Talkin' 'Bout My Generation

"Write this as you see it. I'm not here to stop you." - Lt. Nathaniel Fick, Generation Kill

For all those sticklers out there, the 10 part series I promised yesterday has been pushed back as I finished Generation Kill yesterday and it's too much on my brain for me to write about anything else.

For all those who missed it, Generation Kill was a seven-part mini-series that aired on HBO in the summer of 2008 and was made by my BFFs David Simon and Ed Burns (who did a little something called The Wire) and based on a book by Evan Wright (who also wrote on the series). The series/book tells the story of Wright's travels with the US Marines 1st Reconnaissance Battalion in the initial invasion of Iraq. By the end, I really loved it, I particularly thought the characters were fantastic, though since not many people have seen it, I'll try and discuss it in a way that isn't heavy on specifics of the plot.

Be warned though, those who may venture to view this series, you shouldn't expect a story in the way that Lost or Mad Men is a story. This is all based on the actual events experienced by Evan Wright when he joined the battalion on their tour of Iraq. He followed only this platoon* and was thus predestined to only be able to capture what actually happened. While Simon and Burns do a great job of using the actual events to highlight certain aspects of military existentialism and the morals of war, they didn't have the creative freedom to inject this project with the poetic justices and perfect cyclicalisms that characterized The Wire. That is, while the series builds thematically, bringing us deeper into the realism of the invasion, it does not build to a climax or ultimate showdown. Some people may find this disappointing, but I believe that as long as you don't give up on it early, it is a very worthwhile--and maybe even important--seven hours.

* I'm assuming words like "platoon" and "battalion" are interchangeable, but I'm probably wrong.

As such, Generation Kill moves the focus, quite successfully, to other places. Mainly, in my interpretation, (1.) trying to understand why the US is in Iraq, both in theory and then in reality; and (2.) why these people are in the Marines. In #1, I don't mean that once the troops are actually in Iraq that Bush has to revise his WMD justification, I mean that the soldiers (well, some of the soldiers) gradually come to realize the harsh truths about the unforeseen difficulties of "liberation" especially considering that the ones making the grand decisions are not the ones on the ground that have to interact with Iraqi citizens and insurgents. These two points are inextricably linked both in real life as well as in Generation Kill, as the way that the different soldiers interpret the answer to #1 is dictated by their own personal reasons for #2.

The lead humvee, the one that Wright rides in, is captained by the main character and "hero" of the series, Brad "Iceman' Colbert (pictured on the left above). Colbert is of the breed that wants to be a marine because it's what he's best at, and he believes in the power of the American military to do good in the world. Colbert is an outstanding leader of men, empathetic, collected, mature, and with an almost legendary reputation amongst the battalion. Like good heroes, Colbert is also pained, though Simon is careful to only let his past leak out on a couple of occasions. We learn--in brief moments, Colbert doesn't fancy talking about himself all that much--that his wife (maybe his girlfriend) left him for his best friend and that he was adopted by well-to-do, Jewish, middle-class, bleeding-heart liberals, who, while they raised a thoughtful articulate son, also (we are meant to infer) tried to mold him in a way that was against his natural, lone-wolf inclinations. The character is superbly played by Alexander Skarsgård and his portrayal is what makes much of the series work.

Colbert tries his best to be civil and helpful to the Haji (as the unit calls the Iraqis indiscriminately), but is frequently put in positions where there is no possible way to do so, no clear right and wrong anymore, especially in the face of orders and an uncompromising hierarchy. Through characters like Colbert, and his commander, real-life Dartmouth grad and now published author, Nate Fick (quoted above), the audience gets to see that people far more experienced, capable, and even intelligent than us, cannot make such a complex invasion an unmitigated success. In perhaps the largest connection to The Wire we see that the inability of our McNultys and Colberts to do their job is often due to their superiors not understanding the subtleties of the situation, though the insurgents and gangs aren't helping much either.

Colbert's humvee also houses the other two broad ingredients of solider portrayed in GK. His driver, Cpl. Ray Person (above, right), hilariously played by Wire-alum James Ransone, is the marine who joins in hopes to find himself. He is often crass and boorish, but is ultimately a good person and good at his job. He exists just outside the prevalent jock, tough-guy culture, but--at least at this point in his life--doesn't have any way to necessarily fit into another stratum of society. Wright called the young, gunner Cpl. Trombley the "face" of the term Generation Kill, in that Trombley is every bit the stereotype (at least at first glance) of the trigger-happy soldier who joined up because he wants to shoot a gun. When labeled by Person as a "psycho," Trombley is unembarrassed, barely even understanding that Person means it derogatorily. And yet, even Trombley possess a humanity about him that emerges in the strangest of ways; a particular exchange with Wright about how he's frightened of dogs and loves cats is perhaps the most memorable.

Each character in the series can be separated into the three primary colors of "thoughtful," "uncertain," and "aggressive." Most of the soldiers seem an even mix of the three, enough of the aggressive football mindset to want to be marines (the overuse of football metaphors by some of the officers is quite comical in a dark way) but with some degree of awareness and insecurity as well. These elements can be rearranged in a variety of formulas, but when used in conjunction with a wide array of character backgrounds and then tested by a similar range of external stimulus, the character of the unit really springs to life, creating a vivid story of the marines and the invasion as a whole.

There are a lot of well-executed details--the ubiquitous humor of the troops even in the most serious times, the slow bonding of Wright to the soldiers, the nothingness and anticipation, the unpreparedness of the US--but, ultimately, it all ties back to the "why are we here?" theme that exists on both a larger and personal level.

What I suppose is one of the true tests of art, Generation Kill stays with you. I admit it has only been about 24 hours since I concluded it, but it has scarcely left me for more than a few minutes since then. I watched interviews with the real Iceman, Person, and Wright*. It takes a lot to make one reevaluate preconceived notions. From my vantage point, it is easy to categorize and stereotype soldiers; if nothing else, Generation Kill broadened my world view, even if in a very small and maybe artificial way.

* The consensus, as I see it, is that the portrayal is quite accurate, though some soldiers feel the commanding officers' ineptitude is exaggerated. Wright, on the other hand, said, for one officer in particular, the bumbling, idiotic Cpt. McGraw, that he even had to omit certain details because they were so stupid that the public wouldn't have believed them.

All in all, an engaging, if slow and unexpected, account of what it was like to be one of the first units into Iraq. It's no Wire, but it has the same faithful tone and very skillfully presents the intricacies and complexities of a convoluted, interconnected situation. From Simon and Burns, I'd expect nothing less. I'm now looking forward even more, to their newest endeavor, Treme, due in March.

In the words of the Iceman himself, "Stay frosty."