The Pacific

[Dave]

Is anyone else watching this miniseries on HBO? It's by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg and is made almost exactly like Band of Brothers. But it's lacking....something. I don't know. I mean, when I watched Band of Brothers I really cared about the characters but I'm just not feeling it this time.

How do you guys feel about it?

 

[Shannow]

I am waiting for it to finish, and then I will watch it in a few sittings. Seems like it will be better that way.

 

[IronBrig4]

I saw the first episode and liked it. It was cool when the Marines were spectators to the Battle of Savo Island.

 

[AshburnerX]

It's not bad, but yeah, it's not Band of Brothers. I think that worked a lot better because the soldiers were characterized better. Then again, it might just be because gunning down Japanese isn't as glorious as Nazis.

 

[SpecialKO]

The first episode of BoB focusing on training and made a huge difference for me, because it helped solidify who the characters were, how they got to be trained soldiers and why Easy Company was the way it was.

In particular, I thought it was incredible how they set up their original CO, Sobel, to be hated as a self-important hardassed bully; while the character never really redeemed himself (due to his other less desirable qualities), for the entire rest of the show you spend the whole time thinking, jesus christ, if he hadn't put them through hell during their training, would they have made it?

There's really nothing like that in the Pacific yet, and we have no reason to root for any of the characters beyond them being Marines in WW2, like everyone else who appears on screen. They just blend into the background too much because we don't know them. That's really the problem, for me.

 

[Charlie Don't Surf]

I like the different approach, and how they just threw them into the shit. The latest episode seemed to take a step back and let them breathe.

 

[Espy]

It's not bad, but yeah, it's not Band of Brothers. I think that worked a lot better because the soldiers were characterized better. Then again, it might just be because gunning down Japanese isn't as glorious as Nazis.

According to Hanks the only reason we gunned down the Japanese was due to racism. Should make the mini-series quite interesting.

 

[Covar]

It's not bad, but yeah, it's not Band of Brothers. I think that worked a lot better because the soldiers were characterized better. Then again, it might just be because gunning down Japanese isn't as glorious as Nazis.

According to Hanks the only reason we gunned down the Japanese was due to racism. Should make the mini-series quite interesting.[/QUOTE]
wow, really? to think I used to have respect for the man, never knew he was that crazy.

 

[Espy]

Well, to be fair he kind of says its why they gunned us down too, from EW.com:

EW: There are really infinite stories to tell from World War II, of course, but what was there new to say about the war itself?
HANKS: [To Spielberg] May I? [Clears throat] The war in Europe was almost recognizable in many ways, as far as from a moralistic and ethical point of view. There were boundaries, there were surrenders. There was an understanding of unmitigated evil that need to be vanquished from places like Paris and Belgium and England.
The war in the Pacific was a war of racism and terror. Terror in the ways that we will terrorize you with suicide attacks, but also terror in that, you will be on an island with absolutely no escape, and you will be reduced to subhuman levels in order to survive. And racism based solely on the shape of your eyes and the color of your skin — on both sides. Now does that sound familiar by any chance?

And he's said it a few more times:
From CBS:

"Back in World War II, we viewed the Japanese as 'yellow, slant-eyed dogs' that believed in different gods," he told the magazine. "They were out to kill us because our way of living was different. We, in turn, wanted to annihilate them because they were different. Does that sound familiar, by any chance, to what's going on today?"

I mean, I agree with him that post Pearl Harbor racism certainly played a part in the American and Japanese psyche, but I've never heard any historian or history book talk about the war as a war based on racism. Every combat situation with troops has "racism" brought in as a way to sub-humanize the people you are forced to kill, it just makes it easier, so I don't really have an issue with The Pacific accurately portraying racism among Americans, but I hope it doesn't blow it out of proportion to the overall story. Either way, should be interesting, I'm a huge BoB fan and I really look forward to this no matter what it does with this issue.

Dave how was the latest episode?

 

[Charlie Don't Surf]

Calling it a "war of racism" doesn't mean he thinks it's a war started by or the sole reason being racism.

