WARTORN 1861-2010

Civil war doctors called it hysteria, melancholia, and insanity. During the First World War it was known as shell-shock. By World War II, it became combat fatigue. Today, it is clinically known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a crippling anxiety that results from exposure to life-threatening situations such as combat. With suicide rates among active military servicemen and veterans currently on the rise, the HBO special “Wartorn 1861–2010” brings urgent attention to the invisible wounds of war. Drawing on personal stories of American soldiers whose lives and psyches were torn apart by the horrors of battle and PTSD, the documentary chronicles the lingering effects of combat stress and post traumatic stress on military personnel and their families throughout American history, from the Civil War through today’s conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Producers: Jon Alpert, James Gandolfini, Ellen Goosenberg Kent, Sheila Nevins, Matthew O’Neill, Sierra Pettengill, Alexandra E. Ryan, Caroline Waterlow
Watch Video 
Adult          75 min.          2011         DVD-8945