Bodies on the Battlefield: Death and Combat in Band of Brothers

The World War II (WWII) miniseries Band of Brothers, produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks in 2001, depicts violent imagery of the hurt and dead body as a pathway to a distinct characterization of the conflict in cinema and television. The nostalgic feeling in relation to the representation of the ‘greatest generation’ is depicted in unusual ways as heroism, a national trademark of the conflict, gives way to feelings of dread and uneasiness. The theme of brotherhood is heavily present in war cinema and ultimately loses its appeal of flourishing unity to become a conduit of trauma in an environment that strips away the regularity of relationships and installs the reliance upon friendship as a survival mode. The unglamorous side of war and death is portrayed in the miniseries, categorizing the dead and violated bodies as both the perpetrators and receivers of violence. This chapter will focus on the cinematic analysis of two violent sequences from selected episodes in order to demonstrate how the hurt and dying bodies of the soldiers affect the narrative and their ultraviolent portrayals reverberate into traumatic events, disclosing a less idealized portrayal of WWII hence imprinting a revisionist view of the honorable and heroic ‘good war’.