Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Portrayed In Major Character First Blood Movie

By

Hendri Pratama

11151006

Hendripratama67@ymail.com

       I.      Introduction

Psychological approach to literature can be interpreted as an analysis method based on the viewpoint of psychology and proceed from the assumption that literature always talks about the events of human life which is emitted in the comprehend and driving life. Here the function of psychology itself is doing exploration into the inner soul that made the figures contained in the literature and to learn more about the intricacies of human action and its response to other actions (Harjana, 1991).

Psychology is the study of mental processes, behavior, and the relationship between them and also Psychology is a body of knowledge that can be applied to help solve a variety of human problems (Girma Lema, 2005). It mean Psychology is about human psyche that also related to human psyche problem like mental illness or behavior.

Post traumatic stress disorder usually occurred after someone suffer, witnessed severe trauma that was threatening physical and psychological.

Based on American psychological association, 2004:

“Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is an anxiety disorder that can be formed from an event or experience that is scary / awful, difficult and unpleasant where there is physical abuse or feeling threatened. “

In this paper researcher want explain some trauma that usually happened to the army after they join to the war that was portrayed in major character “first Blood” movie. This movie show post traumatic stress disorder that occurred to John Rambo as major character in “first Blood” movie.

According to Jaffe and segal (2005) Post Traumatic stress Disorder is the emotional aftermath of such events, war, rape, kidnapping, abuse, or surviving a natural disaster. Recognized by the medical and psychological communities, and increasingly by the general public as PTSD. PTSD is associated with disturbances in a wide range of psychological processes including memory, attention, cognitive–affective reactions, beliefs, coping strategies, and social support (Brewin & Holmes, 2003:345). In this paper researcher want to show about Post traumatic stress disorder that has portrayed in major character First blood movie. In this movie show some problem that always occurred to army after they involved war.

According Foy (1984) in Edgar Javier Villarreal 2012:

The PTSD diagnosis was originally developed to characterize the psychological reactions of combat Veterans after many of them returned home from war.

Post Traumatic stress Disorder is the emotional aftermath of such events, war, rape, kidnapping, abuse, or surviving a natural disaster (Jaffe and Segal, 2005).

Based on Jaffe and Segal the following are symptoms such as a natural disaster, exposure to war, rape, assault, violent crime, major car or airplane crashes:

Re-experiencing the trauma : Intrusive thoughts, Flashbacks or nightmares, Sudden floods of emotions or images related to the traumatic event, Emotional numbing and avoidance, Amnesia, Avoidance of situations that resemble the initial event, Detachment, Depression, Guilt feelings, Grief reactions, An altered sense of time (Jaffe and Segal, 2005).

John Rambo is a former member of a United States Army Special Forces Green Beret unit, and was awarded the Medal of Honor for his service in the Cold War. Rambo is searching for one of his friends from his unit, Delmar Barry, and soon learns that he has died from cancer due to Agent Orange exposure back in Vietnam. Rambo knows he is now the last surviving member of his unit. After that he continue his trip until he meet Will Teasle a sheriff that paranoid with John Rambo and he bring John Rambo out from town but john come back to the town and Will Teasle is catching John Rambo and bring him to police station. After John Rambo in police station and he got bad handling that make him remembering his past when he war in Vietnam and make Rambo attacking Police. After that John Rambo Run away from police station but hunt down him. But in evening he came back to police station to looking for Will Teasle and kill him, after he arrived in police station and shoot Will Teasle, Trautman appeared and disallow Rambo to kill Will Teasle and Rambo does not kill Will Teasle but he cry and telling about his friend that has killed and how they killed.

Based on Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, they also involved unconscious as part of psychology. According to Carl Jung in Richard L. W. Clarke (2003) state:

“The unconscious consists of memories, usually emotional residues, of past experiences that are located beyond the threshold of conscious recall but may be triggered at a moment's notice. The symbols of our dreams are produced from subliminal material that consists of urges, impulses, intentions, perceptions, intuitions, feelings, thoughts, conclusions, etc. that have become unconscious because there is no room for them in the conscious mind or because they are unpleasant in some way to the conscious mind.”

Based on statement above unconscious related to emotional that cause by our past experiences that symbolized by our dream and produce through our dream as result our felling, intuitions, thought. It means all people having unconscious that can produce through their dream, unconscious also caused by good and bad experience that happened in the past.

Based on First blood movie the researcher want to analysis Post Traumatic stress Disorder that has been portrayed in major character First Blood movie. a main or important character; a character who plays a large role in a story. Major characters usually face some sort of obstacle, and they will be present throughout all, or almost all, of a story. a story can have one major character or several.

