Revisiting the World War II combat genre: collective heroism in Dunkirk (2017)

Abstract

[eng] This paper delves into the portrayal of heroic masculinity in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk (2017), which centers on the so-called Operation Dynamo, that is, the evacuation of 338,000 soldiers from the French port to Britain during World War II. This historical event holds a significant place in British collective memory, which makes it fundamental to explore how it is depicted in film. Dunkirk presents a unique approach by depicting the evacuation through various characters and plots: instead of the traditional sole hero in war cinema, Dunkirk portrays collective heroism. Nonetheless, this representation eventually develops into a nationalistic message which can be framed within the tradition of the genre. The aim of this paper is to scrutinize how heroism is represented in Dunkirk and draw a connection with the feasible national significance of the film. Studies on the intersection of gender and genre are employed for both the close analysis of the characters and discussion of how the film engages with, and challenges, the established war cinema conventions. Ultimately, this paper argues that Dunkirk innovates the genre by portraying a collective heroic masculinity yet remains conservative as this representation eventually prompts a message tied to national pride. This dissertation is organized into four primary sections: the first three focus on the analysis of heroic masculinity, corresponding to the main timelines in Dunkirk: land, sea and air. The final section addresses how this portrayal aligns with the conservative ideological message that the film evokes.