Abstract:
This paper traces the emergence and progression of cultural representations of post traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) in the United States from 1976-1988, as well as their impact on
the present day. Due to the ambiguities left behind by the Vietnam War, American cinema
became both a coping and exploratory vehicle for the population in the years that followed.
Artistic and allegorical at first, the medium quickly shifted to commercially and patriotically
driven with the election of President Reagan in 1981. As a result, this history was ostensibly
rewritten. However, today, society has matured to a degree where it can look back on these
times and better discern where certain inaccuracies might lie.
