World War I In Popular Culture
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First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, which was fought between 1914 and 1918, had an immediate impact on
popular culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art
f. pop art F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distributi ...
or mass art, sometimes contraste ...
. In the over a hundred years since the war ended, the war has resulted in many artistic and cultural works from all sides and nations that participated in the war. This included artworks, books, poems, films, television, music, and more recently, video games. Many of these pieces were created by soldiers who took part in the war.


Art

The years of warfare were the backdrop for art which is now preserved and displayed in such institutions as the Imperial War Museum in London, the
Canadian War Museum The Canadian War Museum (CWM) () is a National museums of Canada, national museum on the military history of Canada, country's military history in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum serves as both an educational facility on Canadian military hist ...
in Ottawa, and the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Official war artists were commissioned by the British Ministry of Information and the authorities of other countries. After 1914, avant-garde artists began to consider and investigate many things that had once seemed unimaginable. As Marc Chagall later remarked, "The war was another plastic work that totally absorbed us, which reformed our forms, destroyed the lines, and gave a new look to the universe." In this same period, academic and realist artists continued to produce new work. Traditional artists and their artwork developed side by side with the shock of the new as culture reinvented itself in relationships with new technologies. Some artists responded positively to the changes wrought by war. C. R. W. Nevinson, associated with the Futurists, wrote that "This war will be a violent incentive to Futurism, for we believe there is no beauty except in strife, and no masterpiece without aggressiveness."''British Art Since 1900'', Frances Spaulding, 1986 His fellow artist Walter Sickert wrote that Nevinson's painting '' La Mitrailleuse'' (now in the Tate collection) 'will probably remain the most authoritative and concentrated utterance on the war in the history of painting.' Pacifist artists also responded to the war in powerful ways: Mark Gertler's major painting, '' Merry-Go-Round'', was created in the midst of the war years and was described by D. H. Lawrence as "the best modern picture I have seen" and depicts the war as a futile and mechanistic nightmare. The commissions related to the official war artists programmes insisted on the recording of scenes of war. This undermined confidence in progressive styles as commissioned artists conformed to official requirements. The inhumanity of destruction across Europe also led artists to question whether their own campaigns of destruction against tradition had not, in fact, also been inhuman. These tendencies encouraged many artists to "return to order" stylistically. The Cubist vocabulary itself was adapted and modified by the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
during "the Great War." The Cubists aimed to revolutionize painting — and reinvented the art of camouflage on the way.Glover, Michael
"Now you see it... Now you don't,"
''The Times.'' March 10, 2007.
British marine painter Norman Wilkinson invented the concept of "dazzle painting" -— a way of using stripes and disrupted lines to confuse the enemy about the speed and dimensions of a ship. Wilkinson, then a lieutenant commander on
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
patrol duty, implemented the precursor of "dazzle" on SS ''Industry''; and in August 1917 HMS ''Alsatian'' became the first Navy ship to be painted with a dazzle pattern. Solomon J. Solomon advised the British Army on camouflage. In December 1916 he established a camouflage school in Hyde Park In 1920, he published a book on the subject, ''Strategic Camouflage''. Alan Beeton advanced the science of camouflage.''The Influence of the War on art'', Frank Rutter, in ''The Great War'', ed. H.W. Wilson & J.A. Hammerton, London 1919 An early influence of the War on artists in the United Kingdom was the recruiting campaign of 1914–1915. Around a hundred posters were commissioned from artists by the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee of which two and a half million copies were distributed across the country. Private companies also sponsored recruitment posters: ''Remember Belgium'', by the Belgian-born Frank Brangwyn and ''The Only Road for an Englishman'' by Gerald Spencer Pryse were two notable examples produced on behalf of the London Electric Railways. Although Brangwyn produced over 80 poster designs during the War, he was not an official war artist. His grim poster of a Tommy bayoneting an enemy soldier (“Put Strength in the Final Blow: Buy War Bonds”) caused deep offence in both Britain and Germany. The Kaiser himself is said to have put a price on Brangwyn's head after seeing the image. Brangwyn states in 1917 that Will Dyson's cartoons were "an international asset to this present war." His exhibition of "War Satires" in 1915 was followed by him being appointed an Australian official war artist. The
