Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Film and Media: Digital Cultures and the Politics of Time and Memory

This book expounds how post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) became so ubiquitous. The relationships between trauma, memory, and media, including the cultural, psychological, and social dimensions of PTSD are analysed. This work provides an examination of PTSD across diverse cultural contexts, shedding light on its profound impact on human experience and societal structures. This work addresses the role of social media internationally, the pornography industry, and conspiracy theories, in perpetuating trauma and shaping societal attitudes. From feature films, including Apocalypse Now, The Deer Hunter, and Jacob’s Ladder, to hit television shows such as the BBC’s Bodyguard, visual cultures have been instrumental in popularizing an understanding of PTSD. Often these are traditional “triumph over adversity” narratives. In others what is relevant is the wider postwar political landscape. Controversial wars have led to mental health problems for returning soldiers, depicted as part of a metaphoric wound for a nation. At its heart, America is concerned with the survival of the fittest, a Social Darwinist creed fused with manifest destiny and turbo capitalism. Any weaknesses, such as mental problems including PTSD, contradicted and challenged the essence of the pioneering American spirit. A book on PTSD at this moment is necessary, as the subject has become popularized and politicized, just as “madness” became a term to define an era. Through advocating for interdisciplinary approaches to foster healthier perspectives and support, here we come to a deeper understanding of how digital cultures have impacted the politics of time and memory.