Wiki for Dr. McClurkens Courses

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You should do a total of 2-3 comments/questions/observations this week. You do not need to post to all areas. – Dr. McClurken

DO NOT DELETE OTHER PEOPLE'S COMMENTS – Please be careful as you add your posts that you are not deleting anyone else's work. – Dr. McClurken

====== How does this movie work as a secondary source? What does the movie get right about history? ======

The main aspect that the movie was able to get right about history is the struggle of returning war veterans to be integrated back into American society. Post traumatic stress disorder terrorizes the lives of the three main protagonists from a psychological perspective. Fred’s difficulties in finding a job within Boone City displays the struggles such as unemployment during this time period. Relationship difficulties were also present due to the prolonged separation and uncertainty of soldiers returning from combat that added a complex layer to the relationship dynamics. The casting for the characters like Harold Russell as Homer who suffers from losing both his hands during the war adds a level of raw realism that the film needs in the projection of this reality to the audience. Overall, the film’s nature is one of a dark past that torments the lives of the characters in which the wedding at the end presents a start to a hopeful and optimistic future not only for the three main characters but can also be for veterans as well. -Alex

I believe that //The Best Years of Our Lives// does a pretty good job of capturing the emotions and thoughts of the veterans. When the three men talked on the plane on their way home, they all expressed a desire to return to normalcy with a solid job and a decent home. This shows historical accuracy, some of the veterans who returned home had optimistic and idealistic thoughts, they also did experience the mental impacts of war. In the film, the men first came across as rather optimistic, but upon returning home, they had symptoms of PTSD. One veteran (I think it was Al) had some difficulty reintegrating into society and wanted to drink to forget while Homer had trouble reconnecting with his some of his family. Furthermore, the three males seemed frustrated and confused by the changes occurring in America, such as the employment and education of women. Another historical accuracy I noticed was at the 30-minute mark of the film, when one character says that America is going to be in a difficult time, with depression and unemployment, which was actually the truth. People after WW2 did have a fear of economic devastation following the war, they thought America would return to how it was before the wars. (Hannah E.)

This film does a very good job of portraying realistic experiences that servicemen faced after the war, as well as the thoughts of people in the post-war period. It accurately captured the public’s fear that the economic forecast for the nation after the war was projected to be dismal by many commentators. Additionally, the subject of nuclear war was broached and the fear surrounding the destructive potential that would hold. Fears about veterans taking civilian jobs was shown, as well as some of the nuances of the selective service act with employers not being forced to hire people after a change in ownership. Also importantly, the difficulty of readjusting to the civilian sector with skills that don’t translate very well was well captured. - Owen

The Best Years of Our Lives accurately captures the challenges American WWII veterans faced upon returning home, including reintegration struggles, economic insecurity, and the impact of physical and psychological trauma. Through characters like Fred, Al, and Homer, the film portrays issues like job scarcity, shifting family dynamics, and the mental toll of combat—issues that were real and widespread for returning servicemen. Homer’s story also highlights the difficulties disabled veterans faced, marking one of the first times these realities were shown so openly in Hollywood. By depicting these struggles, the film provides an empathetic view of postwar American life. -Sam B

What stuck out to me about the film was how it showed the struggle of integrating back into society for returning war veterans. It showed the very real problems that veterans faced when they came back home, from psychological issues,  to challenges in reconnecting with loved ones and reintegrating back into society. Similarly with its portrayal of women on the home front who had previously been working during the war but now had to contend with the return of traditional gender roles after the war. They were expected to give up on their jobs and go back to being stay-at-home-wives. I thought the film was fairy accurate in portraying this aspect of life after the war. —Vumiliya V. 
====== Problems with historical accuracy? Errors in fact? ======

It’s nigh impossible to pick out historical inaccuracies in a film that is set contemporaneously (for reasons which are obvious), so instead, it might be prudent to point out where the movie fell short with regards to representation. Whilst the film should be (and, upon release, was) praised for its inclusion of a disabled veteran as one of its main characters, which lead to insight into how life might look for a man who was marred in service to his country once the war ended, it falls short in its inclusion of other groups. There is no demonstration of what returning minority servicemen might have experienced, and instead, the experience of all returning veterans is funneled through the view of a trio of white men. More than a million Black people served during the war, along with half a million Hispanic-Americans. While they did not constitute the majority of returning veterans, they certainly made up a sizeable minority, and their experiences upon returning home were likely to be different from those of their white counterparts.  - John M.

