Could someone explain the appeal of masturbating to the picture of “Rolling Stone”'s girlfriend? As they state, she’s not attractive, and my memory of the picture doesn’t even have her nude. Surely these guys have plenty of Playboy/Penthouse/Hustler lying around?
I’ve just been wondering about this, and it’s been an ongoing joke.
That’s James Ransone. He played Ziggy in Season 2 of The Wire. Both great performances.
Do they surely? I’m not so sure, not when they’re Oscar Mike (whee I love military jargon!).
I like the Fick presentation as well, but I think you’re missing or downplaying some subtleties with Colbert’s character. I think the actor does a good job of capturing the classic senior team/squad leader vibe, which isn’t particular to recon but certainly exacerbated by their elite status. That is, he’s capable, likeable, and full of useful insights based on his experience and intellect, but still capable of mistaking his occasional flights of arrogance for confidence.
I think organizing almost two entire episodes around his struggle with the bad order that resulted in the child shootings did a good job of anchoring his character in his humanity versus the over-the-top facade that he feels his job requires.
The quantity of real porn is inconsequential. It’s a traditional boot* mistake to lose control of girlfriend/wife photographs, and they will always be prized as trophies. You can psychoanalyze that at whatever level you want. For me the point is how that becomes yet another awkward, inappropriate way in which Wright becomes an accepted member of the community. He could have acted like a little bitch about it (many would), but he just dealt with it.
*boot: new to the military, also used to mean “hasn’t deployed” in the Marine Corps.
Sure, but it’s worth noting that they aren’t particularly different performances. We just haven’t seen Ziggy cry so far in Generation Kill.
Ziggy had a completely different dynamic and psychology from this particular character. They might have somewhat similar attitudes… I guess towards women, but Ziggy was tormented by a lot of other things.
I’m not talking about the character, I’m talking about the way the guy acts. His version of the driver in Generation Kill could be his version of Ziggy on a good day.
Perhaps, I think I have a hard time telling the character from the actor apart, in the sense that I can’t separate my impressions of who the character is from how he’s portrayed.
The big difference between Ziggy and Cpl Person is that Person knows when to stfu and do his job. Ziggy never did this. The flamboyance may be similar, but they are deffinately two different characters (we’ve never seen Person get into the lows that ziggy did for instance)
Plus we haven’t seen Person’s johnson yet.
— Alan
What happening in the beginning? I could not see a thing in the darkness.
Seeing the marines talk about the fall of Baghdad as if it was the end of their war… Well, hindsight makes for unintentional hilarity.
I haven’t seen Generation Kill yet, but Person in the book is portrayed as running on Ripped Fuel most of the time. Ziggy may as well have been. Maybe the actor is just getting typecast!
Actually a question perhaps for Lizard King and Chris. I have read a good few of the ‘modern war books’ - Jarhead, Blackhawk Down, Dispatches and Generation Kill (even Bravo Two Zero for my sins) - would you have any other recommendations in a similar vein?
I honestly don’t read war books. Haven’t fired a weapon since I left the USMC and don’t own any firearms. I do enjoy watching hollywood/television attempt to capture combat on film because some of them have worked nicely.
We actually had some writers go on a march with us when I was at MCRD in San Diego. Was funny to see guys dressed in cammies with running shoes and a little, shall we say, out of shape huffing and puffing after a long line of recruits who had been in the field for a week. Never caught the writers’ names, but was a surreal experience.
The show “Major Dad” was on during this time period and the USMC seemed friendly with hollywood-types at the time.
Man, I’m going to be sorry to see this end. However, I have to say this was probably my favorite episode so far. The series could have ended with the “there are no cowboys” line as the column of Humvees skirts Baghdad and I would have been happy.
BTW, I’m a bit confused about the internal politics with Lt. Fick. What was happening with the patrol being sent out to investigate the destroyed T-72? What was the big deal there? And had he been awakened or was the “I thought I was dreaming” line just him covering for the other guy because the argument was in front of the other men?
You have a strange definition of hilarity. Personally, I thought it was more tragic. :(
Do tell! What besides Generation Kill did you think worked?
-Tom
This is true in the film as well.
Actually a question perhaps for Lizard King and Chris. I have read a good few of the ‘modern war books’ - Jarhead, Blackhawk Down, Dispatches and Generation Kill (even Bravo Two Zero for my sins) - would you have any other recommendations in a similar vein?
You’ve got a good standard set there. I would also recommend No True Glory by Bing West. I had a really difficult time reading it since it features snapshots (in writing) of the deaths (in about as much good taste as is likely possible) of some of my classmates in boot camp and school of infantry. I got the feeling he could have used a better editor, but the writing is solid, the author knows what he’s talking about and cares about his subject, and he wears his opinions honestly. He tries to place the events he’s going to portray at the microcosmic level in their proper tactical and strategic context, and it’s successful.
You might also enjoy Lt Fick’s autobiographical piece, One Bullet Away. Only the last third of the book has to do with the events in Generation Kill, and the first two parts (training and Afghanistan) are pretty interesting in their own right. His take on things is different from Wright’s, but I think the similarities are striking.
Also, I like to recommend (even though it’s a little further back) Eugene Sledge’s With The Old Breed about his experiences in the Pacific theater of WWII as an infantryman. It defined my understanding of the Marine Corps and war prior to experiencing it myself, and unlike so many mythologized interpretations made since, it has stayed with me.
Also, though it’s not really the same kind of book at all, the finest Vietnam big picture popular history I have read is The Best and the Brightest, by David Halberstam. It’s more of a political history of the war, but it’s as painful to read (in a good way) as the more conventionally visceral infantryman’s view. Probably not what you want, but once you’ve had Michael Herr talk you through the reporter’s view, I think this is a good companion. Definitely not the comparatively quick read that the above books are, though. And that’s the last digression (in this post), I promise.
I took it to mean the latter.
I’m really going to miss this series. This exchange made me laugh out loud:
Wright: If there’s no WMDs, then why are we here in the first place?
Person: I knew you were a fucking gay ass liberal. You tried to pretend by invading Iraq with us, but I knew.
Band of Brothers probably does the best job of showing the terror of being shelled by artillery when they do the Battle of the Bulge episodes. People always wondered why the Iraqis gave up so quickly during the first Gulf War. They were living like moles underground because of the constant bombardment. Band of Brothers does a good job portraying that fear. Also, it has one of the best trench clearing examples in a movie/series.
The beginning of Saving Private Ryan is excellent. Actually there are a number of good scenes in that movie. The hand-to-hand combat between the German soldier and the American was really well done. The urban combat was nicely done.
Otherwise, not a whole lot on film that looks, sounds, or does a good job with combat. Most mortars don’t sound like they do in real life as they do in movies. My wife gets mad at me in movies when I say “that doesn’t sound like a real gun firing.” Also, how actors hold their weapons and their eye movement isn’t done correctly in most movies. Believe it or not, eyes should follow the muzzle of the rifle when clearing rooms (so that you will quickly fire at what needs to be fired at). The power of grenades is exagerated a lot. The big explosion isn’t the problem (will hurt your eardrums though) - it is the tiny shrapnel that is the big problem.
I will be purchasing Generation Kill when it is available on DVD.