The Redefinition of Masculinity in the Post-War Climate through The Best Years of Our Lives
The film The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946) is renowned for its accurate depiction of the brave veterans who have served the nation of the United States. Many individuals do not realize that there are two parts to a soldier’s struggle. The first, and most obvious, being their incredible courage on the field of battle. The second, and perhaps even more challenging, being their reassimilation into civilian society. The film takes place after World War II has been won by the Allied forces when soldiers are returning to their homes carrying the burdens of what they have seen and experienced with them. It follows three primary characters who all fought in the international conflict in varying capacities and there rather coarse return to civilian life. Each character has to deal with their own demons in a way that will allow them to live above their personal afflictions. For Homer, played by Harold Russell, it is the loss of his hands during combat. For Fred, played by Dana Andrews, it is a combination of post-traumatic stress disorder and a struggle with poverty. For Al, played by Frederic March, it is alcoholism and the continuation of his job at the same standard as before the war. The film The Best Years of Our Lives manages to capture the essence of post-war trauma experienced by a significant portion of veterans after the horrific events of World War II. The film uses the characters of Homer, Fred, and Al to convey the effect of the psychological trauma faced by countless veterans and comments on the changing perception of masculinity in society during the post-war climate.
The most prolific source of trauma experienced by veterans is post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. The film uses the character of Captain Fred Derry to illustrate this concept as he tries to return to civilian life still bearing the burdens of what he has seen and experienced on the battlefield. The primary scene that addresses Fred’s affliction is the one during which Fred starts screaming in his sleep about his ordeals during the war. Hearing his cries, Al’s daughter, Peggy, immediately starts to console Fred and sits with him as he sweats and shakes with fear.[1] This is one of the most prominent instances of the redefining of masculinity in the post-war era. Audiences are exposed to the helpless nature portrayed by Fred as he is incapable of returning to reality without the help of a woman to nurture him. It is also important to understand the conundrum that Fred finds himself in as he returns home from the war. During his time serving in the military, he was an esteemed member of the United States armed forces and had authority over his life and command of his men as a Captain. After returning home to Boone City, the entirety of his identity as an individual with honor and respect is stripped away by his financial situation. He eventually finds himself working in the same pharmacy at an even lower level than before the war. Yet another factor that contributes to Fred’s identity crisis is his relationship with his wife, Marie. During the time in which Fred was serving in the military, his wife was providing for herself by finding work in a night club. There are several instances in the film where it is evident that Marie is embarrassed of Fred and his incapability to provide her the life she desires. As mentioned by Lesley C. Pleasant in “The Postwar Anxiety of the American Pin-Up”, the characterization of Marie as the “war bride” who wants a future of prosperity is the most prominent source of challenge to Fred’s masculinity.[2] All of these aspects together provide concrete evidence for the shift in masculinity experienced by several veterans in similar situations. As written by Sarah F. Sahn in her paper “Between Friends: Disability, Masculinity, and Rehabilitation in The Best Years of Our Lives”, the depiction of the medals on Fred’s army uniform represents his masculinity as “the citizen soldier”.[3] After Fred’s return to civilian life, he tells his parents that his medals and citations are “nothing but words” as they have not helped him regain his purpose in life. The only person in the film who manages to pull him out of his emotional abyss is Peggy, which is demonstrated through their engagement at the end of the film. This event is yet another piece of evidence for the argument that the role of masculinity in society has undergone a profound shift after the experiences of veterans during the war. Before this film, the majority of motion pictures were prone to depicting a heroic male protagonist saving his “damsel in distress”. This film, however, is one of the first instances in which the female character is shown saving the male one from his personal trauma.
