Staying Frosty

Remember this scene.

I was a huge fan of The Wire. I was addicted and could never create enough superlatives to describe my feelings. It was so raw and honest. There were really no good guys or bad guys. There were just people. And each of them was flawed. But I cared about each of them and their fictional fates. So after it ended, and I found out that its creator, David Simon, was doing a mini-series about the invasion of Iraq, I knew I was all in.

Simon's mini-series would be Generation Kill. It was based on a true story (The Wire was loosely based on factual events), so I decided familiarize myself with the source material by Evan Wright. I must have read Generation Kill in a few days. It was awesome. I loved that it took no stance on the war. It was just a look into the people who fought it and their day-to-day realities. Wright developed the characters to a point where I felt like I knew them. Ultimately, I think this is why the mini-series worked so well. It was the same direction David Simon took with The Wire - a story about people operating within a societal system. Sure it's about a controversial war, but the politics were really never the issue. It was about humanity and the people who have to go do some very bad, but necessary things. It wasn't Band of Brothers, but you know what? We don't live in a Band of Brothers world anymore. I think if you watched Kill, you probably related to the guys in First Recon. Because they're regular people just like us.

And them being just like us lead me to a bit of an epiphany as I watched. Is it fucked up the the military is as fucked as it is? OR is it fucked that American businesses/society is so fucking broken? I could empathize with the Marines because the futility of their ultimate mission and the obstacles they had to overcome mirror my 9-5 existence. Now, I would never completely compare my day-to-day experiences to those of First Recon. After all a bad day for them means death. For me it could just be a pink slip. But could we look at the parallels:

The president has decided to invade Iraq = Hello, CEO! "We need to start winning awards." "It's time to grow our business." Or any other statement that comes from echelons beyond reality.

They're rolling through the desert in busted Hummers with no armor = We've got three copiers. One of them usually works. the other two are always under repair. No one in authority seems to be upset about this.

They don't get maps on time = My creative briefs fucking suck

They don't have enough batteries for night vision = My internet at home runs faster than the shit in the office. I also have better software

They have to run a hustle to get what they need from the PX = Me trying to creatively expense shit I need from Borders or Office Max

Godfather = A guy bucking for a promotion by having the people under him make him look good - no matter what the cost. - Yeah I've worked for that guy.

Encino Man = An inept yes man - Ummm, who hasn't worked for him

Casey Kasem = An undermining, backstabber - Check

Captain America = A coward who has his fuck ups constantly covered by his subordinates - I see a trend

Lt. Fick = A competent person in a position of responsibility who can't get ahead because he won't be a part of the fucked up politics. - Do I even need to answer anymore?

And what's even funnier is I have the same amount of contempt and derision for these people and situations as the Marines (Grunts) in Generation Kill. Everyday I feel like I'm riding in the Humvee, following stupid fucking orders and going out on stupid missions. Maybe this is the true beauty of Generation Kill: It's the fact that somewhere underneath the geopolitical bullshit it's a scathing metaphor for American corporate life to which we can all relate.

Then again, I may just be an asshole.