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition The Summer Exhibition is an open art exhibition held annually by the Royal Academy in Burlington House, Piccadilly in central London, England, during the months of June, July, and August. The exhibition includes paintings, prints, drawings, sc ...
of 1915 was noted for the paucity and general poor quality of paintings on war themes, but ''The Fighting-Line from Ypres to the Sea'' by W. L. Wyllie was noted for its bold experimentation in showing a bird's-eye view of war from an aeroplane. George Clausen's symbolist allegory ''Renaissance'' was the most memorable painting of that 1915 exhibition, contrasting ruins and oppression with dignity and optimism. When exhibited in the spring of 1916, Eric Kennington's portrayal of exhausted soldiers '' The Kensingtons at Laventie'' caused a sensation. Painted in reverse on glass, the painting was widely praised for its technical virtuosity, iconic colour scheme, and its ‘stately presentation of human endurance, of the quiet heroism of the rank and file’. Kennington returned to the front in 1917 as an official war artist. The general failure of academic painting, in the form of the Royal Academy, to respond adequately to the challenges of representing the War was made clear by reaction to the 1916 Summer Exhibition. Although popular taste acclaimed Richard Jack's sentimental ''Return to the Front: Victoria Railway Station, 1916'', the academicians and their followers were stuck in the imagery of past battle pictures of the Napoleonic and Crimean eras. Arrangements of soldiers, officers waving swords, and cavalrymen swaggering seemed outdated to those at home, and risible to those with experience of the front. A wounded New Zealander standing in front of a painting of a cavalry charge commented that "one man with a machine-gun would wipe all that lot out." Charles Masterman, head of the British War Propaganda Bureau, acting on the advice of William Rothenstein, appointed Muirhead Bone as Britain's first official war artist in May 1916.Vale Royal Borough Council. (2005).
"Whitegate Conservation Area Update," p. 11.
/ref> In April 1917 James McBey was appointed official artist for Egypt and Palestine, and William Orpen was sent to France. Orpen's work was criticised for superficiality in the pursuit of perfectionism: "in the tremendous fun of painting he altogether forgot the ghastliness of war". The most popular painting in the Royal Academy Exhibition of 1917 was Frank O. Salisbury's ''Boy 1st Class John Travers Cornwell V.C.'' depicting a youthful act of heroism. But of more artistic importance in 1917 was the establishment on 5 March of the Imperial War Museum and the foundation during the summer of the Canadian War Memorials Fund by Lord Beaverbrook and Lord Rothermere and significant work by Australian war artists. David Bomberg's experiences of mechanized slaughter and the death of his brother in the trenches - as well as those of his friend Isaac Rosenberg and his supporter T. E. Hulme - permanently destroyed his faith in the aesthetics of the machine age. This can be seen most clearly in his commission for the Canadian War Memorials Fund, ''Sappers at Work'' (1918–1919): his first version of the painting was dismissed as a "futurist abortion" and was replaced by a second far more representational version. Percy Delf Smith created realistic depictions of his time in the trenches and more fantastical depictions based on medieval dance of death imagery. At the 1918 Royal Academy exhibition, Walter Bayes' monumental canvas ''The Underworld'' depicted figures sheltering in a
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
station during an air raid. Its sprawling alien figures predate
Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract art, abstract monumental Bronze sculpture, bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. Moore ...
's studies of sheltering figures in the Tube during the Blitz of World War II. :''See also the Comité des Étudiants Américains de l'École des Beaux-Arts Paris.''