The character of Al is faced with another battle once he returns home. This conflict may not be physical, like Homer’s, or financial, like Fred’s. Al’s primary struggle once he returns from the war is the acceptance of change in his household over the years that he has been serving in the military. This is best exemplified by the scene in which Al returns home and comments that he “feel[s] like [he is] going in to hit a beach.”[4] This sentiment of apprehension of returning to his family that he compares with storming a beach during wartime shows the extent to which Al feels like he is returning to a territory that is unknown to him. This feeling is constant even when he is reunited with his wife and children. There are several factors that seem unfamiliar to Al as he returns home. The primary concept that he comments on is the new structure of the family and the contemporary roles that his wife and children have taken in his absence. He finds that the method of dealing with this newfound confusion is through drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. This is depicted by his request for his wife and daughter to join him in a fun night out, of which the majority is spent drinking in bars. This special night out is not, however, an isolated incident. Al continues to drink throughout the film as a kind of cure for the hidden trauma that he has experienced in the war. He chooses to focus on drinking as opposed to his psychological troubles of navigating a new kind of society so as to seem “the responsible head of his family.”[5] The relation between Al’s drinking habits and the altered sense of masculinity in society is essential to understand due to the fact that alcoholism was not an uncommon affair in the lives of several veterans. Upon realizing that numerous aspects of the world Al was used to have now transformed, including his role as the primary breadwinner, it is natural for him to try to show that he is unshaken by the current state of society through his drinking habits. Alcohol serves as a kind of shield from the realization that his sense of authority as a man has now changed due to the post-war gender climate. The traditional home-wife that Al was used to when he left to fight in the war has largely been replaced by more industrious women, like Marie, who have experienced the hardships of providing for themselves and their family while their male counterparts were serving their nation.[6]
The character who has, arguably, experienced the most physical loss as a result of fighting in the war is Homer. Having lost both of his hands during the war, Homer is forced to use a kind of brace as replacements for his hands. There are several instances in the film when Homer’s character has difficulty with the social appearance of having the braces. Initially, Homer acts as if he is not fazed by the severity of his injury. This is evident in the scene in which he is eager to help Al and Fred light their match in order to smoke a cigarette. It is obvious from both Al and Fred’s facial expressions that they feel a sense of pity for Homer’s situation. It is impossible, however, to see the same look of self-pity on Homer’s face as he seems keen to use his new hands. This same sentiment of emotional distance between Homer and the characters who surround him is seen when his family and girlfriend, Wilma, see him. Initially, they are elated to see Homer return from the war. As he waves goodbye to Al and Fred, however, his injury is extremely noticeable. This is the exact moment during which the expressions on his family’s face change to ones of apprehension for Homer’s future.[7] As the film progresses, there are a series of events that slowly chip away at Homer’s self-confidence. One of these instances is when he accidentally drops a glass of water since it slips from his braces. The moment in the film when Homer is at his most vulnerable is when he is alone with Wilma in his bedroom. This is the first time when Wilma and the audience see the extent to which Homer’s injury has crippled him. As he removes his prosthetics, he remarks “My hands are down there on the bed. I can’t put them on again without calling to someone for help. […] I’m as dependent as a baby who doesn’t know how to get anything except cry for it.”[8] This sense of helplessness in front of Wilma is the defining moment for the altered perception of masculinity. As mentioned by Sarah F. Sahn, Harold Russel, the actor who played Homer, could easily have taken his braces off and put them back on without any assistance. He says that “the change was necessary for ‘the dramatic needs of the story’”.[9] This restriction was to increase the feeling that it was necessary for Wilma to help Homer survive in civilian life and that without her, he was as good as an infant who could not care for himself.
The amalgamation of all three characters and their experiences in the post-war climate is the primary factor that helps audiences realize the common struggle that all veterans go through at one level or another. The diversity of the obstacles that Fred, Al, and Homer face help to highlight the severity of the changes that occurred in American society after World War II. One of the most significant of these changes is the alteration of the concept of masculinity in the post-war climate. Before the war started, the concept of masculinity was depicted in American film and television in the form of a strong male presence often with submissive and dependent female supporting characters. This film marks the transition from the era of the secondary role of the female protagonist to a time in which equal importance is given to both the male and female characters.
Bibliography
Pleasant, Lesley C. “The Postwar Anxiety of the American Pin-Up: William Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).” In Heroism and Gender in War Films, edited by Karen A. Ritzenhoff and Jakub Kazecki, 67-83. New York: Plagrave Macmillan, 2014.
Sahn, Sarah F. “Between Friends: Disability, Masculinity, and Rehabilitation in The Best Years of Our Lives” Liverpool University Press, 2017.
The Best Years of Our Lives. Directed by William Wyler, Samuel Goldwyn Productions, 1946.
[1] The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946)
[2] Pleasant, Lesley C. “The Postwar Anxiety of the American Pin-Up: William Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).” In Heroism and Gender in War Films, edited by Karen A. Ritzenhoff and Jakub Kazecki, 67-83. New York: Plagrave Macmillan, 2014.
[3] Sahn, Sarah F. “Between Friends: Disability, Masculinity, and Rehabilitation in The Best Years of Our Lives” Liverpool University Press, 2017.
[4] The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946)
[5] Sahn, Sarah F. “Between Friends: Disability, Masculinity, and Rehabilitation in The Best Years of Our Lives” Liverpool University Press, 2017.
[6] Pleasant, Lesley C. “The Postwar Anxiety of the American Pin-Up: William Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).” In Heroism and Gender in War Films, edited by Karen A. Ritzenhoff and Jakub Kazecki, 67-83. New York: Plagrave Macmillan, 2014.
[7] The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946)
[8] The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946)
[9] Sahn, Sarah F. “Between Friends: Disability, Masculinity, and Rehabilitation in The Best Years of Our Lives” Liverpool University Press, 2017.