The Best Years of Our Lives

What does this film tell us about the difficulties encountered by WWII veterans as the re-entered civilian life? How does the film show the uncomprehending nature of those that did not serve, and how best to bridge that experiential divide? What must veterans do to ease anxieties of family, friends a colleagues? What must family, friends and colleagues do to ease anxieties or PTS in veterans? How does this film show that the Lion’s share of this burden, arguably something owed veterans by the US government, is nevertheless unavoidably shouldered by families? How does the Stephenson family illustrate the social or emotional intelligence necessary to pull this off? How does Fred Derry’s story illustrate the difficulties in finding meaningful employment encountered by some returning veterans? How does the arc of his story contrast the attitudes of his wife with the attitude of Peggy, Al Stephenson’s daughter? What lesson does that contrast impart to us?