"Immortality! Take it! It's yours!": American Identity in the Epic Film Narratives of Post-9/11 Cinema

Abstract

This thesis explores historical epic genre in the light of the post 9-11 American society. The resurgence of the historical epic film in 2001 to 2011 is not mere coincidence, American cinema attempted to analyze, explain and justify the changes brought about by the post-9/11 era. The historical epic film creates a common imagined past as well as it helps consolidate an American identity. Alexander, Troy, 300, Clash of Titans, Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Immortals, are analyzed in four chapters dealing with four central themes: “Heroes and Heroic Sacrifice,” “War,” “Empire,” and “Freedom and Democracy.”