Artifact Presentation – Prosthetic

Jeff Schmidt

Artifact Presentation – Prosthetic

My Artifact: http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/314754/Best-Years-Of-Our-Lives-The-Movie-Clip-Among-My-Souvenirs.html

Description:

This is a clip from the movie The Best Years of Our Lives. This movie is about three servicemen from the same hometown that share a ride on the way back home from the war. They did not know each other before the war, but they become acquainted on the ride home. After returning home from the war, their lives become connected and intertwined as they try to go back to “normalcy” in the post war phase. Most of the movie deals with the personal struggles that each of the men face as they re-adjust to civilian life. One of the servicemen, named Homer, was a star quarterback before the war, but he was wounded and lost both of his arms during the war. The army trained him to use his prosthetic hooks and he is very skilled and adapted easily to his prosthetics. He is able to do many of the things that abled body men can do, and he prides himself on his determination to live a “normal” life again. However, when he returns home, his family is not quite sure how to handle Homer’s disability, and they approach it with awkwardness. Homer wants to be independent, but his family wants to care for Homer. It is obvious that they want to help him and care for him, but he views it as losing his independence and his wish to become normal. His girlfriend loves him deeply regardless of his disability, and they were planning on getting married after the war, but now Homer feels that he will burden to her and she deserves someone who is able bodied. One of the major plotlines of this movie deals with Homer’s view of himself as he returns to civilian life as a disabled veteran. The clip that I chose is from a scene where the three servicemen meet up again for a night on the town. It ends with them returning to a familiar bar, with Homer talking to an old friend who plays piano for the bar about his family’s awkwardness towards his disability. Homer expresses his desire to be normal and to be viewed as normal to his old friend in this scene.

Analysis:

One of the major points that the essay makes is that following the war; there was confusion about masculinity when the servicemen returned from the war. Because women were in the workforce now, there was limited job availability in industry. Economy was shifting to more of a service economy; now service jobs were being promoted as masculine. Many veterans struggled in returning to society, but those that struggled more were the veterans that returned home disabled. They felt that they lost some of their male identity because they were no longer able bodied. But as war technology developed new prosthetics, these disabled veterans became the iconic American hero because of their sacrifice to the cause. The media looked to these people has heroes and celebrated their ability to be “normal.” Through analysis, it is apparent that this was used as a part of post-war victory culture. The goal was to focus on being “normal” again by getting job and being apart of the new consumerism movement, instead of focusing on the horrors and the problems that the war caused. Homer is an example of this. He was a star quarterback before the war, but he was wounded and lost his arms. He was trained to use the new prosthetics and trained himself to be “able bodied” through the use of his hooks. Despite this, he still feels as if he has lost a part of his manhood and independence, because he family tries to act as constant caregivers. Because of this he feels as if he is a burden to them. The actor, who played Homer, Harold Russell, was in real life a military veteran who lost his hands, who became an actor after the war. He was praised for his role in the movie, and won an Academy Award for his performance. Although he was essentially playing a character like himself, his performance became an iconic one in Hollywood history for his portrayal of a disabled man return to normalcy. The plight of Homer in the Best Years of Our Lives mimics many of the major issues of masculinity and independence following the war, which is why this artifact is relevant to Serlin’s article.

Questions:

1. Put yourself in the shoes of a disabled vet. Given the option, which would you choice, living your life as an amputee, or becoming a part of the prosthesis movement? Note that prosthetics require a lot of training. At the same time you would constantly be aware of the stigma associated with each decision. Prosthetics at the time were advertised as an option for disabled to become independent (i.e. smoke a cigarette themselves.) Prosthetics seemingly promoted male competence and "self reliance" citizenship. Knowing this, which would you choose? Also, is it still possible to be "independent" without the use of prosthetics?

2. Similar to the question posed in the essay; do you think society has different views on disabilities? What I mean by this is does society think that there is a difference between disability from war or a disability as a result of genetic deformity, or illness. (Ex. President Roosevelt's disability was always kept out of the public eye, but many disabled vets were used as victory "propaganda")

3. In sort of an ironic situation, the war (which created more disabled citizens) resulted in a boost in technology for the disabled. Technology grew throughout the war, and new materials that were designated war supplies (like plastic, rubber, stainless steel, and etc.) became available to industry and mass commerce. An example of this would the highly advanced hooks that Homer uses as hands. Would it be correct to suggest the war, as grave and horrific, actually helped to make aware of the disabled plight? Prosthetics had existed before, but after the war, they were being made with the war technology. So ironically, the war caused more disabled citizens, made technology available to more citizens, and thus potentially benefited more disabled citizens. 

4. How does prosthetics play into the post-war consumerism? Prosthetic companies competed to have the best design, or the best "feel," or the best fit for the amputee whether they were a blue-collar worker or a white-collar worker. How does this relate to the aspects of modern consumerism? Consumerism in the 1950s attempted to promote the importance of a service-based economy. While many women were still entered in the workforce, there were increasing concerns about the role of males and masculinity. Post-war consumerism pushed more for a different idea of manhood, a white-collar manhood. So prosthetic companies also pushed for this white-collar model, making prosthetics ergonomically designed for the "white-collar" male. Prosthetics was designed to promote a "normal, manly life," but in the process they also shape a new idea of masculinity.  Is this further proof of how consumerism and society tend to influence gender roles?