Previous scripted shows and movies based on fighting in the Middle East have failed to gain an audience, but that hasn't stopped HBO from airing its seven part series Generation Kill. The series, adapted by the creative team behind The Wire from a book by Evan Wright, follows a unit of Marines (who Wright was embedded with) at the outset of the Iraq invasion as they first cross into enemy territory.
Unlike many other war stories where the soldiers seem frightened, unprepared, or conflicted about their duty, what sets these TV troops apart is their thirst for blood. After being trained and programmed for this mission, they have been commissioned to kill, and kill is what they want to do. They whine when they're not on the front lines, complain when they don't get to shoot at anyone, and generally want to be in on the action at all times.
They're also a pretty vulgar bunch. They constantly spew racial and homophobic slurs, filthily mock the school children who send them letters of encouragement, and only welcome a reporter to their ranks when he informs them that he used to work at Hustler Magazine.
Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly Magazine with a look at what's happening in TV.
But even more shocking is how the troops sent in to risk life and limb are sent in without proper protection: They don't have working parts for their vehicles, enough batteries for their equipment, and are even issued the wrong shade of camouflage.
But Generation Kill is less of a political statement then a statement on the type of culture that breeds such men. These soldiers don't act like they're there for any grand, noble cause, but rather to, as they so eloquently put it, get some. It's often uncomfortable to watch, but you should get some Generation Kill while you still can.