Comments on: Gen Kill

By: 0311 Grunt

0311 Grunt — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:32:41 +0000

This show is from the POV of the common soldier, and not from a crappy POV like “Over There” (That show was a piece of shit).

This one is spot on.

By: 0311 Grunt

0311 Grunt — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:31:33 +0000

As a former Marine who served from ’90-’94, the first episode resonated with me like no other show or movie I’ve seen. Ever.

The dialogue, actions, irreverance, bitching, moaning, cockiness, vulgarness, etc… were all spot on from my experience.

This isn’t an anti-military show. The Marines bitched and complained? BIG DEAL. That’s what Marines do. Constantly.

We had a saying… “A bitching Marine is a happy Marine.” Sounds strange? Yeah, but if a Marine is bitching, that means his mind is occupied. It’s when they get quiet, is when you need to worry.

By: Alex

Alex — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:46:20 +0000

“Much of the problem with the chicken-hawk right is that the fail to understand the difference between the soldier and command, both military and civilian. They see the whole structure as “the troops”, even though they are very distinct entities.”

How did you come by this special knowledge that is unavailable to the “chickenhawks?”

By: Scared Stiff

Scared Stiff — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:52:11 +0000

No, Alex. In the immortal words of Dick Cheney: “I have better things to do.” You know, like trolling message boards.

By: Lee

Lee — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:57:21 +0000

Excellent first show. HBO & Ed Burns did an excellent job.

Generation Kill has a VERY realistic protrayal of Marines in the field and Marine attitudes in general.

The one thing that stood out was how quickly they showed the Marines could switch from ‘Kill’ to ‘Help’ when dealing with those unarmed Iraqis.

Can’t wait to see how the Perpetual Outrage and Chickenhawk groups react to the show.

I was tempted to leave a comment over at libertas, but decided that registering there was probably more effort than the fun I could get from posting (and subsequent banning).

By: Alex

Alex — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:23:47 +0000

Scared stiff, are you current or former military? If yes, please specify Army, Marines, or other.

By: scared stiff

scared stiff — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:28:08 +0000

Much of the problem with the chicken-hawk right is that the fail to understand the difference between the soldier and command, both military and civilian. They see the whole structure as “the troops”, even though they are very distinct entities.

By actions alone, one can see that Republican party loves weapon systems and warfighting, but must surely hate the warfighter. They use the troops as nothing but cover, be it physical and political, and pretty much every Republican follower I’ve ever met eats it right up.

By: Alex

Alex — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:38:15 +0000

I’m not sure whose side Brown Acid is taking, but I definitely agree with this, ” I take issue with those who have never donned a uniform, yet have no problem hiding behind others that have donned said uniforms in an effort to deflect any criticism of their “expertise”.”

By: The Brown Acid

The Brown Acid — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 03:33:45 +0000

Excuse my snark people, but I take issue with those who have never donned a uniform, yet have no problem hiding behind others that have donned said uniforms in an effort to deflect any criticism of their “expertise”.

By: The Brown Acid

The Brown Acid — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 03:31:19 +0000

What would actual troops know about, you know, war? Where do they get off commenting negatively about war!?

Everyone knows the only opinions that are valid in regards to the war are those held by the 101st Chairborne and the 82nd Fightin’ Keyboarders.

By: Quick thoughts on the first hour of Generation Kill « Dewb

Quick thoughts on the first hour of Generation Kill « Dewb — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 02:35:32 +0000

[...] see too much new fuel for the political debate around the show. Most of that seemed sparked by the trailer, which definitely had a bit of selection bias towards soundbites that would attract an anti-war [...]

By: pris

pris — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:54:37 +0000

Lt Nathaniel Fick wrote a marvelous book, ‘ One Bullet Away, The Making of a Marine Officer’ and if you have not read it, you will want to after you view ‘Generation Kill’. I had the opportunity to hear Nathaniel Fick speak about his book, two years after he left the Marines. He is impressive’

Amazon:
http://tinyurl.com/5jc7hm

A few of his words:
” I left the Corps because I had become a reluctant warrior. Many Marines reminded me of gladiators. They had that mysterious quality that allows some men to strap on greaves and a breastplate and wade into the gore. I respected, admired and emulated them, but I could never be like them. I could kill when killing was called for, and I got hooked on the rush of combat as much as any man did. But I couldn’t make the conscious choice to put myself in that position again and again throughout my professional life. Great Marine commanders, like all great warriors, are able to kill that which they love most-their men. It’s a fundamental law of warfare. Twice I had cheated it. I couldn’t tempt fate again.”

By: Dave Hummels

Dave Hummels — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:41:09 +0000

Haven’t seen this yet, but I have been a fan of Simon’s work since he wrote “Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets” (which, of course, was turned into a series on NBC; one of the few police dramas I took seriously). Ed Burns (former Baltimore City Homicide Detective and public school teacher) has been collaborating with Simon for some time now, most notably on “The Wire,” which is a great police procedural and a damning critique of the drug war. These guys have done some brave work, so I expect “Generation Kill” to follow suit.

By: Edintally

Edintally — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:12:44 +0000

Rad, thanks for posting, gonna check it out

By: tjbbpgob

tjbbpgob — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:12:26 +0000

Glad you reminded me of this, looks like a good program to watch. If anyone thought the hippies hated the Viet Nam war you should have been in my unit. “Masters of War” by Bob Dylan was one of the white soldiers favorites. That song can still take me back.

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 20:53:11 +0000

I see that Glenn Reynolds, who also has not seen the mini-series, is also spreading the meme that it is anti-American and anti-military. And he does so in his typical passive-aggressive style.

By: Chris Berez

Chris Berez — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 19:57:54 +0000

Oh man, I’m glad you posted this today because it had completely slipped my mind that this premiered tonight. I just set the reminder on Comcast just in case I forget again.

Really looking forward to this one.

By: Episiarch

Episiarch — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 19:31:43 +0000

I had just added a TiVo Season Pass for Generation Kill before reading this. I’m looking forward to it.

Nothing is funnier than “This movie/film is awful. How do I know? Because I refuse to watch it!”

By: COD

COD — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 19:21:38 +0000

Never mind that the series seems to have been based largely on–you know–reality.

That would the problem. Republican war mongers (is that repetitive?) have no interest in reality.

By: Greg C.

Greg C. — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 19:05:25 +0000

Plus the guy who played Chet in the television series version of Weird Science is in this. He has a lot of experience with realistic portrayal of Marines.