ABSTRACT

This paper examines cinematic representations of mercenaries from the era of silent movies to the 1980s. It argues that cinema has been selective in the choice of historical periods to depict mercenaries and soldiers of fortune, ignoring for the most part the centuries of European state building in which mercenaries played a significant role. Most mercenary films are anchored in the near present and the paper focuses on Mexico and the Congo as terrains of political breakdown and external intervention. Since the 1950s, a range of films depict mercenaries in these terrains seeking money, adventure, and the thrills of killing, and the paper examines mercenary movies through the character structures of hero, anti-hero and villain. These three structures have shaped the portrayal of mercenaries in westerns and war movies as well as action and sci fi movies, where they have become hardened in the last two decades into range of stock stereotypes

摘要

本文研究了从无声电影时代到 1980 年代雇佣军的电影表现。它认为，电影在选择历史时期来描绘雇佣军和幸运士兵时一直是有选择性的，而在很大程度上忽略了雇佣军在欧洲国家建设中发挥了重要作用的几个世纪。大多数雇佣军电影都以近期为背景，本文重点关注墨西哥和刚果作为政治崩溃和外部干预的地形。自 1950 年代以来，一系列电影描绘了雇佣军在这些地区寻求金钱、冒险和杀戮的快感，本文通过英雄、反英雄和恶棍的角色结构来审视雇佣军电影。