The Pacific...Anyone watching it?

[firehawk12]

One of the oddities of history is that today when someone talks about WW2 the average american thinks of Europe. During the actual war years most Americans were more attune to the Pacific theater.

This is likely due to TV and the movies that followed the war. The European theater was much easier and cheaper to make movies about. The settings could easily be varied (A town could be France, Holland, Italy, Germany, etc) while islands look alike and few could relate to them. Ships were ships, one submarine looked like the next.

Possible also because the primary American effort was in Europe and more veterans served there then the Pacific, Southwest Pacific and China put together. There being about 28 Army and Marine Divisions in the Pacific and about 75 Army Divisions in the Mediterranean and Europe with both theaters having about the same Air Corp slice. Meanwhile the Navy was different but in the end that is the story of a ship surviving or not not the man or unit of men.

I still think a show about the Enterprise or at least a fleet would have been awesome and different enough from Band of Brothers that no one would make that comparison.

Of course, there are a lot more stories that I would find interesting that most Americans would not (Japanese Americans serving in the Pacific for instance), but I understand that you make an expensive WW2 series you want to reach the broadest audience.

 

[Star Wolf]

One of the oddities of history is that today when someone talks about WW2 the average american thinks of Europe. During the actual war years most Americans were more attune to the Pacific theater.

This is likely due to TV and the movies that followed the war. The European theater was much easier and cheaper to make movies about. The settings could easily be varied (A town could be France, Holland, Italy, Germany, etc) while islands look alike and few could relate to them. Ships were ships, one submarine looked like the next.

Possible also because the primary American effort was in Europe and more veterans served there then the Pacific, Southwest Pacific and China put together. There being about 28 Army and Marine Divisions in the Pacific and about 75 Army Divisions in the Mediterranean and Europe with both theaters having about the same Air Corp slice. Meanwhile the Navy was different but in the end that is the story of a ship surviving or not not the man or unit of men.

I still think a show about the Enterprise or at least a fleet would have been awesome and different enough from Band of Brothers that no one would make that comparison.

Of course, there are a lot more stories that I would find interesting that most Americans would not (Japanese Americans serving in the Pacific for instance), but I understand that you make an expensive WW2 series you want to reach the broadest audience.

Problem being that the "action" would be missing as the Japanese Americans serving in the Pacific were almost all Intelligence analyst serving in headquarters and would not be properly heroic like the 442th RCT

 

[firehawk12]

Yes, but the story itself is more interesting than watching pensive white soldiers get weary of killing.

It's why although I'm still not sure Miracle at St. Anna is necessarily a "good" film (and no one watched it because it certainly bombed) but the contradiction of being a black American fighting against Nazis is a unique condition.

I certainly think the Okinawa episode would have been more interesting if they went with a story of a Japanese American trying to convince Okinawans not to commit mass suicide. Certainly more drama than the proto-Vietnam-esque story that we got.

Of course, I suppose it's because I'm sort of "post-WW2" and the mythological narrative doesn't do much for me. My greatest fear is that in 500 years, Zack Snyder's great-great-great-great-great-grandson is going to make a WW2 movie involving half naked white men killing Japanese people and Germans while screaming "THIS IS FOR AMERICA".

Ironically, this has made me appreciate something simple and on the cheap like Tour of Duty. It just seemed to be a more honest and complete representation of the war, even though I've seen sound booms pop into frame once in a while and they would use anyone who looked remotely Asian to pretend to be Vietnamnese.
(Ironically, Tour of Duty touched on the internment of Japanese Americans more than the Pacific. Go figure.)

I don't want to take away from the contributions of WW2 vets. I just feel like not all of their contributions are celebrated equally in popular American media.

 

[Star Wolf]

Yes, but the story itself is more interesting than watching pensive white soldiers get weary of killing.

It's why although I'm still not sure Miracle at St. Anna is necessarily a "good" film (and no one watched it because it certainly bombed) but the contradiction of being a black American fighting against Nazis is a unique condition.

I certainly think the Okinawa episode would have been more interesting if they went with a story of a Japanese American trying to convince Okinawans not to commit mass suicide. Certainly more drama than the proto-Vietnam-esque story that we got.

Of course, I suppose it's because I'm sort of "post-WW2" and the mythological narrative doesn't do much for me. My greatest fear is that in 500 years, Zack Snyder's great-great-great-great-great-grandson is going to make a WW2 movie involving half naked white men killing Japanese people and Germans while screaming "THIS IS FOR AMERICA".

Ironically, this has made me appreciate something simple and on the cheap like Tour of Duty. It just seemed to be a more honest and complete representation of the war, even though I've seen sound booms pop into frame once in a while and they would use anyone who looked remotely Asian to pretend to be Vietnamnese.
(Ironically, Tour of Duty touched on the internment of Japanese Americans more than the Pacific. Go figure.)

I don't want to take away from the contributions of WW2 vets. I just feel like not all of their contributions are celebrated equally in popular American media.

You are describing a movie pitch not a miniseries.

As for Vietnam it was a multi ethnic society although many of their minorities fled in 1975 and after.

 

[firehawk12]

Given that the three main characters never interact, I would say The Pacific is essentially an anthology that's loosely connected by the fact that they all served in the 1st Division. The producers' original idea was an anthology that had no ties altogether (I remember a black sailor and nurse being potential characters a few years ago), but I guess they abandoned that somewhere down the line.

 

[SlyCardie]

I remember hearing about the sailor and nurse angle as well. I'm glad they got rid of that though, I think viewing different parts of the fight through different soldier's eyes or seeing the same battle from a few different viewpoints is a really cool thing to see.