Warring Pixels

Abstract

/ This article explores the ways in which the films In the Valley of Elah (2006), Battle for Haditha (2007) and Redacted (2007) act as forms of testimony to the Iraq conflict and to the roles played by digital technology in bearing witness to it. The article argues for a greater recognition of the materiality of the digital and for an acknowledgment of its indexical properties as this has significant implications for its status as testament and for its claims to authenticity. Drawing on Wilfred Bion's work on the container/contained relationship, the article also suggests that the films perform a valuable function as containers that provide historical events such as the conflict in Iraq with a graspable form. Works of mainstream cinema that engage with recent history are often viewed ambivalently but the article argues that, on occasion, they can make a significant contribution to the production and dissemination of cultural memory.