Generation Kill thread?
Just finished it, having been a big fan of The Wire and Show Me a Hero, and was really impressed. Wondering what you make of it, how it's received here.
It was really effective at maintaining a pretty vast cast, like The Wire, and showing how they connected or interacted. Great, seemingly natural camaraderie between the troops, as well as angst in the commanding officer/underling dynamics.
Terrifying at times. Just the absurdity of war, and how ineptly it was handled. How desensitized these poor young men are and the atrocities they're made to commit. This isn't a political observation, as the past fifteen years have shown the invasion to be a poorly handled mistake.
Despite barely standing him in The Wire, I liked Ziggy/Ray. He was funny and seemed like a real bro, the comic relief of a friend. I wasn't familiar with Skarsgard before this, but I think he was miscast. His accent was all over the place, his speech didnt vibe with his expressions and he came off as an awkward cypher of a person. Nate Fick was good, perfectly cast and endearing. Captain America as well, perfectly bananas. Sixta was funny. Trombley reminded me of edgy psychopath posters here.
Impressive feat on a tv budget too. That fifth episode was extraordinary, really intense.
Godfather's final words to Rolling Stone helped contribute to the poignant ending. The video too, obviously and the mixed emotions and confusion with which the men viewed it.
Was surprised to glean that it's based on actual Rolling Stone reporting, which I look forward to reading.
Also wondering how our /k/ bros and veterans liked it, or how accurate the munitions and logistics were.
>>62919235
was it just me or was godfather kind of a piece of shit? no better than that wade fuck who almost blew everyone up
>>62919375
I struggled with that. He seemed deaf to the shifting situation and willing to ignore the facts in pursuit of this glory by potentially jeopardizing his men. Yet again, his final exchange with Rolling Stone put it in perspective. He very honestly told him that he realized how serious it was for him to send his men into harms way. But that is the job. Just like the rest of them, he had his orders. He didnt reign in Captain America's crazy ass, but then again, he didnt act on the complaints about Nate either. That balance, as unfair as it seems at time, was potentially crucial in maintaining the respect of his subordinates, keeping their morale up, etc. There was a method after all. I really liked how he was made a little more nuanced by the end.
>>62919235
/k/ loves it for the most part.
Its a really accurate depiction of the book and pretty much the most realistic portrayal of modern military today.
One of the few things that was created just for the show was the last bit in Baghdad. Rudy and Ray never fought and the whole video scene, but it was a nice cinematic way to end the show.
While I can agree Skarsgards accent maybe faltered a bit he really nailed Colberts mannerisms and even looks like the real guy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GASlTbaOAdA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZvWl67Icn8
Nice clip if you want some insight to real guys.
>>62919235
Is that picture from Generation K?
If so, I can't watch it.
No way a fucking kid that age would be an O-6.
What a stupid fucking show this must be.
i'm sorry about your thread op
anyway, while there are really a ton of things it did right (the detailwork is absurd) really the thing that i loved most was its trying to portray pretty much everything about the invasion other than the "action" bits
just the absolute crushing understaffed confused existential boredom and ennui. nothing really tries to do that; even documentaries always play up the HONOR THE FALLEN HEROES ;_; aspect, but this just showed the solider as exactly who they were, whether or not it send the "right" message (whichever message that is)
>>62919787
Interesting, thanks
>>62919936
>the thing that i loved most was its trying to portray pretty much everything about the invasion other than the "action" bits
agreed great point
>>62919895
Shitty link quality video, but here is the real Ferrando.
http://www.military.com/video/operations-and-strategy/iraqi-war/lt-col-godfather-ferrando-speech/1301186687001
Don't know his actual age, but doesn't seem that old.
>>62919895
>No way a fucking kid that age would be an O-6.
>Colonel's age in 2003 during invasion: 42
>actors's age in in 2007 during filming: 40
Yeah, how completely unrealistic.
>>62920340
wow, sort of eerie
>>62919895
Kill yourself my friend because your opinion is just plain dumb
>It's a mustache hairs episode
>>62920590
Well, shit
>A retired battalion sergeant major who was portrayed in the HBO miniseries "Generation Kill" was sentenced to 10 years in prison Wednesday for a sex offense involving a minor.
>Retired Sgt. Maj. John Joseph Sixta, the former top enlisted leader of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, pleaded guilty in Yuma Justice Court in Arizona to a sexual abuse charge for a case involving the child of a family he had befriended.
>"He took advantage of the little girl by befriending the family" the prosecutor, Jim Eustace, said.
>Sixta's attorney, Julie McDonald, said her client entered a guilty plea on that charge in order to drop other charges of sexual contact with a minor and molestation of a child.
>Due to the nature of the crime, Sixta will serve all 10 years of the sentence and will not receive credit for good behavior, McDonald and Eustace said. Sixta was taken into custody in Arizona on July 2, 2014.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story/military/crime/2014/11/19/sgt-maj-sixta-generation-kill-child-molestation-sentencing/19298495/
>>62920590
>it's a Sixta is a kid diddler episode
>>62920691
He never could let go of the grooming standard. No grass on the field makes it so much easier.
