The thing about Charlie’s PTSD
(contains Wonder Woman spoilers)
You know the thing about him I noticed that I haven’t seen anyone mention? He’s a sniper with PTSD right? And there’s that scene where he points his rifle at the enemy sniper in the tower and can’t pull the trigger. And usually that would mean that the main character would end up having a conversation with him after which he’d get a ‘second opportunity’ to take that shot and this time wouldn’t flinch.
And we’d be supposed to be proud of him because he ‘overcame his trauma’ by… doing the thing that caused his trauma in the first place?
BUT THAT’S NOT WHAT HAPPENED HERE, instead we get an amazing scene where when Charlie thinks there’s no point in him going with them for their mission Diana smiles at him and tells him that there is: without him they wouldn’t have anyone to sing to them.
And I thought it was just so… in line with the message this movie was sending. And so true to Diana’s character.
Because in her eyes Charlie’s value as a person or a friend doesn’t rest in whether or not he can pull the trigger and kill.
And I though it was important.
I mean this movie was filled with many such small but significant moments that addressed things like sexism and racism and the atrocities of colonization, and I’d mention them all it’s just that this one was one I hadn’t seen someone already discussing.
This is an amazing point that I think a lot of people missed (and I hadn’t connected the dots yet with either!) but it’s just so great. People with PTSD and mental illness don’t just ‘need a pep talk’ and a second chance like we so frequently see in movies; they need people to just understand them and work with them, sometimes for a short time to overcome obstacles, but also sometimes for life because we can’t always overcome every obstacle. It’s a great message and a really solid step forward in accepting that sometimes people get damaged and stay that way. Which is the reality for a lot of us, I know it is for me, and I know it is for others; we can’t all be fixed, but we can still carry on and do the right thing and help how we can, singing songs.
What touched me the most is that no one berated him for being unable to pull the trigger. They found an alternate way to stop the sniper and then comforted him and told him it was alright. No one yelled at him and told him he could do better. No one thought less of him.
