1. Born on the Fourth of July as an anti-war film
Film is called the seventh art. Like literature and painting, it is also an artistic carrier for human beings to express their thoughts and feelings and convey their values. In the 20th century, the vigorous development of film was influenced by several tragic wars and the anti-war ideology that followed, which naturally prompted some filmmakers to express their protests against unjust wars and reflections on the meaning of violence through the screen. and the plight of people in war, thereby expressing a humanitarian position. After the Second World War, the left-wing ideology and human rights movement in the United States flourished, and society began to reflect on the issue of differential treatment and discrimination against people of different races, genders, and physical conditions. As a military power, the United States has participated in several far-reaching wars in the 20th century, among which the Vietnam War has also become an important cultural symbol of the 20th century. In the 1960s, the United States intervened in the civil war between North and South Vietnam. A large number of young people were sent to Vietnam to fight. Many of them were wounded and killed in Vietnam, and many became disabled soldiers. The war brought deep suffering to the Vietnamese people, and a large number of innocent civilians were killed in the military operations of the US military. The pain caused by the Vietnam War to the American people, the humanitarian crisis suffered by the people of Southeast Asia, and the US government's unconsistent reasons for entering the war prompted more and more American people to join the left-wing human rights movement at that time, advocating anti-war and anti-violence , Anti-aggression pacifism. This zeitgeist and accompanying anti-war culture is reflected in numerous subsequent cultural works, including the film Born on the Fourth of July, discussed in this article.
2. Disability Care in Born on the Fourth of July
In the 1960s and 1970s, the disability rights movement in the United States developed rapidly. During this period, many laws related to the protection of disability rights greatly improved the level of legal protection for people with disabilities. And just one year after the release of "Born on the Fourth of July", the passage of "The Americans With Disabilities Amendments Act" (ADA) further guarantees the equal and dignified participation of people with disabilities in all aspects. social life. In such a social atmosphere, the film's portrayal of disabled soldiers also showed the development of the understanding of the disabled and the concept of disabled people during that period, as well as the reflection on the living conditions of disabled people.
1. Disability rehabilitation requires psychological support
The psychological depiction of disabled soldiers in the film is very rich and profound, expressing the main creator's understanding and reality of the mental health of disabled soldiers. Long's shot as a disabled man begins at a disabled military care facility. In the context of the time, this facility should be said to be qualified: Lang was cared for in life, able to participate in rehabilitation training, and to receive medical help. But like most of these facilities, Lang's care facility focuses solely on physical help and recovery and ignores the psychological needs of people with disabilities, which include being cared for, encouraged and living with dignity. Subject to the real conditions and social concepts at that time, the facilities and staff could not satisfy Lang's psychological needs. Lang in the film is obsessed with getting back up and running in a rehabilitation facility, which he considers dignified. However, the staff told him bluntly that his body was no longer able to walk again. This fact had a great psychological impact on Lang, but there was no staff or mechanism in the film to comfort and pay attention to the mental health of the disabled veterans. . The mental gap of disabled veterans is often higher than that of other disabled people. On the one hand, the gap arises from the fact that their physical conditions before and after their disability are often very different. The gap from soldiers to disabled people is unacceptable. On the other hand, as the "war heroes" of social propaganda, the huge difference between the sense of disappointment and the sense of honor caused by the inconvenience they feel after being disabled has also deepened the psychological gap of the disabled veterans. Lang's repeated emphasis on his identity as a Vietnam War veteran in the film is also a reflection of this psychological gap. On the other hand, the inadequate physical care of the disabled in rehabilitation facilities has also increased their psychological frustration. In the film, Lang is thrown upside down by an upside-down bed, causing him to vomit, but no staff help him, which makes Lang yell at the staff: "I deserve to be treated with dignity."
