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"Generation Kill" by Evan Wright
for The Corner News
by Michael Bernard
In arguably the best first-hand account written of the Conflict in Iraq to date, Evan Wright's "Generation Kill" is set to be released as a miniseries by HBO on July 13, and the book has already become a classic in the genre of war reporting. The book was originally published as a three-part installment in Fall of 2003 by Rolling Stone Magazine, and these original articles won the a National Magazine Award for Excellence in Reporting in 2004.
Wright joins the First Reconnaissance Marines during the initial invasion Iraq in March, 2003, and witnesses their retooled role as the "spearhead of awe" in the taking of Iraq's Fertile Crescent. The Marines, despite being highly trained special forces warriors, are in effect reduced to humvee-jockeying rabbits running ahead of the main invasion force provoking ambushes by the embedded Iraqi and foreign insurgent forces. Wright follows two months of the daily lives of a small squad composed of members of Bravo Company, who, despite their varying backgrounds and interests, perfectly embody the spirit of what Wright, on page 17, describes as our generation's perfect storm of influences that have caused us to become just detached and disillusioned with the realities of our modern world enough to become Generation Kill.
During the vagaries of the "fog of combat", instances of violence and tragedy take place involving innocent civilians, and one highly-ranked commander repeatedly, in pure blood lust, tries to murder his own men and civilians during the rush of combat. Through the clear eyes of Wright we can see that the realities of war have not changed, that despite our technology, best intentions, and excesses of heroism and sacrifice, conflict of nations mainly entails the pain and suffering of people far removed from the decisions that ultimately determine their fate.
"Hello-I'm Special: How Individuality Became The New Conformity" by Hal Niedzviecki
for The Corner News
by Michael Bernard
Taking examples from such wide ranging cultural phenomenon as backyard wrestling leagues to "American Idol", from YouTube and Myspace to smorgasbord religion and Rebellion-As-Commerce, "Hello-I'm Special: How Individuality Became The New Conformity" by Hal Niedzviecki picks up right where Tyler Durden's impassioned soliloquies in the movie "Fight Club" left off.
We were, indeed, raised to believe we could do anything and be anything we wanted, living out our dreams of fame and fortune. Reinforced by almost every angle of popular culture, our ideal of becoming a celebrity center of our own personally revolving universe is now as common a yardstick for members of the Digital Generation as bank statements and a house in The Hampton's might have been for our forbearers. While technology has increasingly sped up the cycle of creation (and destruction) of the Popular Culture Myth, the psychological and social ramifications of many of the trends we are in the midst of evolving have not been better analyzed or more clearly articulated. Niedzviecki delves into the subject matter both humorously and very thoroughly, never failing to entertain as he shines the light on the darker corners of the full-extension of our shared cultural mythos.
Niedzviecki is himself a life-long "rebel", whose middle-class and conservative parents fostered a strong individualist streak, and as he approached the age of 30, Niedzviecki found himself wondering what is left to rebel against once individualism has become the overwhelming cultural imperative. An astonishing panorama of the very near future can be seen, and the vision is likely to horrify and amuse in equal amounts. Niedzviecki is tremendously talented with a reputation as one of the wisest and funniest writers working in this often ignored but vitally important field of research. As Sun Lzu's "The Art of War" states--"Know Thyself", and this book has more to teach us about our selves than many of us are ready to accept.
