Through a Lens Darkly ― Films of Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing

The 36 essays presented here by Michalczyk (film studies, Boston College) and Helmick (ecumenical theology and conflict transformation, Boston College) explore filmic representations of genocide and mass atrocity from a variety of theoretical perspectives. The essays are presented in sections on the Native American genocide in the United States, the Nanking Massacre of 1937, the Nazi-orchestrated Holocaust, Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge, ethnic cleansing (primarily with reference to the Balkans, but one essay on Palestinian filmic representations of the Nakba is included), Rwanda, Sudan, and Congo. With the exception of the section introductions presenting historical context for the events under consideration in the various films, each essay typically (but not always) focuses on analyzing just one film. Annotation c2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

John J. Michalczyk, film professor and Director of Film Studies at Boston College, is the author of 10 books and numerous articles on the relationships of film, literature, and political thought. Since 1991, he has been involved in documentary filmmaking, having completed 20 films, notably on social justice issues, including conflict resolution. His documentaries, especially Nazi Medicine: In the Shadow of the Reich, have been broadcast nationally and internationally.
Raymond G. Helmick, SJ, teaches ecumenical theology and conflict transformation at Boston College. He has worked as mediator, counselor, and an interpreter of events in many conflicts since 1972 – in Northern Ireland, the Middle East (Israelis and Palestinians, Lebanese, the Kurds of Iraq and Turkey), the Balkans, and several other sites. He has collaborated with John J. Michalczyk on nine documentary films on conflict resolution topics.