Was Joey faking it?
I always wondered this, there were a few moments in the movie when he started playing the ocarina in certain key points of the movie...
shareI'd almost say his 'shell shock' (or was it 'Battle Fatigue' by WWII) might have turned him 'Autistic' if not truly catatonic so perhaps he could still register, and intuit the events going on; but a short in his wiring prevented him from functioning at a "Normal' level
Plus we don't get to meet pre-War Joey, so maybe he was a little touched to begin with... I mean if he started at an other than Normal Level who is to say how War in general, let along the specific horrors he witnessed, would have affected him.
Joey wasn't faking it. He's in shock from seeing his crew all shot to death, as Hoffy explains. He's not unaware of his surroundings or what's going on, just unable to communicate and with a lot of emotional problems. Some other points:
If Joey had had some mental problems, been autistic or had a "short in his wiring" before the war he wouldn't have gotten into the service, or lasted long if he had. And it wouldn't have served any purpose in the plot of the movie -- on the contrary, it would have undermined Joey's character and back story.
Schultz says that sometimes he thinks Joey's faking it. No Nazi would be depicted as being "right" about something like that. That he says this is supposed to indicate his lack of feeling and contempt for the prisoners.
And what would be the point of Joey "faking it"? What purpose would this serve in the movie? Sorry, but in the context of this film this business about "faking it" is kind of a silly question.
I didn't know who the stool was so was left wondering at one point if he might be the stool and was acting it up a little. He sits and soaks it all up and is left largely ignored by the majority of the guys in his barrack.
shareOnes things for sure he was aware of his surroundings because when the Stoolie got busted he sat there grinning gleefully at him getting mobbed by the others.
He may have simply been reacting to the physical action without any comprehension.
I think Joey was perfectly legit, but the first time I saw the film, I wondered if maybe he was the spy.
POWs occasionally faked mental illness in an attempt to be repatriated. One danger was that a faked mental illness could become a real one.
"Chicken soup - with a *beep* straw."
Agree that he was not faking it. In a scene reading a letter from Joey's Dad, he mentions that Joey had been going to law school. This would seem to indicate that Joey had not only been "sane" and capable, but probably rather intelligent and ambitious. And most of the POWs in that barracks (and camp??) had been either pilots or crew members in the Army Air Force (I think the time period predates the Air Force as a separate force - ?) and they were mostly of the rank of sergeant. So Joey was likely a smart and well-trained person. We can only imagine the horrors he endured and witnessed that caused his change. And of course, being captured did not allow him any medical or psychological attention that could have helped him. His reliance on music also demonstrates that he had a sensitive nature which was deeply affected by his war experience. It is heartbreaking to think of all the Joey's from all wars.
shareWell said, Deidra, and a good point about Joey's prewar ambition to be a lawyer. And it is indeed heartbreaking to think of all the Joeys from all the wars.
Also, remember that Hoffy tells Schultz to lay off him (Joey), to which Schultz replies that sometimes he thinks he's faking it, and Hoffy's reply, "How would you like to see the guts of six pals splattered all over your plane?" (my quote is a bit imprecise, but that's approximately what he said). So we learn what triggered Joey's condition. He isn't faking.
You're correct -- back then it was the Army Air Force. The Air Force wasn't made a separate branch of the service until 1947. And the camp does contain nothing but sergeants, until Lt. Dunbar is temporarily held there.
By the way, I've read that when the AAF learned that the Germans treated non-comms better than enlisted men in the POW camps, they basically immediately promoted every flight crew everywhere so that they were all sergeants - which is why the camp contains nothing but sergeants.
I want the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.
Didn't know that about the sergeants. That does explain a lot. Interesting, thanks jgroub.
sharethat is amazing to learn. I wondered about that. thanks!
shareThank you, nice comments!
shareActually, many soldiers were repatriated through the Red Cross for 'mental' disability reasons as well as physical ones. I remember reading about a POW in Colditz who decided to get home by feigning catatonic madness. He almost went mad for real while acting it out, sitting still on his bunk for days on end staring into nothingness. There is a clip from the TV show "Colditz" on Youtube that I believe could be based on this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3vj6Uf5IlM
If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.
That's also interesting information, Karl. Thanks. But Joey still wasn't faking it.
shareOh yes, I don't think Joey was faking it. That was not my intention.
A fool and his money are soon elected.
No, I took what you wrote back in May as merely an interesting piece of information, not an implication that you thought Joey was faking it, otherwise I expect you'd have said so outright. But the idea of the lengths some prisoners might go to to get repatriated is amazing.
share