War in Pieces War on Terror Media and the Fracturing of American Ident

War in Pieces: War on Terror, Media and the Fracturing of American Identity, Volume 1, provides a scholarly examination of how media representations shaped the first phase of the War on Terror between 2001 and 2013. Renée Laurel Pastel investigates how specific figures, such as the war journalist, the active-duty service member, and the military family, functioned as narrative tools. These archetypes helped maintain a facade of a unified national identity while simultaneously masking deep cultural anxieties and shifting social perspectives.

This academic work within the Politics and Social Sciences category offers a sophisticated theory of narrative figuration. It analyzes various media forms, including nonfiction films, television shows, and online videos, to understand how different audiences interpreted these conflicts. By exploring Communication and Media Studies, the text reveals how US media packaged the War on Terror for cultural memory. This volume is a significant contribution to Popular Culture and Politics and Government studies.