For Generation X, the story of war is also the story of changing media.
As I watch the war in Ukraine unfold in unprecedented detail across social media, I am reminded of how the media through which the messages of war have been communicated have changed throughout my life.
The cold war and government propaganda
In 1980 every household received a copy of “Protect and Survive”, a government issued booklet that explained what to do in the event of a nuclear attack. As a child it gave me nightmares and introduced existential dread to a generation.
The Falklands war and the press
I was still at primary school when Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher ordered the British fleet to cross the Atlantic to retake the Islas Malvinas from the Argentinian forces, the conflict played out on the front pages of newspapers everyday.
The Gulf war and 24 hour TV news
In 1991, I had just started at university as Operation Desert Storm dominated our TV screens. The 24 hour apocalyptic images of burning oil fields established the dominance of rolling news channels like CNN.
The Iraq war and the Internet
I was in my first full time job as a web designer when the Twin Towers were struck. We were glued to the grainy footage that streamed over the Internet. Although the September 11 attacks had no connection to Iraq, the unprecented images formed part of the justification for the War on Terror that followed.