In this timely critical introduction to the representation of Afghanistan in film, Mark Graham examines the often surprising combination of propaganda and poetry in films made in Hollywood and the East. Through the lenses of postcolonial theory and historical reassessment, Graham analyzes what these films say about Afghanistan, Islam, and the West and argues that they are integral tools for forming discourse on Afghanistan, a means for understanding and avoiding past mistakes, and symbols of the country's shaky but promising future. Thoughtfully addressing many of the misperceptions about Afghanistan perpetuated in the West, Afghanistan in the Cinema incorporates incisive analysis of the market factors, funding sources, and political agendas that have shaped the films.

The book considers a range of films, beginning with the 1970s epics The Man Who Would Become King and The Horsemen and following the shifts in representation of the Muslim world during the Russian War in films such as The Beast and Rambo III. Graham then moves on to Taliban-era films such as Kandahar, Osama, and Ellipsis, the first Afghan film directed by a woman. Lastly, the book discusses imperialist nostalgia in films such as Charlie Wilson's War and destabilizing visions represented in contemporary works such as The Kite Runner.

|Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Haunted Eyes 1

PART 1: IMPERIALIST NOSTALGIA
1. Getting in Touch with Our Inner Savage: The Horsemen 11
2. Butch and Sundance in Afghanistan: The Man Who Would Be King 22
3. The New Great Game: Rambo III, The Beast, and Charlie Wilson's War 36

PART 2: THE BURQA FILMS
4. Land without Images: Kandahar 59
5. Afghan Gothic: Osama 85

PART 3: BORDER CROSSINGS
6. The West Unveiled: In This World 113
7. The Poetry of Silence: Ellipsis 130
8. A Way to Feel Good Again: The Kite Runner 146

Conclusion: Ending Charlie Wilson's War 165
Notes 169
Bibliography 181
Index 193| A Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2011. — Choice
|Mark Graham is the author of How Islam Created the Modern World and several works of fiction, including the Edgar Allan Poe Award–winning novel The Black Maria: A Mystery of Old Philadelphia. He lives in Pennsylvania.