’s List: The Holocaust and the Extension of National Covenant
• Chapter 4: Holy Week and Amistad: Historical Self-Scrutiny and Moral Memory
• Chapter 5: The Glorious Dead and Commemoration in Saving Private Ryan and Katyń
• Chapter 6: Foundation Myths in a Post-heroic Age: Lincoln and Wałęsa: Man of Hope
• Conclusion
• Filmography
• Bibliography
• Index