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Heiner Fangerau, The Cost of War—Then and Now: Commentary on “Neuro Psychiatry 1943”, Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, Volume 69, Issue 2, April 2014, Pages 324–326, https://doi.org/10.1093/jhmas/jru004
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In his essay “Neuro Psychiatry 1943: The Role of Documentary Film in the Dissemination of Medical Knowledge and Promotion of the U.K. Psychiatric Profession” Edgar Jones provides a detailed case study of a single movie that was made under unusual wartime conditions. From this case, he builds a general analysis of the interpretation and portrayal of scientific expertise that shaped the production, distribution, and reception of this genre of documentary. The paper provides a fresh perspective for the historical analysis of film documentaries, while remaining highly topical and germane to present-day issues in medicine and health care.
The film that Jones studied was produced in a British hospital where war victims (mostly soldiers) were treated for war neuroses. The filmmakers documented the therapies employed and the apparently successful posttreatment reintroduction of patients into military service and civilian work. They hoped to convince informed audiences, especially those outside Britain in the United States and Canada, about the effectiveness of the British Health Care Service in meeting the challenge of casualties and psychological trauma from war. Jones found, however, that the optimistic portrayal of therapeutics in the film belied contemporary research on the results of such treatment, placing propagandistic goals above the obligations to convey an accurate record of the work. While exploring the promotional purposes of the documentary format, the paper also effectively raises questions about the nature and relevance of apparent historical continuities in the war-related illness.
