kelsikelsi

Did you just finish The Wire or the latest True Blood episode and now have withdrawal symptoms so bad that even a seasoned meth-head would feel the need to get you a cool washrag to dab your forehead? Well, I have the methadone to your addiction in Generation Kill. Created by The Wire's David Simon and starring Eric, er, Alexander Skarsgard, Generation Kill follows a marine battalion as they attempt to make it through their tour in the Iraq War despite the United States government failing to get them the supplies and assistance they actually need, **** that sounds familiar to me... you too? Weird. The performances and writing are exactly what you would expect from the creator of the best show that ever graced television. The writers provide an unflinching look at the war and never once wave the flag or let the eagles cry. Generation Kill is a tribute to the working class type of soldier that only wants to support his family in the way they his father tried to do before him. The actors and situations in the miniseries capture the brotherhood and the total culture that is classically characteristic of the armed services. The writers do an amazing job of bringing the audience in to feel part of the culture. With the nuanced attitudes and jargon that is so unapologetic at times, the series actually comes with a glossary. Whiskey Tango, anyone? The way in which this show gives the audience such complete story and character development out of such a complex multi-leveled topic in only seven episodes is astounding. Generation Kill is so well written and smart that I actually made it through the entire series without even once feeling like I was watching a bunch of frat boys make up for their small **** by shooting massive explosives at innocent people. This is the Apocalypse Now! of the the Iraq War generation. Take it up now because people will use this to reference the newest era of injustice from the U.S. in twenty years, just as Apocalypse Now! is the go-to reference for the Vietnam era. To read more of my reviews go to: ****

Let me preface with this statement: I wanted to like Madmen. I really really wanted to like it. I have been in a horrible lull in television. All of my staples are off air for a while and NetFlix has been making me question its loyalty to distracting me from being stuck in rural hell. I started Madmen because I religiously check Metacritic for show ideas and it just kept coming up on great shows lists. Let's begin with what I do like. I constantly mental note the fashion. Jane is a bad ass **** Jon Hamm's acting skills aren't horrendous... thinking... thinking... grasping... I've got nothing. I can honestly think of nothing more. I couldn't even finish the available episodes because I simply can't give a **** about a single character or story line. Please allow me to go further. I suppose Madmen writers and creators will say that the show is a bit of a satire. But it's satire like blackface is satire. It is... but you're a **** if you do it because you're not hitting your point. Shows in the 1950's/60's like Leave it to Beaver and I Love Lucy, flooded the airwaves with subservient domestic wives. The effects of this plus the push from lady's magazines caused an era of repressed, sad women that felt that their red lipstick and roasts were the only glue that kept their families together. Madmen does poke a little at this past sociological dark period, but at times I feel the glorification and glamorization of Mrs. **** leans a little towards the promotion of the doormat wife. Madmen further punches women in the proverbial snatch by making Jon Hamm's incessant affairs so god damn acceptable all the while Mrs. **** perfectly reasonable reactions to her husband's affairs are portrayed in a way that make her seem difficult and nosy. Yes, Madmen is a period piece. Yes, the period was one of psychological and sociological repression of women, but where the show takes a wrong turn is in a further promotion of the misogynistic attitudes that should not be apparent in the 21st century. Why does the show make Mrs. **** so **** when she kicks her cheating husband out of the house? Why is Mr. **** shown to be such a classy, evolved man, when his behavior is modeled after Hank Moody of Californication (or the real David Duchovny for that matter.) I feel that in order for Madmen to pull the audience into the 1960's, they have lost integrity in their characters and their story. They have taken the fictional Leave it to Beaver Cleaver family as the reality for the 50's/60's family. When truly, by this time in American history nearly 40% of women and mothers were already in the workforce, most families were lower middle class, and many families adhered deeply to their cultural/ethnic heritage. Sociologist and TV aficionado Stephanie Coontz writes, "Contrary to popular opinion, Leave it to Beaver was not a documentary." Madmen missed that message. to read more of my reviews go to: ****