Included Films:
Management of Mass Casualties
Management of Mass Casualties
Produced: 1958
Length: 23 Minutes
This 1950s U.S. Army training film deals specifically with the psychological trauma that soldiers who witness mass casualties on the battlefield due to a nuclear attack would experience. Far from adequately prepping military officers for a post-apocalyptic disaster and its emotional scarring aftermath, the film informs its audience that nervousness, confusion, and sadness can all be expected as a normal part of dealing with such a catastrophe. Dont dwell on the destruction of nuclear weapons and atomic bombs, the film claims! A soldier can soon recover from this mental trauma and get back out on the front. Laughably, the only physical effects that are touched upon deal with minor burns. Management of Mass Casualties provides an astonishing examination of military psychology in the 1950s.
Psychological Operations in Support of Internal Defense
Psychological Operations in Support of Internal Defense
Produced: 1968
Length: 24 Minutes
Follow as the United States sets out to aid the fictional country, ‘Hostland,’ in their mission to gain independence. Being a nation with equal rights and freedom through democracy, America is able to help in as many ways as possible. A skilled psychological professional is sent to Hostland to determine the attitudes of the country’s population; to discern whether or not they are happy with their government. The US military is also sent over, to teach and advise Hostland’s own military troops. Psychological Operations serves as an example of how America values the growth of independent nations. It shows how our military goes about disciplining a foreign country in the ways of democracy in the most efficient way possible.
Preventative Psychiatry in the Navy
Preventative Psychiatry in the Navy
Produced: 1950s
Length: 16 Minutes
Working together is the key to survival in the US Navy. Preventive Psychiatry in the Navy is devoted to giving life-saving advice for all American men who serve in the military. Skill, training, and experience are all necessary fortes for naval officers and soldiers. The young men’s work is compared to able machinery. Their wants and needs are looked at as emotions that drive the human machine. In this way men are encouraged to be as efficient and as competent as can be when serving their country, but not ignoring what it is they want in life. The phrase, getting the job done, is used over and over, invigorating the men to work hard, and work together.
Moral Leadership: The Whole Man
Moral Leadership: The Whole Man
Produced: 1963
Length: 22 Minutes
Leadership isn’t only reserved for the air force, but at home as well. In Moral Leadership, Joe, an air force crew chief, has trouble juggling both work and home responsibilities. When his wife confronts him about not spending enough time with the children, his leadership at home is in question and tensions rise. With more stress in his life, Joe shows up at work the next day hung over, and gets into big trouble. The film deals with ethical values in the air force as well as at home. It shows to what extent a conflicting home life can ruin a man’s military status, and vice versa. With great insight on a military family’s situation, Moral Leadership explores the sacrifices that have to be made.
Combat Fatigue: Insomnia
Combat Fatigue: Insomnia
Produced: 1945
Length: 20 Minutes
Getting enough sleep is sometimes taken for granted. In, Combat Fatigue: Insomnia, insomnia is looked at through the perspective of a soldier. When watching a Donald the Duck cartoon about insomnia, the main character doesn’t find it funny. He too is afflicted with this restlessness, and night after night he stays awake, worrying. Combat Fatigue: Insomnia gives some helpful advice on how to encounter insomnia, and what to do about it.
Shades of Gray
Shades of Gray
Produced: 1950s
Length: 12 Minutes
Witness the realities of shell shock! War veterans of all ages and backgrounds find themselves suffering from anxiety, nervousness, and uneasiness after intense warfare. Each man may act differently, but it all comes from the same circumstance. Throughout this film, men go through a questioning session and display symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). When they are submitted into a hospital for rounds of treatment, they are provided with rest and therapy that will help them get back on their feet for the future. Shades of Gray is a wonderful look at the negative aspects of war and combat, and what it can do to the human brain.
