Cultural impact of the Falklands War


The cultural impact of the Falklands War spanned several media in both Britain and Argentina. A number of films and television productions emerged from the conflict. The first Argentine film about the war was Los chicos de la guerra in 1984. The BBC drama Tumbledown told the story of a British officer who got paralysed due to a bullet wound. The computer game Harrier Attack and the naval strategy game Strike Fleet are two examples of Falklands-related games. A number of fictional works were set during the Falklands War, including in Stephen King's novella The Langoliers, in which the character Nick Hopewell is a Falklands veteran. The war provided a wealth of material for non-fiction writers; in the United Kingdom an important account became Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins' The Battle for the Falklands.
The Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges wrote a short poem, called Juan López y John Ward, about two fictional soldiers, who died in the Falklands, in which he refers to "islands that were too famous". Another Argentine example is "Elegy for the Argentine Dead Boys, in the South Atlantic" by Salvador Oria. Music referencing the war includes songs by Captain Sensible, the Argentine punk-rock band Los Violadores' song "Comunicado #166", and British heavy metal band Iron Maiden's song called "Como Estais Amigos".

Arts, entertainment, and electronic media

Films and television

A number of films and television productions emerged from the conflict. Notable examples include:

Fiction

The war provided a wealth of material for writers, and many dozens of books came from it; in the United Kingdom an account was Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins' The Battle for the Falklands. Major General Julian Thompson, of the Royal Marines, wrote his own account as commander in his 1985 book No Picnic: 3 Commando Brigade in the South Atlantic. Other titles focused on the Sea Harrier, the land battles leading up to the Argentine surrender, and the general experience of battle and life in the surrounding area. Vincent Bramley's "Forward into Hell" offers a less apologetic account of the War. In Argentina, one of the best-known is Commodore Pablo Carballo's Halcones de Malvinas, a collection of personal experiences of fighter pilots and many others and mandatory reading for admission to the FAA's Escuela de Aviación Militar.

Poetry

The Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges, himself partly of British descent and raised bilingually in Spanish and English, wrote a short poem, called Juan López y John Ward, about two fictional soldiers, who died in the Falklands, in which he refers to "islands that were too famous". He also said about the war: "The Falklands thing was a fight between two bald men over a comb."
A large amount of poetry has been written on both sides, regarding the war. An Argentine example is "Elegy for the Argentine Dead Boys, in the South Atlantic" by Salvador Oria.

Comics

Music referencing the war includes:
was the official war artist accompanying British troops during the Falklands Conflict. She created over 400 drawings of the troops' daily life, many of which are now part of the Imperial War Museum’s art collection and were exhibited to the general public in November 1982. They were featured again in the Museum's exhibition Women War Artists, in 2011-2012. All of Kitson's drawings which were not retained by the Museum were sold.

Football

's popular Argentine midfielder Ossie Ardiles had helped beat Leicester City in an FA Cup semi-final one day after the invasion: whilst Ardiles was booed by the Leicester fans, who chanted "England, England, England" whenever he touched the ball, the Tottenham supporters responded by chanting "Argentina, Argentina, Argentina" in support of Ardiles. Two days later he left England to return to Argentina: according to him, this had already been arranged before the war so he could prepare with the Argentina national football team ahead of the 1982 FIFA World Cup. Whilst Tottenham's manager Keith Burkinshaw wanted Ardiles to return to the club for the next season, Ardiles felt unable to do this, and as a compromise it was agreed that he would instead go on loan to Paris Saint-Germain. However he would subsequently return to Tottenham, remaining with the club until 1988 and winning the UEFA Cup with them in 1984. His cousin José Ardiles, a fighter pilot, was killed during the early stages of the air campaign, becoming the first Argentine pilot to die in the war. Ardiles' countryman and Tottenham team-mate, Ricardo Villa, also chose to miss the 1982 FA Cup Final, and subsequently left the club in 1983. White, Blue and White, a documentary on Ardiles and Villa's experiences in England, including the period of the conflict, was produced for ESPN's 30 for 30 series.
Elsewhere, Stockport County stopped using their blue-and-white kit inspired by the Argentina national team, stating that playing in it "hardly seems appropriate, given the current circumstances". The war also created heightened passions between Argentina and England in the 1986, 1998, and 2002 FIFA World Cups, featuring play by Diego Maradona, Peter Shilton, and David Beckham.

State recognition

Holidays

The war is commemorated as Día del Veterano de Guerra y los Caídos en Malvinas, a public holiday in Argentina, on 2 April. It is sometimes referred to as Malvinas Day.
In Britain, those who lost their lives are remembered as part of Remembrance Sunday.
In the Falkland Islands themselves, two holidays commemorate the war: Liberation Day on 14 June, a public holiday in the Falkland Islands, and Margaret Thatcher Day on 10 January.

Memorials

In the United Kingdom, there is a national memorial at Pangbourne College, a small co-educational public school in Berkshire; it is titled the Falkland Islands Memorial Chapel.
There are several memorials in the Falkland Islands, the most predominate of which is the 1982 Liberation Memorial in Stanley which was unveiled on 14 June 1984.
When the war started a Buenos Aires street, "Calle Inglaterra", was renamed "Calle 2 de Abril", after the start date of the war. In November 2013, the street briefly reverted to its original name "Calle Inglaterra". But due to the resulting denunciations and fierce protests caused by this name, the same street was finally renamed in March 2014 as the "Pasaje 2 de Abril" by the Buenos Aires government, also because another street named "Calle 2 de Abril" already exists in Buenos Aires.
In 1982, after the Falklands War ended, the clock tower "Torre de los Ingleses", which was a gift from the local British community to the city of Buenos Aires in commemoration of the centennial of the May Revolution of 1810, was renamed as the "Torre Monumental". At the same time, the "Plaza Británica", where the tower is situated, was renamed as the "Plaza Fuerza Aérea Argentina". The Monument to the Fallen Soldiers was built in this square.

Terminology

This war is occasionally written as The Falklands/Malvinas War, recognising the international split over the Islands' name. Other constructs such as Falklands Conflict and Falklands Crisis have also been used. The term Guerra de las Malvinas or Malvinas War is the one normally used in Spanish-speaking countries and has also been used by some socialist groups in English-speaking countries.
The name "Guerra del Atlántico Sur", meaning "War of the South Atlantic" is also used in Spanish. Unlike the term "Falklands/Malvinas War", this reflects the fact that some of the conflict occurred in South Georgia, and the deep ocean.