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The Men Who Stare at Goats
2009
One of the funniest war satires of all time by the greatest improv group of all time, the Marx brothers, Duck Soup 1933
Brad Pitt is a War Machine in new trailer for Netflix’s original war satire
Brad Pitt is a War Machine in new trailer for Netflix’s original war satire
HOLLYWOOD: A new trailer for Netflix’s original war satire War Machine, starring Brad Pitt and Ben Kingsley has been released ahead of its May 26 debut.
Four-star military general Daniel McMahon has been posted to Afghanistan and put in charge of US operations there — a mission unlike any other he’s been involved in. Based on a true story, War Machine is heading for a digital debut on May 26,…
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Catch 22 (Joseph Heller)
Some people might say that it is weird that the son of an ex-military officer enjoys a satire of war so much, and yet I find it to be peculiarly fitting, in an almost surreal way. With "help" from his experiences as a member of a bombing aircraft crew, Heller wrote a book that can easily describe the insanity and hopeless situations that miltary personnel have to encounter during protracted war.
"Catch 22" is this basic idea used throughout the book- a problem that cannot be solved because its own creation and conditions naturally neutralize any attempt to solve it. Or, as Heller himself states in a well known and much used quote: "There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he were sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle."
In other words, we are talking about situations that most of us had the, ah, good fortune to live with. Situations like bureaucratic problems, school rules and legal concepts. And, as some of my fellow servicemen back in 2011 would say, military shenanigans-something that many people in Greece would agree with, actually, since a nine month long military service is mandatory here and such problems can easily arise even with the best of intentions in mind...
The book's protagonists constitute mainly of personnel stationed in a small island in the Mediterranean sea. These have the duty to pilot, service, fuel and protect the various bombers used in operations against the Axis during World War Two- whether they like it or not. As we stated earlier, the characters have to take care of problems that arise from issues that are difficult to explain, tackle and even understand (like how to get a official discharge). The whole mess is getting even bigger by various factors, like a lieutenant's obsession with economic transactions and capitalistic operations for a shadowy (some might even say nonexistent) organisation. Needless to say, it is problems like these that create this interesting clash of characters, ideas and events which keep the reader going.
Catch-22 is one of the best ways to make someone understand what exactly is going on during moments that can change history- a great satire of war and battlefields during the twentieth century, where people are not simply fighting for their country and ideals. It shows how even the most sane people can get completely unrecognisable and how plans that sound logical fall apart not because of the Enemy but because men and women will find ways to change these plans into something that better suits their needs. In other words, the book has its own weird sense of humor. A sense of humor that feels too weird at times but will make you crack an all-knowing smile while thinking "something like that happened to me, too...". well, maybe not military-related, but... you know... catch-fucking-22.
I do have to warn you, though. Like most books that use war as a means to convey a story and meaning, this too has some quite dark and shocking moments, especially during the later chapters. War and conflict are not all about humor, after all. But, all in all, the book's absurdity will make you have a great time, think about our culture's insanity and (almost as important) have a good laugh.
