Abstract
Abstract As the “War on Terror” continues, the national myth of veteran-as-hero has given way to a narrative shorthand of veteran-as-villain. Films and television shows depicting the reintegration of veterans tend to focus on the struggle and alienation from the homefront that veterans feel upon their return. In contrast, comedy television portrayals such as One Day at a Time and You’re the Worst, both of which slowly but successfully reintegrate their central veteran characters, do so narratively by shifting their characters’ veteran status from their defining feature to one aspect of their past. Ultimately, I argue that the process of reintegration is one paralleled in the rehumanization that these comedy television portrayals permit, ultimately offering hope that reintegration, while not easy, is possible.
Highlights
As the “War on Terror” continues, the national myth of veteran-as-hero has given way to a narrative shorthand of veteran-as-villain
One of the most common is that of the veteran suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), who often serves as an immediately understood villain or antagonist with no further backstory than “broken veteran.”
Nicole Brenez puts it: “It’s that precisely, the cinematic character rarely aims at the singular, does not come close to the incomparable, on the contrary: much more often it is a silhouette charged with giving form, provisionally, to a value, a function, an idea.”6 the figure gives a unifying name to a wide range of interpretations provided by the viewer – the veteran figure may stand in for a failed and corrupt war to some while simultaneously representing pride in nation for others
Summary
And popular observations about the ways in which media representation matters account for their significance in terms of concretizing, shifting, or otherwise impacting worldviews. Nicole Brenez puts it: “It’s that precisely, the cinematic character rarely aims at the singular, does not come close to the incomparable, on the contrary: much more often it is a silhouette charged with giving form, provisionally, to a value, a function, an idea.” the figure gives a unifying name to a wide range of interpretations provided by the viewer – the veteran figure may stand in for a failed and corrupt war to some while simultaneously representing pride in nation for others In this way, the preponderance of images circulating can fluidly shift and fit disparate worldviews, as they exist merely as outlines holding the meaning of an idea or value. Said stereotype creates an ossified version of the veteran, for it does not retain changes in association across individuals in the way that figures do, nor does it allow for growth or change over time
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