The state of the world

Some critics have compared Generation Kill to another classic HBO series, Band of Brothers, by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. In some ways it is similar. There are the recurring themes that war is hell and of battle-forged comradeship.

But it is the differences between the two series which make Generation Kill so compelling. Regardless of the merits of Band of Brothers, the US paratroopers portrayed believed they were fighting a “just war” against the evil of fascism. The marines in Generation Kill don’t have a moral justification for going to war. Most just sit about looking at pornography high on uppers and Ripped Fuel supplements. Others are seen reading Noam Chomsky or complaining that this is a war for Starbucks and the oil corporations.

They are a generation of warriors fighting their war through the prism of ultra-violent video games, South Park cartoons and cheesy pop songs. Their comradeship is reduced to crude sexist, racist and homophobic jokes. They don’t even believe all the nonsense their officers tell them about being part of the US military elite. One soldier just turns round to his comrades and says, “We’re not professionals, we’re just semi-skilled workers.”

- Martin Smith