Tenets of Public Management and the World War II Mot ion Picture Genre
The motion picture as an artistic medium amplifies emotions through the combination of imagery and sound. This medium has proven ideal for chronicling the American World War II experience. The World War II film genre has portrayed the American combat soldier as heroic and resourceful (Suid 2002). These portrayals of actions and leadership on the battlefield are, to some measure, applicable to contemporary public management. This paper examines select World War II motion pictures in the context of the following questions: (1) what tenets do these motion pictures convey and (2) to what extent do these tenets apply topublic management? Patton (1970), Saving Private Ryan (1998), and The Great Escape (1963) are examined