Militainment, Inc.

by Roger Stahl

Militainment, Inc. offers provocative, sometimes disturbing insight into the ways that war is presented and viewed as entertainment―or "militainment"―in contemporary American popular culture. War has been the subject of entertainment for centuries, but Roger Stahl argues that a new interactive mode of militarized entertainment is recruiting its audience as virtual-citizen soldiers. The author examines a wide range of historical and contemporary media examples to demonstrate the ways that war now invites audiences to enter the spectacle as an interactive participant through a variety of channels―from news coverage to online video games to reality television. Simply put, rather than presenting war as something to be watched, the new interactive militainment presents war as something to be played and experienced vicariously. Stahl examines the challenges that this new mode of militarized entertainment poses for democracy, and explores the controversies and resistant practices that it has inspired. This volume is essential reading for anyone interested in the relationship between war and media, and it sheds surprising light on the connections between virtual battlefields and the international conflicts unfolding in Iraq and Afghanistan today.

Genres: Academia, Politics, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2009

Reviews

[Darnell]

Weirdly mixed feelings. There are some good observations that make me feel like this shows the value of academic analysis, directly alongside sections that elaborate on abstract theories that I don't think have any explanatory power. Also deeply unconvinced by certain sections, especially on video games. Though I'm overall disappointed, I'm not rating because I'm not sure if that's more about me than the book.

[Adam Marquis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well researched, arranged, and extensively footnoted, that's how we like our nonfiction don't we folks? There actually isn't much more to say beyond it being a very competent academic work. It was very useful for me, connecting the different venues of military and media involvement into a coherent, singularly directed trend. Strongly recommend.

[Heather Clitheroe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book. The inclusion of gaming as an aspect of 'militainment' was quite good, though I wondered if the author had actually played any of the titles (Splinter Cell, for example - the 'fifth freedom' is something that you could pick up from reviews of the game, but the gradual unraveling of the main character's personal life is a feature of the narrative that alludes to a personal cost that wasn't really featured).

Still, worth reading.