Analyzing the 1948 U.N. Genocide Convention via Popular Film

• In Event: Pop Culture and The Framing of Politics

Abstract

With the recent World Court case about Gaza, attention has turned to what defines genocide. While the 1948 “Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide” provides a legal definition, global history has shown that genocides have kept occurring. There is often even a lengthy global discussion of whether a genocide is technically taking place. This paper uses films to analyze the ambiguity of the genocide label in three cases: Cambodia (The Killing Fields), Rwanda (Hotel Rwanda), and Bosnia (Quo Vadis, Aida?). How did the world community define these conflicts? How do these films wrestle with the concept of genocide? Can these films help the audience understand the complexity of the Genocide Convention as international law? Finally, would invoking the word genocide in films and popular culture change anything about how the world community would respond?

Authors

• Carlyn Jorgensen, South Texas College

• Christopher Cook, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown