Just wondering if anyone else has read Anthony Swofford’s book Jarhead:
I just finished it and was impressed most by the author’s raw, honest details in regard to his love/hate relationship with the Marine Corps and his fellow Marines; his willingness to share his moments of fear; and his closing comments on the despair he is entitled to along with his loneliness in the wake of his actions and experiences. His next to last passage is especially revealing: “Some wars are unavoidable and need well be fought, but this doesn’t erase warfare’s waste. Sorry, we must say to the mothers whose sons will die horribly. This will never end…”
Now I’m very curious to see the movie. The trailers contain dialogue which does not appear in the book and that’s okay; I do realize that trailers are only a few seconds long, things need to be added or changed when going from book to film, and I’m hopeful that the film will retain much of the book’s truth.
My ex is a Marine and he and his friends always call themselves Jarheads. : shrug :
Anywho, I haven’t read the book, but I have seen the trailers. Allow me to reinact what happened when I first saw the preview. . .
(Cut to Diosa, deep within her study of political science. TV is on in the background, but being ignored)
TV: Ooorah!
Diosa throws book down and stares at TV with all of her attention. Topless Marines shooting things “Oh man!” I say, “There is no way this movie could possibly be bad!”
Perhaps the term “jarhead” gets mixed reactions because of what I mentioned earlier re: the very mixed feelings that Swofford (and, I would imagine, other Marines) have about themselves and each other.
I haven’t read the book, and the trailer made the movie look like every other thoughtful-guy-torn-by-angst-in-bad-war movie ever made, complete with stock characters.
Of course, there was no toplessness in the trailer I saw. Perhaps I need to do further study on this issue, and I thank you, Diosa, for pointing out that I may have been hasty in writing off this movie as not worth seeing.
Honestly, I don’t even think Jake is very cute. It’s the uniform. And the boots. And the guns. And the high and tight. And the :: sigh ::
But yeah, I find it interesting that the Corps has an apparent "Manscaping’ policy (all those guys are rather. . . waxed).
I thought the book was incredible in showing the conflicting roles of soldiers. Swofford was suprisingly honest, even when painting himself as a total heartless asshole. From interviews I’ve heard with Gyllenhaal and Sarsgaard (he plays the friend who dies after returning home), it’s a loose adaptation that borrows themes and scenes from the book e.g. the gas mask football game.
The movie looks incredible, and I’m sure it will clean up at the Oscars (along with Capote and Brokeback Mountain– maybe Jake will get to take the stage and pull an In & Out with his acceptance speech).
Well, since Jake is in several movies this fall (hey, did anyone see Proof? Anyone at all?), I have no problem with hijacking this thread myself…
I tried bringing up Brokeback Mountain a while ago:
Funny, I was just watching City Slickers on tv (I’ve seen it 10 times at least), but today was the first time I realized that his son (little kid) was Jake… I’m so clueless sometimes. = )
I finished reading Jarhead about two weeks ago. I thought it was an excellent book.
I think it’s safe to say that the book is anti-war. The interesting thing to me in the movie coming out is that Swofford talks about war movies (even anti-war movies like Platoon and Apocalypse Now) as being pornography for warriors. Now his story is being turned into a movie. Really, I’m not making a judgment here, I just find it interesting.
Word to the wise: don’t ever watch Full Metal Jacket with a Marine. “Oh man, their shirts SO aren’t bloused up right.” “Omigawd! Why are they wearing their ALPHAS, you’d NEVER wear your alphas there!” “Oh we did it just like that.” “Oh man, they totally edited the Oath of the Riflemen (or whatever it is called…they say it with their gun in bed). It is WAAAAAY more vulgar than that. Look it goes like this…”