There isn't much that isn't historically inaccurate with this film. The biggest issue with this film is how it ended. It accurately shows the hardships many returning veterans experienced, but since this is a Hollywood film, it's sugarcoated a little bit. Everyone get their happy ending and that wasn't always true for everyone. Plenty of soldiers returned with severe PTSD or other traumas and disabilities that weren't touched upon as in depth as it could have been. These hardships many veterans had were life long struggles that some never fully reocovered from. It is also important to note that this film was made in 1946, about a year after the war ended and the long term effects couldn't be determined at that point in time. However, American citizens have been involved in wars for a couple hundred years at this point, and the trauma that war brings was known at a certain degree by this point in time. That being said, it is a 1940s film, and taking that into account, they did a fairly decent job in its portrayal. - Emma Galvin

Because this source was about the time in which it was made, it can’t really be considered a secondary source about the period at all. Because of this, there are hardly any errors in fact – I would even go so far as saying there were none. This is for good reason too, I mean it would be weird to make a movie about 2024 and say that there were no such things as cars yet just for fun. The closest this movie gets to “historical inaccuracy” was discussing some issues or demographics more than others. I think the movie could have touched on the wartime experiences of minorities more and maybe touched on what it was actually like for the women back on the homefront as well (although they did allude to this a bit). --Emma F.

====== How does the film’s overall interpretation(s) deviate from scholarly historical sources? ======

I felt that this film did a very good job in remaining accurate to the sentiment of the time period, especially considering when it was made, and who was involved in making it. There were several veterans on the cast and crew, and comparing the movie to the source of the week, as well as other accounts of the time period, they can almost be mirrors of each other. There are very few details that I could see that were inaccurate, because they were pulling from not only the experiences of people they had met and talked with, but their own as well. - Caty

====== How does this movie work as a primary source about the time in which it was made? ======

I believe this film is excellent as a primary source because it was filmed around the end of WWII. The war is still fresh to the director and even to the actors because it was shot close to the war. From what I've read, one of the actors was an actual war veteran, so he was able to experience and feel the war while transferring it (somewhat) to the screen. Overall, the three men in the film portray the various difficulties that veterans encountered in the 1940s, indicating a change from celebrating war heroism to recognizing the difficulties of acclimating to everyday life. (Hannah E.)

This movie speaks to the type of movies that Americans were pumped full of during WWII. After years of propaganda films about the idea of American superiority and happy stories to boost morale this movie tries to tell a heavier tale of WWII, but is still clearly beholden to the propaganda mold. The story depicts the men struggling to adjust to their life, but ultimately they are able to overcome these struggles and have happy endings. I think that this speaks to not wanting to alienate an audience that is still definitely riding high on the victory and propaganda. - Ewan H

The Best of Years Of Our Lives feel unique when placed in the collection of other films we’ve watched insofar as it is the only one that is set during the year of its release. For this reason, it serves as an immaculate demonstration of some of the ideals surrounding returning veterans following the conclusion of the Second World War. Whilst serving as an activist piece with regards to treatment of disabled veterans, which grants insight into how society treated the permanently wounded at the time, its more serviceable role as a window into 1946 comes from the subtext it presents. It seems, in some ways, to play things safely, never fully wanting to meaningfully and openly flaunt the notion that America, in many ways, was flawed in many aspects of its treatment of returning servicemen. Instead, it is more tempered in its portrayals of wrongdoing (with the exception of Marie), demonstrating the desire to avoid the powers that be. - John M.

The Best Years of Our Lives is a valuable primary source for understanding post-World War II America because it shows the real concerns people had at the time. Made just after the war, it reflects society’s empathy for returning veterans and the challenges they faced, like finding jobs, dealing with trauma, and fitting back into family life. The character Homer, a disabled veteran, highlights the struggles of those with visible injuries, while other characters show the hidden scars of war. It also touches on changing family roles, as women readjusted after working during the war. The film captures the emotions and issues of 1946, giving us a direct look at what society valued and worried about right after the war. -Sam B

The Best Years of Our Lives serves as a great primary source of its time, it being that it was released not long after WW2. I think it served as something lots of Americans could relate to, a realistic depiction of the transition to peacetime, unlike lots of the propaganda they were used to. The characters portrayed, although complex, showed that they were human while still moving people emotionally. It represented a lot of the struggles veterans had to face, problems like depression, PTSD, alcoholism, finding work, and the feeling of unfulfillment they may have felt in their new lives. -Matt S.

