Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Generation Kill
As we begin Going After Cacciato we naturally, because of its subject matter, have discussed the Vietnam War quite a bit. Additionally, Slaughterhouse-Five forced us to discuss World War II. Not meaning the actual wars themselves, although we have done some of that, but the bulk of our discussions have been pertaining to the psychological effect warfare can have on an individual. Thanks to Slaughterhouse-Five and someone's blog (Ed or Acton I think) we are now familiar with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the consequence of war Slaughterhouse. We are presented with Billy Pilgrim's personal experiences in armed conflict and observe his struggle to deal with its lasting effect. In Cacciato, we examine one man's, desertion and the journey those giving chase to him, all tired of war themselves. Seeing this negative response to warfare by these characters, whose stories are based off the personal experiences of the respective authors, reminded me of something. This summer I watched the HBO miniseries, Generation Kill. The show wasn't particualry well done, unlike most things HBO does, but it did show a side of war that we, in this class, are yet to be exposed too. The miniseries was about a Marine batallion during the early phases of the 2003 Invasion of Iraq and is based on actual events. The Marines portrayed, all based off real people, are nothing like Billy Pilgrim or the soldiers in Cacciato, but rather the complete opposite. They embrace war. Their outlook on war polarizes that of Pilgrim and Cacciato. Billy and Cacciato are depressed by war and look for any way to get out of it. These Marines, on the other hand, love it. The psychological effect on them is not a case of PTSD but rather an adrenaline rush. They do not question their presence in Iraq, as Cacciato does in Vietnam, but they accept it and quite frankly, enjoy it. How could they be so incredibly different? To be honest, I'm not completely sure but I can speculate. Obviously American society has changed since WWII and even Vietnam. Children today are surrounded by violence, be it in the form of video games, movies or whatever, it's a part of everyday life, far more so than ever before. Mr. Crotty told us in class that the military no longer has to give its volunteers desensitzing training, a necessity in the past, because of the everyday exposure to violence in today's society. Personal thoughts?
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7 comments:
This post did make me wonder a little bit about why we don't read more literature on more modern wars in this class. i'm sure part of it is a timing thing--and part of it is probably the attempt to stay less biased than the class might become if we were to start focusing on Iraq. (And we've discussed it some already in the class, of course.)
i think there has been a difference in the way war is viewed over the past 100 years and i think the lack of need for desensitization is a good example of that, even if it's a little scary. i'm not sure why, though. "Society going down the drain" is not a great reason, but i don't know how to pinpoint it. Global awareness? Media? Not sure.
Barbs, I like this post. I think more soldiers embrace war now because they are desensitized to it, as you and Tess said, but that is not all.I think much of it has to do with our volunteer army. Some people go to the military because of financial or disciplinary reasons, but nevertheless, it is mostly volunteer. I don't know why else some soldiers embrace war besides the ones we have pointed out, desensitization and adrenaline. Maybe some people are just sick and like to kill or maybe some truly believe the in the causes of wars.
I am exposed to violence everyday when I come home and play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. I think I would go to war if I could respawn like I can in COD. But I don't know if I would love it after being there and I don't know how willing I'd be to take an actual life for no real good reason -- in my eyes. Sure, we have seen the ugly side of war through literature and media, but it is not the same as being their, of course.
I think you are correct in many of the points you state in this blog. One is about the idea that today, violence is really a part of society through things like video games and movies. However, I would disagree with the idea that soldiers are happy to be in Iraq or other US stations. Scott made the point that because this is a volunteer based army, the soldiers are typically happy to serve. I would even disagree with this. For community service day, I went to USO which was a really hard thing for me. The reason I say this is because almost every person we talked to told us not to join the army and that serving was terrible. It hurt even more to talk to some men who were only a few months older than me.
Like Tess said, in time, people will begin to write about current wars, and the horrors will be presented the same way Vonnegut and O'Brien describe.
I really like your comparison between Billy Pilgrim, Berlin and the Marines in Generation Kill. I remember watching a series on the military channel that was much like Generation Kill. The Marines that were showcased were all obviously volunteers fighting in Iraq. They all portrayed their complete support for what they were doing and even said they had fun doing it. I think that the reason some soldiers are so desensitized is not only because of their exposure to violence beforehand, but the fact that they have signed up for a war and should know (or do know) what they are getting into.
I agree with you that video games and movies have changed many American's views of War. This summer when i had nothing else to do i would sit on my couch and play the xbox 360 game Grand Theft Auto. In the game you are basically a badass and go around and steal cars, kill random people, and get into fights with cops. After playing the game for hours on end i would go out and drive my car, not a very good combination because i would find myself on the verge of running over people on the side walk or taking out light poles due to meshing reality and imagination.
I can assure you that many soldiers in Iraq think it's a bad war and don't want to be there. Just as much as many veterans of any other war. That said i do agree that war is probably still viewed differently among the soldiers themselves as well
I think the reason these soldiers do not have the same characteristics of Pilgrim and Berlin for one reason. Pilgrim was in Dresden during the bombing, and Berlin tells us stories of how two men in his troupe have been killed. My question is: Did the soldiers portrayed in Generation kill have a first hand account of someone in their troupe dying? Did they watch and see it happen and tihnk to themself they could have presented it?
If not, theres your answer, and if so, the show is bullshit.
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