Finding connections...

I was trying to think of additional resources for tying to understand the American veteran's experience at home. It's difficult because so many American movies deal with the war itself, and the return home becomes an afterthought. Perhaps artists feel the need to show the trauma suffered in war in order to help the viewer understand why it could lead to things like PTSD. When it comes to art about the veteran's return home, the most obvious it seems would be First Blood. I haven't seen the movie in years, and I would like to watch it again before I make too many assumptions from memory. However, John Rambo's (Sylvester Stallone) return home is fraught with society's inability to understand why he acts as he does. He assaults (and I believe kills) a police officer and then becomes a wanted man.

Another example is the Hughes Brothers' film Dead Presidents. This film has a similar narrative arc, as it follows Anthony Curtis (Larenz Tate) through his tour of duty in Vietnam, and then his return home. Again, the protagonist can't adapt to his home life after the harrowing experiences of his time in war. Curtis, much like Rambo, becomes a criminal in response to a society that can't seem to find a place for him. This movie also complicates the issue by introducing the concept of race, and the general difficulties and hardships people of color face in America

In all three examples, (the Punisher, John Rambo, Anthony Curtis) the protagonists seem to suffer from PTSD and there aren't any resources to  help them cope with their reentry into society. However, the comparisons seem to fall flat as there are a number of problems in making connections between the three. The media is different, and the intended audience is also different. For example, Garth Ennis's books, for the most part, get a "PG" rating and suggests a younger audience. The two films are both "R" rated, and this means the desired audience would be adults.

I'm curious to know how the rating system would affect publication and audience in comic books.