ABSTRACT
In its critique of national conflicts, peace culture is closely related to the emergence of a transnational modern memory. This describes excesses of modern militarism and the culture associated with it, which several creative innovators have demythologized war since 1918. Symbols such as the Remembrance poppy are deconstructed, as are the symbolism of monuments, iconic photographs and museums as sites of contestation. The musical play Oh What a Lovely War!, although a British template for anti-militarism, provides an influential satirical illustration of counter-memory: using popular music and trench experience in a satyr of a Brechtian kind that in radio, music-hall and film transcends any one country’s view of war. The life and work of four artists – Käthe Kollwitz, Otto Dix, and Iri and Toshi Maruki – are analysed in detail as are two films of Peter Watkins, The War Game and, especially global, The Journey. The contests in several countries over icons such as the poppy are analysed, and the role of memorial museums both the national Imperial War Museum and the international peace Museums worldwide – Europe and Japan are discussed. Finally the deconstruction of the image of the warrior is analysed, as in Hemingway and the Homeric myth in real life of the returning modern veteran as victim of modern war.