This movie works great as a primary source due to when it was made. Due to the film coming out in 1946, the conflict was extremely fresh in the minds of viewers, and those that produced and starred in the film. In my eyes, this makes the film even more poignant as all of those people were surely touched by the horrors of the conflict.----Thomas K.

So far, this is the only movie we have watched that acts as both a primary source to the time it was made and actually being a primary source itself. It details the lives and hardships many veterans had to go through and was made less than a year after the war ended. There were many veterans involved in the making of this movie which helped to give accurate stories of what the movie portrayed. It also highlights that people want an inside scoop on what many veterans were currently feeling like. It is also relatable to many veterans and probably helped them feel less alone, which is what many needed in 1946. This movie is also a great example of how Hollywood worked in the 1940s. This movie, while accurate, was fairly toned down, which tracks with the pg nature many old Hollywood films possessed. It was also a period of time right after war and many were tired of the gloom WWII brought and most likely didn't want to see a film in which a happy ending was absent. - Emma Galvin

====== The "So What" Question ======

The reason why we should care about this film is that it should be an eye opener to the harsh reality that faced these soldiers when returning home from the war. PTSD, trauma, and the difficulties with integrating back into American society were prominent issues that resonated with post war audiences that should not be understated. This film was able to shift away from the norms of movies outputted at this time towards a more raw and realistic approach so that we can be more socially aware. This allows for us to have a mutual understanding and respect for one another as citizens so that we can move forward and progress together as a country. -Alex

This movie is important to watch because it's a direct look into the way people were reacting to the end of the war at the time where it was actually happening. There aren't many movies that had the opportunity to do so, and certainly not so well as this one. It shows how people at the time period were reacting to changes in their families, in their societies, in their lives. I believe it's important to watch this movie because there are plenty of movies about war, but not as much about what happens after. Those stories deserve to be told, and I believe that this movie does that pretty well. - Caty

This is a movie worthy of analysis because of the unique perspective it provides on the history it portrays. The film is documententing a phenomenon that is taking place concurrently with the movie being made, and that makes the depiction of the events interesting. They are very fresh and real, but also depict very limited perspectives and definitely leave some lacking. This kind of historical film is unique in that this doesn’t happen often, and especially in this context it deserves to be studied. - Ewan H

This film serves an important role in providing the public a decent look at the experiences of veterans coming home after the war. Telling the stories of a physically disabled sailor, a sergeant with a drinking problem, and a pilot with relationship issues could not have been the easiest decision to arrive at when pitching ideas, but I think it’s good that they did. Movies like this help the public see veterans as people with very human problems rather than dangerous people to be avoided. - Owen

This film stresses lots of importance on the emotional and psychological effects that the soldiers had to face after the war, during a time when PTSD was not very well known. It was much different than lots of the movies made about wars of that time. It didn’t showcase heroism or patriotism themes that many did, instead it gave a complex view of what life was truly like for them, like the struggle to fit in socially as well as the need for compassion. This is significant for our generation to see since lots of us probably didn’t think much of the transition after the war. It helps us understand the sacrifices that the veterans made, where in many cases affected the rest of their lives. -Matt S.

I believe this movie is extremely important for a few different reasons. For one, it illustrates to viewers a subject matter that was very little talked about in Post-War America. By focusing on the Psychological and Physical wounds experienced by soldiers coming home from the war, it humanizes those that came home and shows the horrors of war without having to show battle scenes. This movie is extremely important considering it came out in an era full of John Wayne, masculine “shoot-em-up” movies.--Thomas K.

This movie is important for two major reasons. One, the movie represents very accurately the end-of-the-war experience for both soldier and family. Like we have been doing with all of the movies we covered this semester, it is a great resource to offer us more insight into what this would have actually been like or how it would have played out. The second reason is it is actually a primary source of the time because it was also made during the post-war period – soldiers were //actually// experiencing this when the movie came out. That adds an extra lens of analysis and accuracy that we can look through when viewing this movie today. --Emma F.

The film is an enduring legacy in its portrayal of the harsh realities of post-war life for veterans. It does not shy away from depicting the psychological toll of war, specifically the PTSD and substance abuse issues that many returning veterans struggled with. Likewise with its portrayal of disabled characters, Homer, who was played by an actual disabled actor; for the time period it was shot in, directly following World War 2, this specific depiction was majorly groundbreaking in that I don't believe that there were many depictions of disabled characters on screen. Especially not ones portrayed in a complex and empathic light. The issues touched upon within the film are enduring ones that are significant to modern day issues that veterans face even to this day. —Vumiliya V.

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