As part of Cal Humanities’ statewide initiative War Comes Home and CA Reads 2014, the Los Angeles Public Library will present a Public Conversation event, Celluloid Soldiers: Veterans Through Hollywood’s Lens on Sunday August 10th, from 2:00pm to 3:30pm at Los Angeles Central Library’s Mark Taper Auditorium, 630 W. 5th Street, Los Angeles.
Since their invention, films have shaped public perceptions about veterans and the impacts of war. Films such as Born on the Fourth of July about paralyzed Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic or the 1946 film, The Best Years of Our Lives, about veterans returning from WWII, have made an indelible mark on American’s attitude toward veterans. This forum will delve into how the medium of film has shaped the narrative about veterans’ experiences and how that is changing with recent documentaries about current veterans issues. The forum will include a discussion and audience participation. Free and open to the public.