Painting

Walter Richard Sickert's ''The Integrity of Belgium'', painted in October 1914, was, when exhibited in Burlington House in January 1915 at an exhibition in aid of the Red Cross, recognised as the first oil painting exhibited of a battle incident in the Great War.


John Singer Sargent

Among the great artists who tried to capture an essential element of war in painting was Society portraitist
John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 15, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era, Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil ...
. In his large painting '' Gassed'' and in many watercolors, Sargent depicted scenes from the Great War.


Wyndham Lewis

British painter Wyndham Lewis was appointed as an official war artist for both the Canadian and British governments, beginning work in December 1917 after Lewis' participation in the Third Battle of Ypres. For the Canadians he painted ''A Canadian Gun-Pit'' (1918,
National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...
,
Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
) from sketches made on Vimy Ridge. For the British he painted one of his best known works, '' A Battery Shelled'' (1919, Imperial War Museum)(se

, drawing on his own experience in charge of a 6-inch howitzer at Ypres. Lewis exhibited his war drawings and some other paintings of the war in an exhibition, "Guns", in 1918.


Alfred Munnings

An unlikely war artist was Sir Alfred Munnings, who is best known as a painter of purebred racehorses; but he turned his painter's skills to the task of capturing images of the Canadian Cavalry Brigade in the war. His mounted portrait of General Jack Seely (later Lord Mottistone) on his charger ''Warrior'' achieved acclaim. Forty-five of his canvasses were exhibited at the "Canadian War Records Exhibition" at the
Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...
, including ''Charge of Flowerdew's Squadron'' at Moreuil Wood in March 1918. Lieutenant Gordon Flowerdew of Lord Strathcona's Horse cavalry, was awarded the
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
for leading the attack. Less well known are paintings which feature teams of work-horses in the staging areas behind the front lines with the
Canadian Forestry Corps The Canadian Forestry Corps () was an Corps#Administrative, administrative corps of the Canadian Army with its own cap badge and other insignia and traditions. The Canadian Forestry Corps was created 14 November 1916. The badge of the Canadian ...
. The artist later recalled these days in his autobiography: ::My next move was unexpected and unlooked-for. Amongst the officers who came to have a look, as the news spread that my pictures were to be seen on the walls of ... eadquarters..., there were two colonels, both in the Canadian Forestry Corps ... persuading me that I must go with them and see the companies of Canadian Forestry who were then working in the many beautiful forests of France ....Munnings, Alfred. (1950). ''An Artist's Life,'' pp. 313-315. ::The forest of Conche in Normandy was my first experience of painting with the Forestry. Then came the area of the forest of Dreux, one of the finest in France, taking up fifteen square miles of ground... Each company had a hundred and twenty horses, all half-bred
Percheron The Percheron is a horse breed, breed of draft horse that originated in the Huisne river valley in western France, part of the former Perche province, from which the breed takes its name. Usually gray (horse), gray or black (horse), black in col ...
types, mostly blacks and greys. A rivalry existed between the companies as to which had the best-conditioned teams. I painted pictures of these teams at work, pictures of men axing, sawing down trees...


John Nash

British painter John Nash believed that "the artist's main business is to train his eye to see, then to probe, and then to train his hand to work in sympathy with his eye." The artist's most celebrated war painting is '' Over the Top'' (oil on canvas, 79.4 x 107.3 cm), now hanging in the Imperial War Museum in London. In this painting, the artist presents an image of the 30 December 1917 Welsh Ridge counter-attack, during which the 1st Battalion Artists Rifles (28th London Regiment) left their trenches and pushed towards Marcoing near
Cambrai Cambrai (, ; ; ), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Escaut river. A sub-pref ...
. Of the eighty men, sixty-eight were killed or wounded during the first few minutes.Gregory, Barry. (2006)
''A History of the Artists Rifles 1859-1947,''
p. 176.
Nash himself was one of the twelve spared by the machine gun fire in the charge depicted in the painting. He created this artwork three months later. The war artist crafted a chilling, harsh, vivid image. The painting offers a narrative of men moving forward despite the likelihood of not coming back alive: ::As soon as our line, set on its jolting way, emerged, I felt that two men close by had been hit, two shadows fell to the ground and rolled under our feet, one with a high-pitched scream and the other in silence like an ox. Another disappeared with a movement like a madman, as if he had been carried away. Instinctively, we closed ranks and pushed each other forward, always forward, and the wound in our midst closed itself. The warrant officer stopped and raised his sword, dropped it, fell to his knees, his kneeling body falling backwards in jerks, his helmet fell on his heels and he remained there, his head uncovered, looking up to the sky. The line has promptly split to avoid breaking this immobility. But we couldn't see the lieutenant any more. No more superiors, then... A moment's hesitation held back the human wave which had reached the beginning of the plateau. The hoarse sound of air passing through our lungs could be heard over the stamping of feet. Forward! cried a soldier. So we all marched forward, moving faster and faster in our race towards the abyss.Art of the First World War


Arthur Streeton

Australian painter Arthur Streeton was an Australian Official War Artist with the Australian Imperial Force, holding the rank of
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
. He served in France attached to the 2nd Division. Streeton brought something of the antipodes Heidelberg school sensibility to his paintings of an ANZAC battlefield in France. Streeton's most famous war painting, ''Amiens the key of the west'' shows the
Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...
countryside with dirty plumes of battlefield smoke staining the horizon, which becomes a subtle image of war. As a war artist, Streeton continued to deal in landscapes and his works have been criticised for failing to concentrate on the fighting soldiers. Streeton aimed to produce "military still life", capturing the everyday moments of the war. Streeton observed that, "True pictures of battlefields are very quiet looking things. There's nothing much to be seen, everybody and thing is hidden and camouflaged."


