NotNormativelyHuman 291
performance and rhetoric, disability here figures as something that can,
even should, be overcome. Structurally speaking and simplifying
somewhat, one can detect a dialectic of appearance and disappearance
inside this post-apocalyptic narrative: when disability appears, the old
self disappears but when disability disappears, a new and better self
appears.
Even though Fjerstad may not be your average disabled veteran,^125
the strong dose of the U.S.-American achievement ethic and the
concomitant ideology of can-doism which infuses this brief narrative is
fed by and in turn feeds back into other narratives by or about disabled
veterans which are circulating in the U.S. public sphere. In fact,
Fjerstad's narrative ties in with a larger cultural trend in which the
disabledveteranhasbecomeapopculturalfigure,althoughwithcertain
characteristic slants and restrictions. The commercial mass media
especiallyhavelongbeforeFjerstad'sdaysappropriatedthefigureofthe
disabled soldier that never quits for their own and broader political-
ideological purposes. One of the earliest examples of such an
appropriation is the filmThe Best Years of Our Lives(1946; William
Wyler, dir.), about the tribulations of three returning war veterans, one
ofwhom,HomerParrish(playedbyadisabledamateuractor),lostboth
his hands when his aircraft carrier was sunk.The film fully exploits the
melodramatic potential contained in such a plot by setting physical
impairment against romantic love. Homer Parrish had been a
quarterback before enlisting in the Navy and had intended to marry his
high school sweetheart Wilma once the war would be over. His
disabilitychangesallthat.Predictably,thetwohavetroubleadjustingto
thenewsituation,especiallyasWilma'sparentspressurehertobreakup
withHomer,who,beingthesterlingcharacterheis(castasbeing),also
urgeshernottowasteherlifeona"cripple."Butlovefinallyovercomes
allobstacles,andHomerandWilma'sweddingisoneoftheculminating
and highly moving scenes at the end of the movie.Best Yearswas
(Fjerstad n. pag.) can empower people with disabilities to live active and
satisfyinglives.
(^125) Fjerstadholdsandheldseveralleadershippositionsinveterans'organizations
such as the Minnesota chapter of Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) (PN
Online).