>>62920738
there may really be something to that
>>62919787
>Rudy and Ray never fought
I don't understand why the even fought in the show, I thought maybe the book made it clearer but apparently not
>>62920590
>>62920691
>>62920699
>>62920738
>>62921038
I LIKE DEM BRAIDS
I'D EAT A MILE OF HER SHIT JUST TO SEE WHERE IT CAME FROM
>>62919235
I watched this a long time ago so I don't remember much, but wasn't it true that no major characters ever ended up dying or even getting seriously wounded? I remember a distinct lack of casualties, which disappointed me not in a 'le action pew pew!' way but in the sense that it took away a lot of the tension and the reality of the danger.
>>62921147
I'd guess for dramatic effect to try and get some closure to the series and the journey they went through.
>>62921147
Well, it wasn't that substantial. Ray, having come down from the uppers and feeling disillusioned by it all, just took the opportunity, having seen the other guy take it, to assault someone in a way that's allowed, during football, who pissed him off, or in whom he was projecting high school feelings as he stated. Maybe to give Ray's character a bit more pathos than just comedy? But by the next scene Rudy slapped him on the shoulder or something like a bro, as if they were fine by then.
>>62921206
Its all true man, none of those people died or got seriously wounded
>>62919895
???
>>62921206
They were highly trained recon marines being sent on bullshit missions to trick the enemy. They were never in much danger.
>>62921206
>no major characters ever ended up dying or even getting seriously wounded? I remember a distinct lack of casualties, which disappointed me not in a 'le action pew pew!'
I thought the same til I realized it was true. Like in Beasts of No Nation, they were somewhat desensitized to the bullets whizzing around them, almost feeling invincible or at least indifferent. Luck goes a long way I guess.
>>62921206
They were way better than there average soldier, and they were only in danger in like two major instances. And in those instances they got through with their training and some luck
>>62920691
NO MR. POTATO HEAD
God, he was supposed to be fucking brilliant. The whole time he shit on the marines over the grooming standard so they would hate him instead of hating all the godawful bullshit command was raining down on them. They even explained it when he said he was going to stare the men down with a grooming standard to keep morale from tanking after the depressing mail came in.
It doesn't change that he was effective at policing the emotions of the men but it's still disappointing.
>>62921206
>reality of the danger
Motherfucker, the US went in with over 150 thousand troops, and less than 150 were killed during the time the series covered. There was no "reality of danger" for them because none of them actually died.
>>62921425
It really was the testing ground for the new military doctrine.
Do the opposite of Vietnam, instead of being tied down by red tape, just bomb the everliving shit out of the smallest hint of danger.
Think there might be a single enemy combatant in that building. Call in 5000lbs of artillery on it and screw the consequences.
>>62921361
>They even explained it when he said he was going to stare the men down with a grooming standard to keep morale from tanking after the depressing mail came in.
That was really well done.
>>62921206
The reality is that many of the men stayed or returned to Iraq after the events of Generation Kill. And some of them did die or suffered major injuries like lost limbs. Poke was dishonorably discharged for negative statements unbecoming of a marine described in the book. Yes, they emerged fairly unscathed initially, but later some got totally fucked up, or paid for their statements in the book.
Lt. Fick graduated from Harvard I think. He's doing exceptionally well. Iceman is part of some special ops team that is so fucking secret nobody is talking about it.
>>62921502
>Do the opposite of Vietnam, instead of being tied down by red tape, just bomb the everliving shit out of the smallest hint of danger.
Uhh... that is exactly what the US did in Vietnam. More ordinance was used in Vietnam than all the countries of WW2 combined.
The only place the US had to shy away from was North Vietnam itself, as the Chinese would have stepped in
>>62921655
What? We bombed Hanoi a lot
>>62921708
>In keeping with the doctrine of "gradualism", in which threatening destruction would serve as a more influential signal of American determination than destruction itself, it was better to hold important targets "hostage" by bombing trivial ones. From the beginning of Rolling Thunder, Washington dictated which targets would be struck, the day and hour of the attack, the number and types of aircraft and the tonnages and types of ordnance utilized, and sometimes even the direction of the attack.[28] Airstrikes were strictly forbidden within 30 nautical miles (60 km) of Hanoi and within ten nautical miles (19 km) of the port of Haiphong. A thirty-mile buffer zone also extended along the length of the Chinese frontier. According to air force historian Earl Tilford:
>Targeting bore little resemblance to reality in that the sequence of attacks was uncoordinated and the targets were approved randomly – even illogically. The North's airfields, which, according to any rational targeting policy, should have been hit first in the campaign, were also off-limits.[29]
>>62921655
The guy you're responding to - his key point is that during Operation Iraqi Freedom forward elements (Marine Recon) pushed entirely through the country and plowed through it in record time. They ran in, shot everything to bits and declared victory.
Vietnam was not like that. There was lots of sitting around, establishing bases, a half-assed diplomacy effort followed by ineffective bombing. We lost Vietnam because American forces sat tight in stationary positions while the enemy had time to leverage their guerrilla advantage and sneak past the lines to cause damage.
Iraq wasn't like that. It was lightning fast. Resistance simply had no time to assemble and the military didn't sit still to get shot at. Later yes, they sat around, but initially, it was nothing like Vietnam.
>>62921531
Colbert has done a lot of really interesting shit like staying with the Royal Marine Commandos for a time.
>>62919375
>was godfather kind of a piece of shit?
Encino Man's little pal, I forget his name, was a piece of shit.