Another difference between disabled veterans and the general disabled is that they often suffered both physical and mental injuries during the war. The "post-traumatic stress disorder syndrome," or "PTSD," as we know it today, often occurs in soldiers who have participated in the war. In the film, Lang's replay of traumatic images in his mind and the panic he showed after hearing the sound of firecrackers and helicopters also portrayed the mental damage Lang suffered during the war. The mental harm suffered by disabled soldiers comes not only from the stimulative events they experience directly in the war, but also from their inner moral condemnation. In this film, the psychological trauma suffered by Lang stems from three events. First, Lang participated in the massacre of Vietnamese people during the war, and witnessed the insignificance of the lives of victims, including infants, to the US military; and the other event was that The injury and psychological burden caused to Lang by the manslaughter of Wilson; in addition, the battle that left Lang maimed also caused a lot of psychological damage to him. Long thought he might not have been maimed and infertile if he hadn't insisted on fighting with a gun. The harm caused to the protagonist by the injury incidents in the film comes from the superposition of irritating scenes and moral burdens. To sum up, the psychological needs of disabled veterans are unique compared with other disabled people. If the society does not provide targeted intervention or treatment for the psychological conditions of disabled veterans, it will be very difficult for disabled veterans to return to society.
2. Back to Society: The Long Road
Whether in the 1960s and 1970s in the film or today, people with disabilities have always faced a variety of obstacles to return to social life. These barriers may be tangible, physical or physiological, as well as intangible barriers such as social cognition and structural discrimination. The narration of Lang's return to society in the film directly reflects the differentiated treatment of disabled people caused by social psychology and social cognition. In the scenes depicting Lang in the rehabilitation facility, looking down and looking up are used to capture the dialogue between Lang and the able-bodied person. Combining the shots with the corresponding plot and dialogue, we can know that the dialogue is not based on equality between the two parties. The same shot shows Lang falling to the ground after getting drunk in a bar. Everyone looked down at Lang and Lang looked up at everyone's camera, coupled with everyone's ridicule and discussion of Lang, it intuitively told the audience that even if Lang could actively connect with the society, the able-bodied people at that time would give him differentiated treatment because of Lang's disability. and views. On the other hand, despite the difference in physical height between the two parties, the camera tends to be horizontal when Lang engages in positive, equal conversations with others.
In addition to the language of the camera lens, there are many pictures in the film that directly reflect the difficulty of the protagonist returning to the mainstream society. In one scene, Lang and childhood sweetheart Donna are preparing for a demonstration on campus. Donna is about to enter a building, but Lang cannot enter smoothly because the building has high steps and no ramps. This scene directly reflects the importance of physical accessibility for people with disabilities to participate in social and community activities. In addition to the intuitive obstacle of the lack of an accessible physical environment, the film also reflects the social status quo that disabled people cannot meet the needs of social interaction and marriage. A large part of the reason Lang chose to indulge himself in Mexico was his lack of socializing with people his age or experience. It was only in Mexico's hottest venues that Lang was comfortable socializing with people in similar situations and fulfilling his sexual needs. This also enlightens the society. Guiding people with disabilities to participate in social activities actively and healthily, and providing necessary conditions to meet their emotional and physical needs is also a part of helping people with disabilities return to society.
Finally, as the background of the era and the direct cause of Lang's disability, the Vietnam War also symbolizes the contempt, abuse and differential treatment of some people against others in the film. The people who are despised, abused and treated differently are not only the Vietnamese people under the boots of the US military, but also the youth and disabled people who have no right to speak in the United States are also victims of the war. The quality of government care received by disabled people such as Lang has declined due to a large amount of financial expenditure in the war, and due to the lack of voice, the anti-war youth had to risk the bayonet, batons and tear gas of the military and police to assert their rights. Lang finally decided to participate in political activities in order to safeguard the rights of war victims, including the disabled, and it was precisely because he realized that equality of political rights, including the right to political discourse, is a necessary guarantee for the vulnerable groups to return to society and participate in social life on an equal footing. Therefore, empowering people with disabilities in political and social participation also needs the attention and help of the mainstream society.
3. Conclusion
As a drama film recognized by mainstream society, "Born on the Fourth of July" not only achieves the best possible depiction of the disabled and their psychology, the selection of the life angle of the disabled, and the performance of the social environment in which they live. It is true, and it is also conveying to the audience the understanding and thinking of the main creator of the film on the disabled and the disabled. Movies depicting disability need not only true representation, but also humanitarian care based on equality. This care should be based on the equal examination and acceptance of other special individuals who are difficult to integrate into mainstream discourse as human individuals. Desire, not sympathy for the weak and a unilateral will to "normalize". Born on the Fourth of July, as a film 30 years ago, still has an inspiring effect on the current disability cause, and it is worthy of our review and reflection from the perspective of modern disability concepts.
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