Sculpture

A sculpture by Charles Web Gilbert was designed as a part of the Mont St. Quentin Memorial which was dedicated in the mid-1920s at Mont St. Quentin, France. The original memorial to the men of the 2nd Australian Division features an heroic bronze statue of an Australian soldier bayoneting a German eagle.Australian War Memorial: Image number P02205.011, caption. A bronze plaque on the pedestal of the monument reads: 'To the officers, non-commissioned officers and men of the 2nd Australian Division who fought in France and Belgium in the Great War 1916, 1917, 1918.' The statue on top of the memorial and the bas reliefs on its sides, which were sculpted respectively by Lieutenant Charles Web Gilbert and May Butler-George, were removed by the occupying German Army in 1940. They were later replaced with a new statue and new reliefs.


Remembrance

Iconic memorials created after the war are designed as symbols of remembrance and as carefully contrived works of art. In London, the Guards Memorial was designed by the sculptor Gilbert Ledward in 1923–26. The edifice was erected on Horse Guards Parade and dedicated to the five Foot Guards regiments of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. The bronze figures were cast from guns from the Great War, commemorating the First Battle of Ypres and other battles.


Literature

World War I has been the subject of numerous novels; by far the most well-known is Erich Maria Remarque's '' All Quiet on the Western Front'', which presented a bleak view of the war from the German perspective. The war was also the subject of well-known poetry, most notably by Wilfred Owen and
Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World ...
, both of whom served in the war (as did Remarque). Another notable poem is " In Flanders Fields" by Canadian soldier John McCrae, who also served in the war; it led to the use of the remembrance poppy as a symbol for soldiers who have died in war. Several entire genres grew out of the disillusionment and disappointment of World War I. The hard-boiled detective novels of the 1920s featured bitter veteran protagonists. The horror stories of
H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...
after the war showed a new sense of nihilism and despair in the face of an uncaring, chaotic cosmos, very unlike his more conventional horror before the war.
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
was never quite so fertile a topic as
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
for American fiction, but there were nevertheless a large number of fictional works created about it in Europe, Canada, and Australia. Many war novels, however, have fallen out of print since their original. Numerous scholarly studies have covered the major fictional authors and writings.


By participants

* '' Tell England'' by Ernest Raymond * '' All Quiet on the Western Front'' and '' The Road Back'' by Erich Maria Remarque (German) * '' The Good Soldier Švejk'' by Jaroslav Hašek (Czech) * '' A Farewell to Arms'' by
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...
(American) * '' The Middle Parts of Fortune'' by Frederic Manning (Australian) * '' Death of a Hero'' by Richard Aldington * '' Ashenden'' by W. Somerset Maugham * '' A Year on the Plateau'' (or ''Sardinian Brigade'') by Emilio Lussu (Italian) * '' Parade's End'' by Ford Madox Ford (British) * '' Under Fire'' by Henri Barbusse (French) * '' Journey's End'' by R. C. Sherriff (British) * '' The Spanish Farm'' trilogy by Ralph Hale Mottram (British) * '' Generals Die in Bed'' by Charles Yale Harrison (Canadian) * '' The German Prisoner'' by James Hanley (British) * '' Goodbye to All That'' (memoir) by Robert Graves (British) * '' Storm of Steel'' (memoir) by
Ernst Jünger Ernst Jünger (; 29 March 1895 – 17 February 1998) was a German author, highly decorated soldier, philosopher, and entomology, entomologist who became publicly known for his World War I memoir ''Storm of Steel''. The son of a successful busin ...
(German) * '' Memoirs of an Infantry Officer'' (memoir) by
Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World ...
(British) * '' Testament of Youth'' (memoir) by Vera Brittain (British) * '' Undertones of War'' (memoir) by Edmund Blunden (British) * '' Ghosts have Warm Hands'' (memoir) by Will R. Bird (Canadian) * '' The Enormous Room'' by E.E. Cummings (American) * '' The Last Night of Love, the First Night of War'' by Camil Petrescu (Romanian) * '' Three Soldiers'' by
John Dos Passos John Roderigo Dos Passos (; January 14, 1896 – September 28, 1970) was an American novelist, most notable for his U.S.A. (trilogy), ''U.S.A.'' trilogy. Born in Chicago, Dos Passos graduated from Harvard College in 1916. He traveled widely as a ...
(American) * '' Paths of Glory'' by Humphrey Cobb (Canadian-American)


