10 Insane TV Theories You Won't Believe

10. Donald Duck Suffers From PTSD

Donald Duck
Disney

Even for a cartoon character, Donald Duck seems especially eccentric and erratic. There's the comical speech impediment (not to mention that haunting laugh) that barely anyone understands, the mood swings, the penchant for violence, the flights of fancy. Well, it all makes sense when you consider his history. Which is all canon, FYI.

Y'see, during the Second World War, Disney was just one of many animation studios - Warner Bros included - which produced cartoon propaganda to entertain and support the troops. Many of those shorts starred Donald Duck as a a paratrooper and commando who saw some pretty intense combat, as well as a brief period working undercover to kill Hitler from the inside. Seriously, it's like an animated Valkyrie or something. So what does all that add up to?

Like, duh, Donald Duck suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. What? Well, PTSD tends to rear its ugly head following a traumatic event, and a worrying proportion of people have to deal with it following military service. It usually manifests itself through constant re-experience of said event(s) (Donald Duck had a lot of nightmares, if we recall correctly), not wanting to talk about it (or not being able to, because you have a ridiculous voice), having difficulty falling or staying asleep, anger and hypervigilance, and €œsignificant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning€. All of which actually describe Donald Duck pretty accurately, doesn't it?

Contributor
Contributor

Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/