‘Movie‐of‐the‐Week’ docudrama, ‘historical‐event’ television, and the Steven Spielberg series Band of Brothers

Abstract

In this paper we consider the Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks series Band of Brothers from several perspectives: the theory and history of the docudrama; its sub‐generic war film manifestation (contrasted to cinema); the current cultural significance of testimony in television documentary and docudrama representation; and the emergence of ‘historical‐event’ television in post‐cold war Europe. We identify new codes and conventions in the series that respond to cultural and political change in the post‐9/11 conjuncture. Two episodes of Band of Brothers are analysed in relation to American responses to the events of 9/11, and the series is compared and contrasted to the European ‘historical‐event’ docudrama of the post‐cold war period.