I liked Episode 3 a great deal.

 

[Covar]

Calling it a "war of racism" doesn't mean he thinks it's a war started by or the sole reason being racism.

I liked Episode 3 a great deal.

Sure. Espy's expansion clarify's it a good deal, certainly shows he's not the crazy "the only reason we gunned down the Japanese was due to racism."


Still Isn't every war a war of racism? unless it's a civil war it pretty much is always us vs them.

 

[IronBrig4]

I saw episodes 2 and 3 last night. This is definitely worthy of a DVD set purchase later on.

I agree that it's not quite as captivating as Band of Brothers. That series had a lot of characters to like (Winters, Lipton, Webster, et al). In Pacific we only follow a handful of characters.

 

[drawn_inward]

Calling it a \"war of racism\" doesn't mean he thinks it's a war started by or the sole reason being racism.

I liked Episode 3 a great deal.

Sure. Espy's expansion clarify's it a good deal, certainly shows he's not the crazy "the only reason we gunned down the Japanese was due to racism."


Still Isn't every war a war of racism? unless it's a civil war it pretty much is always us vs them.[/QUOTE]

There was definitely some racist propaganda going on. There are plenty of Looney Tunes from that time period that show that. There was also the internment camps. However, it's not like the Japanese were some innocent bystanders. They did plenty of awful things to the Chinese, as well as the Bataan Death March.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_war_crimes

 

[SpecialKO]

Any see the fourth episode?

I'm really trying not to run it down too much because it would be great but for comparison to BoB, but I thought this was the weakest one so far.

Spoiler

While I feel bad for Leckie, I have a hard time sympathizing with him, compared to the guys who are still on the line and the others at the hospital who are much worse off.

I really feel that by jumping into the action immediately in the first episode, we really lost a chance to learn who Bob Leckie was before he saw combat, which could help put his psychological troubles in context.

It could also simply be, like Iron mentioned, the Pacific really only focuses on Leckie, and James Dale's performance simply isn't as compelling as Damian Lewis' protrayal of Winters, who also had the benefit of an extremely strong secondary cast to bolster our view of Winters as a leader.

 

[Shakey]

I wish I got HBO for this. My mom supposedly has someone recording this, but I may end up buying the series anyway. If anyone has these episodes saved, and would be willing to help an interested party out, PM me.

 

[phil]

 

[Math242]

The second episode was incredible.

The 3rd and fourth were kind of disappointing. Especially the fourth one. I hope and expect it will get better and that a few other episodes will reach the level of the second one.

 

[Charlie Don't Surf]

It's really really good. I have watched most episodes twice to fully let it rattle around in my head.

 

[Dave]

I'm hoping it gets better on rewatch. The last couple have been better but that's only because I'm finally able to tell who is whom. But BoB is much, MUCH better IMHO.

 

[Math242]

agreed

 

[Seraphyn]

While I enjoy the watch it doesn't grip me like BoB did. Probably because it was a way more familiar setting, but also because you got to know the characters before they went into the shit.
I'm up to episode 7 and I know 2 names: Leckie and Sledge. It just seems BoB was more about telling a personal story and this is more of a general "Isn't war hell" type of things.

 

[Dave]

Yeah, and I have issues with the guy back in the states who is shown almost unnecessarily. Unless something happens to him damned quick I have no idea why he's even a character.

And when they

Spoiler

killed Ack-Ack it was totally off-screen! WTF was up with that?!?

---------- Post added at 02:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:20 PM ----------

Never mind. Synopsis of Part 8 is:

Basilone is transferred to the 5th Marine Division and lands at Iwo Jima.

So he does go back into the shit.

---------- Post added at 02:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:21 PM ----------

Fuck I should have known that! God damn it. Now I remember who he is from my Marine Corps history!

I wasn't even thinking about his name until I posted the synopsis and now I know what happens to him.

 

[IronBrig4]

I'm revving up for the final episode tonight. This should be good.