Compassion and trauma in affective witnessing: The case of A Private War

Abstract

This article analyses the architecture of affective witnessing in the biographical film, A Private War (Michael Heineman 2018), representing the life and work of famous war correspondent, Marie Colvin. Focusing on the self-reflexive representation of affective witnessing in the film, the article discusses the ethical aspects of compassion in war reporting and the politics of trauma and moral injury with their dangerous impact on the life of the protagonist. Affective witnessing implies an ethical position of compassion and responsibility for the victims of war, but it also implies various levels of trauma, with maladaptive effects on the psyche of war correspondents. The analysis of the film is the basis for a theoretical exploration of the affective practice of witnessing and the dangers of trauma and moral injury that accompany the work of war journalists.