There have been plenty of movies released in the past few years relating to the wars in the Middle East, from the recently released “Stop Loss” and ”Home of the Brave” for fictional accounts of what war and homecomings carry for our troops, to “Baghdad ER”, “Body of War”, and “No End in Sight” for documentaries ranging from the direct experiences of the men and women of the military, to the policies and backroom dealings that have occured throughout the entirety of the war.

…and people have been avoiding them all like the plague.  Even the ones that recieved positive reviews.

I’m not going to speculate on why these have all pretty much gone unseen, instead I’m going to highlight a few things that are being shown right now that should be viewed.

The first is “Generation Kill”.  A mini-series on HBO based on the book of the same name in which an embedded reporter joins a group of Marines during the initial invasion of Baghdad and documents his experiences.  The book drew some heat on initial release due to the Marines’ outspoken displeasure with their leadership in some instances, but since has been placed as one of the books that “gets” what war is like for the guys on the ground.  The series in being touted as staying close to it’s source material and being fair in it’s depictions of the individuals portrayed in both the book and the show.

The second thing that’s being worked on right now comes courtesy of MTV (who also produced “Stop Loss” which many said was one of the least politicized takes on the war in movies to date) and rapper Kanye West, called “Choose or Lose & Kanye West present: Homecoming”.  The intent of the series is to highlight recently returned vets by sitting down with them and letting them discuss the difficulties faced in returning home.  An extra step being taken in this show is the assistance being given by West and MTV under the name of the Dr. Donda West Foundation (named for West’s recently departed mother) to the vets in the form of student loan repayment, rent coverage, and making up the differences between college costs and the coverage of the G.I. Bill which in certain instances has proven insufficient.

I’ve mocked Kanye West in the past for his lack of internal censor and his outspoken statements (Bush doesn’t care about black people ring a bell?  Not that I’m saying he was wrong, just that his delivery could use some work), but I have to say I think if handled correctly this could be a wonderful program, both to view, and for those it will help.

So there you go, things to watch out for while flipping the channels at home.

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