From Les Chevaliers du Ciel to Steely-Eyed Killers: Intersecting Influences of Hollywood and Reality on the Romanticization of Fighter Pilots

Abstract

Stories of epic heroes abound throughout human civilization and have served as paragons of cultural ideals since before recorded history. Based loosely on reality, these mythic figures are typically drawn from a society's warrior caste whose larger-than-life personas and exploits are easily transmitted by means of storytelling. This paper will examine how the intersecting influences of modern storytelling (via motion pictures) and reality have contributed to the rise of one modern American warrior-hero persona in particular, the fighter pilot.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 2013
Accession Number
AD1023611

Entities

People

  • Shaun G. Bellamy

Organizations

  • Air Command and Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Human Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerial Warfare
  • Air Force
  • Air Force Personnel
  • Aircrafts
  • Airplanes
  • Fighter Aircraft
  • Korean War
  • Military Aircraft
  • Military Aviation
  • Military Organizations
  • Motion Pictures
  • New York
  • Personality
  • Second World War
  • United States
  • War
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Educational Psychology
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.