With primary emphasis on the war

* '' Across the Black Waters'' by Mulk Raj Anand * ''The Major'' * '' Johnny Got His Gun'' * ''
The Blue Max ''The Blue Max'' is a 1966 war film , WW I film directed by John Guillermin and starring George Peppard, James Mason, Ursula Andress, Karl Michael Vogler, and Jeremy Kemp. The film was made in DeLuxe Color and was one of the last movies filme ...
'' * '' The Wars'' * '' Billy Bishop Goes to War'' * '' La guerre, yes sir!'' * '' Regeneration'' and the '' Regeneration Trilogy'' * '' An Ace Minus One'' * '' The General'' * " Rivka's War" * '' Three Cheers for Me'' by Donald Jack * '' The Wee Fellas''


With the war as context or background

* '' The Return of the Soldier'' * '' Barometer Rising'' * '' Herbert West–Reanimator'' * '' Rilla of Ingleside'' * '' The Stones Are Hatching'' * '' Fly Away Peter'' * '' Soldiers' Pay'' (William Faulkner) * '' How Young They Die'' (Stuart Cloete) * '' Leviathan (Westerfeld novel)''


Theatre

Plays set during World War I include: * '' Journey's End'' (1928), by R. C. Sherriff * '' Oh, What a Lovely War!'' (1963), by Joan Littlewood * '' The Accrington Pals'' (1982), by Peter Whelan * '' Not About Heroes'' (1982), by Stephen MacDonald * '' My Boy Jack'' (1997), by David Haig * '' War Horse'' (2007), by Nick Stafford


Films

Over 100 films have been set, in whole or in part, in World War I. Among the most notable are: * '' Shoulder Arms'' (1918) - comedy starring
Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...
* '' The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'' (1921) - drama starring
Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor who starred in several well-known sile ...
* '' The Big Parade'' (1925) - an American soldier in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
experiences both tragedy and love * '' Wings'' (1927) - shows the relationship between two American World War I fighter pilots * '' All Quiet on the Western Front'' (1930) - a group of German high school students join the army, but meet tragic fates during the war * '' Hell's Angels'' (1930) - affairs during the war * '' Doughboys'' (1930) - comedy starring
Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent films during the 1920s, in which he performed physical comedy and inventive stunts. He frequently ...
* '' Pack Up Your Troubles'' (1932) - comedy starring
Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...
* '' A Farewell to Arms'' (1932) - a tragic love story between an American ambulance driver in the Italian army and a Red Cross nurse * '' Rasputin and the Empress'' (1932) - a biography of
Grigori Rasputin Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin ( – ) was a Russian Mysticism, mystic and faith healer. He is best known for having befriended the imperial family of Nicholas II of Russia, Nicholas II, the last Emperor of all the Russias, Emperor of Russia, th ...
, the infamous Russian mystic * '' Secret Agent'' (1936) - about British espionage in
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
* '' La Grande Illusion'' (1937) - a group of French prisoners of war plot an escape * '' The Dawn Patrol'' (1938) - about British pilots fighting in France * '' Sergeant York'' (1941) - a biopic of Alvin York, the most decorated American soldier of World War I * '' Yankee Doodle Dandy'' (1942) - a biopic of songwriter and Broadway star, George M. Cohan * '' Wilson'' (1944) - a biopic of
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
, the 28th President of America * '' The African Queen'' (1951) - a Canadian boat captain and a female British missionary attempt to evade German forces in German East Africa * '' What Price Glory?'' (1952) - Service comedy set on the Western Front in 1918. * '' East of Eden'' (1955) - about an angry young man who wants his deeply religious father to love him like his brother * '' Paths of Glory'' (1957) - about a commanding officer of French soldiers who defends them against a charge of cowardice during a court-martial trial * '' Lawrence of Arabia'' (1962) - the adventures of T. E. Lawrence in the Arab Revolt against Turkish rule in present-day
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
and
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
* ''
The Blue Max ''The Blue Max'' is a 1966 war film , WW I film directed by John Guillermin and starring George Peppard, James Mason, Ursula Andress, Karl Michael Vogler, and Jeremy Kemp. The film was made in DeLuxe Color and was one of the last movies filme ...
'' (1966) - an ambitious German Army Air Service fighter pilot seeks the aerial engagements to earn the German Empire's top military award, based on Jack D. Hunter's novel * '' Oh! What a Lovely War'' (1969) - comedy with an all star British cast * '' Johnny Got His Gun'' (1971) - an American soldier is rendered immobile after being hit by an artillery shell * '' Gallipoli'' (1981) - several men from rural
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
take part in the Gallipoli Campaign in Turkey * '' Passchendaele'' (2008) - a Canadian soldier experiences both love and tragedy during the months-long Battle of Passchendaele * '' War Horse'' (2011) - a teenage boy whose horse is conscripted for the war joins the British army in order to reunite with it * ''
Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...
'' (2017) -
Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...
fights in the war for the Allies * '' 1917'' (2019) - two young British soldiers are given a mission to deliver a message warning of a German ambush * '' The King's Man'' (2021) - Orlando, Duke of Oxford fights against a secret group that conspires the course of World War 1 * '' All Quiet on the Western Front (Im Westen nicht Neues)'' (2022) - a retelling of Remarque's novel by German filmmakers


