Loading...Band of Berserkers
The makers of The Wire, an HBO series on crime in Baltimore and the best cop drama I’ve ever seen, are now bringing us the mini-series Generation Kill – based on the book by Evan Wright, a reporter for Rolling Stone embedded with the Marine First Recon Battalion during the initial Invasion of Iraq. After only four episodes it appears to be a showcase of mission not accomplished.
First thing I thought to compare it is Band of Brothers, an excellant WWII inspired drama about the last time this country fought and defeated clearly black/white hat type evil, in that case uber white, and the aforementioned Wire.
Like Band of Brothers it’s about a war, but bears little resemblance to their theme of men enduring hardship for a greater cause. GK shows a stark realism in comparison, not so much in what ordinance is used and jargon terms spoken: “POH-LEASE that mustache!” that I couldn’t verify being a tea drinking yoga stretching faggot liberal, but in terms of the charaterization of real life soldiers of the MTV generation. I dont consider myself a tofu sucking commie democrat hippie pussy, but after being virtually immersed in marine culture it’s hard not to feel that way. Evan Wright was made to feel this way until he told them he used to write for Hustler – akin to telling little kids you make toy designs for Santa.
I’ve started back on my personal fitness regimen to counter this feeling of bitchness – military is in my family though I’ve never served outside of JROTC. An appeal of this series, like any war series or movie, is the uncut masculinity of the drama. It’s very macho – and not in the handlebar mustache and leather chaps way – but in how they diffuse stress with bragging and snapping on each other while saddness is handled with stoicism, feelings arent talked about they’re shown in the eyes of an otherwise stony brave face.
If BoB was a bunch of young guys doing there part through great hardship in beating the krauts, Iraq vets are being portrayed as young guys making the best out of a shitty job by getting to take out their anger by reducing Haji (Iraqis) insurgents into bloody meat cole slaw with weapons worthy of a Terminator themed video game protagonists.
To be fair, like the Wire, the show features a top-down survey of the battalion studied layer by layer like a fuck’in hardcore quick kill’in blood red, white and blue onion for Jesus (hoorah!). From those enlisted guys rapping Nelly lyrics when not shitting in boxes during the days spent homophobically insulting each other in between actual engagements up to the generals choosing more prestigious rather than worthy targets at trhe risk of their men’s and Iraq lives, assuming their competent enough to get the grid coordinates straight enough to not kill innocent women and kids, the levels are covered.
You feel the most for the NCO’s – military middle management – whom try to serve as an example to the their jaded but vulnerable men yet deal with the shortages and misjudgements of their superiors. The third episode “Screwby” shows these guys standing up to the uppers to save a small boy mowed down by a bored over eager green marine – from Michigan of course! When medi-evac is denied they take him commander, representing the kind of soldier we all would like have make up 100% of our military. Really though guys like this are either killed early in service or drink the Kool Aid to get promoted. They are the conscience of the unit.
This consciousness is the core of the show, and HBO is pulling no punches in showing the stakes based on first hand accounts and with oversight by the actual men being represented. Unlike the media they can’t be censored in their re-enactments. I’m gonna keep watching.
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