PTSD In The Film 'The Best Years Of Our Lives'

The Best Years of Our Lives is a movie set in Boone City and the year is 1946. Directed by William Wyler, it tells the story of three world war two soldiers returning home after war and their struggle to return to a normal and healthy lifestyle. Throughout the movie, the characters fight with the onset of PTSD, the search for love, and how the war has affected their everyday lives to become whole again with their self and the world around them. After World War Two, many soldiers experienced what was known, at that time, as shell shock. It is now known and diagnosed as PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD is a mental health disorder caused by a traumatic event that affect’s one’s ability to communicate with others, form relationships, problem solve, etc. In the movie, PTSD is very evident in having its effects on each of the characters individually but it’s mainly seen in Fred. In one scene, Fred

Al struggles finding his footing with Milly, and Homer has a rocky start with Wilma, whose parents wanted her to leave him but she decided to stay anyway. However, the main relationship shift happens with Fred’s wife Marie and Al’s daughter Peggy. When Fred returns home from war, he goes back to being a poor soda jerk. Marie sees this as lack luster as she thought the war would make him turn into a powerful, rich army man. Long story short, Peggy and Fred end up falling in love even against Al’s wishes. This highlights the effect war has on loved one’s at home. At home, it’s a daily struggle to get to the next day knowing that your loved one may never come home. This creates an emotional toll on everyone involved and strains the relationships that must be picked back up upon returning home. The commitment involved with remaining faithful to your loved one while they’re gone years at a time can also create an unbreakable bond, or a divide as seen in Fred and Marie’s