Television

There have been several television series and miniseries set during World War I. In 1964, the
British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public broadcasting, public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved in ...
with cooperation from its counterparts with
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, has a 26-part series called '' The Great War''. It focused on the aspects of World War I. The 1969
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
science fiction serial " The War Games" initially appears to be set in no man's land in World War I, although it is later revealed that British and German soldiers from World War I have been transported to an alien planet along with the armies of other historical wars from human history. The fourth series of the 1971–75 British television drama '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', which aired in 1974, was set during the years of World War I and showed the war's effects from the perspective of a townhouse in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. The 1985 Australian miniseries '' Anzacs'' was about members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during World War I and the 2015 miniseries '' Gallipoli'' was about the Gallipoli campaign. '' Blackadder Goes Forth'', the fourth and final series of the British sitcom ''
Blackadder ''Blackadder'' is a series of four Period piece, period British sitcoms - ''The Black Adder'', ''Blackadder II'', ''Blackadder the Third'' and ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' - plus several one-off instalments, which originally aired on BBC1 from 19 ...
'', which aired in 1989, presented a satirical view of the war and the British military. '' My Boy Jack'' was a 2007 television film, adapted from the play of the same name, about
Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...
's son, who was killed in France. The second season of the British television drama ''
Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. It first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV (TV network), ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United St ...
'', which aired in 2011, showed the effects of the war mostly from the perspective of the eponymous estate. The season particularly focused on how great houses in Britain served as convalescent homes during the war. World War I is used for the season 2 episode "The War to End All Wars" of the NBC series '' Timeless''. In the episode, Rufus and Wyatt travel to World War I on September 14, 1918, to save Lucy from Rittenhouse. In addition: * " Birdsong (TV serial)" (2012) * " Wipers Times" (2013)


Popular songs

* '' Over the Top'' (1917), Marion Phelps and Maxwell Goldman * '' The Call of the U.S.A.'' (1918), John J. Donahue * Various songs by Sabaton * " And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" (1972), song by Eric Bogle * " No Man's Land" (also known as ''The Green Fields of France'' and ''Willie McBride'') (1976), song by Eric Bogle * "Barón Rojo" (1981) Barón Rojo * " Christmas in the Trenches" (1984) by John McCutcheon * " Children's Crusade" (1985), song by Sting * " One" (1989), song by
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
* " All Together Now" (1990), song by The Farm * " Scream Aim Fire" (2008), song by Bullet for My Valentine * " All Your Friends" (2014), song by
Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...