    II.   Discussion

This journal focuses on analyzing John Rambo as the major character who suffers Post traumatic stress disorder toward his character and behaviour inside of the movie. To analyzing Post traumatic stress disorder in First Blood movie the researcher using psychology approach toward post traumatic stress disorder.

Psychology is the study of mental processes, behavior, and the relationship between them and also Psychology is a body of knowledge that can be applied to help solve a variety of human problems.

In the First Blood movie portrayed a human problem that related to mental process that happened to John Rambo as main character in first blood movie that suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after he return from war in Vietnam. Related to First Blood movie show unconscious of John Rambo as main character in First Blood movie that he remembering his bad experience when he involved war in Vietnam that show through his perception. Perception is a process cognitively speaking, is an amazing achievment: you have taken sensory input and interpreted it meaningfully. Related to John Rambo perception about his bad experience through his unconscious. The unconscious consists of memories, usually emotional residues, of past experiences that are located beyond the threshold of conscious recall but may be triggered at a moment's notice. The symbols of our dreams are produced from subliminal material that consists of urges, impulses, intentions, perceptions, intuitions, feelings, thoughts, conclusions, etc. that have become unconscious because there is no room for them in the conscious mind or because they are unpleasant in some way to the conscious mind (Richard L. W. Clarke, 2003).

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is real illness. You can get Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after living through or seeing a dangerous event, such as war, a hurricane, or bad accident.  PTSD  makes  you  feel  stressed  and  afraid  after  the danger  is  over.  It affects your life and the people around you. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an abnormal response to an event outside the scope of a person’s normal process of comprehension (Villarreal E. Javier, 2012).

Based on statement above Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is such event that related with researcher research close to army or people who have had bad experience in war and it portrayed in major character Firs Blood movie.

This Picture focus on major character of first blood movie in order to show how is this character portrayed of PTSD and this picture also tell to us, postraumatic stress diorder portrayed when John Rambo as major character be carried by police to police station. When he in police station, police ask John Rambo about himself this scene show how John Rambo remembering his past experience when he involved war in vietnam. Dialogue “Lester            : Name….??..Your name…your name…name???” Rambo :...”. In this scene show unconscious Rambo Re-experiencing his trauma and remembering his bad experience when he got mistreatment in Vietnam war. this scene also show if Rambo suffered post traumatic stress disorder because when in the police station and lester ask his name but he does not answer the question from lester, he quiet and remembering 

his bad experiencing.

Post Traumatic stress Disorder is the emotional aftermath of such events, war, rape, kidnapping, abuse, or surviving a natural disaster (Jaffe and Segal, 2005).

This scene telling John Rambo attacking police station because police threaten his life and his commander to stoping him because what he do make city disorderly after that John Rambo stop his attacking and he tell what happened to hisself to his commander. Dialogue “l went to get a couple of beers. The box was wired. He opened it...There were body parts flying everywhere. He lay there and screamed... l have all these pieces of him on me! Just like that. l try to get him off me, my friend! l'm covered with him! Blood everywhere and so... l try to hold him together, But the entrails keep coming out! And nobody would help! He just said: ''l want to go home!'' And called my name. ''l want to go home, Johnny! l want to drive my Chevy! But l couldn't find his legs. ''l can't find your legs!'' l can't get it out of my head. lt's seven years ago.l see it every day”.

Based on statement and picture above this scene show to the audience what Rambo fill when involved war in Vietnam. Related to theory psychology about unconscious and post traumatic stress disorder, this scene show if john Rambo suffered Post traumatic stress disorder after he involved war in Vietnam and he always remembering that event and he can not forgotten that bad experience. This proving If army can suffere Post traumatic stress disorder without them knowing.

 III.   Conclusion

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is an anxiety disorder that can be formed from an event or experience that is scary / awful, difficult and unpleasant where there is physical abuse or feeling threatened. Post traumatic stress disorder having correlation with our psychology more close with one of part our unconsciousness as part of psychology. The unconscious consists of memories, usually emotional residues, of past experiences that are located beyond the threshold of conscious recall but may be triggered at a moment's notice. In this Movie show to us if Post traumatic stress disorder having correlation with our unconscious. When we got bad experience in the pas and that experience saved in our memory (unconscious) it can be making us suffer Post traumatic stress disorder because we can forgetting that experience because that experience saved in our memory and make us sometime remembering again that experience.