Video games

There have been comparably few games set during World War I. Many of those that have been made focused on the air war, such as Sopwith from 1984. However, NecroVision is one of the few first person shooters games set in World War I, where the player fights on known battlefields during the war, such as the Somme. '' Call of Duty: Black Ops II'' final DLC pack features "Origins", a zombie map that is set in a dieselpunk France during World War I. '' Valiant Hearts: The Great War'' was released by
Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...
in 2014. The game is about four characters who help a German soldier find his true love. This
adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...
is inspired by letters written during World War I. While not many video games are set during World War I there has been a considerable amount of modifications for other games that change these either partially or completely into the World War I setting (such as "The Great War" mod for '' Napoleon: Total War''). On May 7, 2016, EA DICE revealed '' Battlefield 1'', a first-person shooter video game primarily set in World War I featuring the Harlem Hellfighters, the
Red Baron Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a sec ...
and Lawrence of Arabia. It was released on October 21, 2016, for
Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
, PlayStation 4 and
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...
. In the 2019 game '' Death Stranding'', player character Sam Porter Bridges encounters hostile skeletal soldiers in American World War I-era uniforms within a World War I trench. Other examples include: * ''
Red Baron Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a sec ...
'' (1980) * '' Blue Max'' (1983) * ''
Diplomacy Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of State (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international syste ...
'' (1984) * '' Sky Kid'' (1985) * ''
Red Baron Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a sec ...
'' (1990) * '' Wings'' (1990) * ''
Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...
'' (2015)


Centennial

The years from 2014 to 2019 represented the centennial of the First World War. Over this period, several groups commemorated individuals, battles, and movements connected to the war, often with an emphasis on national identities.


See also

* British propaganda during World War I * Italian propaganda during World War I * World War II in popular culture * War novel * Literature of World War I


Notes


References

* Cohen, Aaron J. (2008)
''Imagining the Unimaginable: World War, Modern Art, and the Politics of Public Culture in Russia, 1914-1917.''
Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. * Corbett, David Peters. (1997)
''The Modernity of English Art, 1914-30.''
Manchester:
Manchester University Press Manchester University Press is the university press of the University of Manchester, England, and a publisher of academic books and journals. Manchester University Press has developed into an international publisher. It maintains its links with t ...
. * Das, Santanu. (2005)
''Touch and Intimacy in First World War Literature.''
Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...
. * Meredith, James H. (2004)
''Understanding the Literature of World War I: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents.''
Westport, Connecticut:
Greenwood Publishing Group Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG) was an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which was part of ABC-Clio. Since 2021, ABC-Clio and its suite of imprints, including GPG, are collectively imprints of ...
.
OCLC 56086111
* Saunders, Nicholas J. (2002)
''Trench Art.''
Oxford:
Osprey Publishing Osprey Publishing is a British publishing company specializing in military history formerly based in Oxford. Predominantly an illustrated publisher, many of their books contain full-colour artwork plates, maps and photographs, and the company p ...
. * Roy, Pinaki. (2010) "''The Pities of War'': A Brief Overview of the First World War British Poets and Poetry”. '' The Atlantic Critical Review Quarterly'' (; ) 9(1), January–March 2010: 40–56. * Roy, Pinaki. (2011
"''Einer ruhigen literarischen Kreuzzug gegen den Krieg'': Rereading Remarque's ''All Quiet on the Western Front
''. ''Labyrinth'' (). Ed. L. Mishra. 2:4. October 2011. pp. 173–81. * Roy, Pinaki. (2011
"''Schriftsteller Aus Der Marge'': German Poets of the Two World Wars"
. ''Labyrinth'' (). Ed. L.Mishra. 2:3. July 2011. pp. 47–59. * Roy, Pinaki. (2015). "''Schriften des zum Scheitern Verurteilt'': First World War German Poetry". ''Journal of Higher Education and Research Society'' (). Ed. S. Nikam. 3(1), April 2015: 249–59. * Strachan, Hew. (2000)
''The Oxford Illustrated History of the First World War: A History.''
Oxford: Oxford University Press. * Viney, Nigel. (1991)
''Images of Wartime: British Art and Artists of World War I''
(Imperial War Museum). Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles.
OCLC 25964347
*


External links

* Analytical articl
"Propaganda and dissent in British popular song during the Great War"
* Watch clips fro
Australian films taken during World War I
and read Paul Byrnes' interpretations of them, on the National Film and Sound Archive'
australianscreen online
* Watch clips fro
Australian films, newsreels and documentaries about World War I
o
australianscreen online
* Listen to songs fro
Patriotic Melodies, 1910-1919Collection: "World War I Posters from the U.S." from the University of Michigan Museum of ArtOnline exhibition: "The Poster: Visual Persuasion in WWI" from the National WW Museum and MemorialLearning resource: "First World War Recruitment Posters" from the Imperial War Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:World War I In Art And Literature Cultural history of World War I Modernism History of literature fr:Littérature et Première Guerre mondiale