Carrier
I saw all 8 episodes of Carrier, and really enjoyed this series. At first, I was surprised at the direction the program took, as I was expecting it to be more "informational" and less "personal." Yet, the show quickly grew on me. Getting to know these people in the series and experiencing their deployment with them at such an intimate level gave me terrific insight as to what it really means to "serve your country" since I have never been enlisted myself, and had previously only movies and TV shows from which to base and develop conceptions of Military life. I quickly realized that not only are the service men and women "serving," but in a very real way, their families and loved ones are serving as well. Also, I believe it would be an excellent program for potential recruits to watch before enlisting, because of the honest portrayals of military life, which were not glamourized, or based upon pop-culture myth or stereo-types. Instead, viewers are given more realistic perspectives that clearly demonstrate the rigors of physically hard work & grueling daily grind, inherent risks, dangers, and monotony that accompany their tasks, the reality of home-sickness, and other unique major and minor stresses one would be presented with, such as being lower in rank, lack of privacy, personal relationship issues created by length of deployment, and conflicts with shipmates. As crew members often noted, "The military is not for everyone." Most rewarding for me was the family reunions at the end of the series, which I experienced with them at a powerfully emotional level. Through this program I realize even more how much those who served and saw actual combat on top of it (such as during WWII) gave and sacrificed to keep our nation and our allies safe. This program reaches beyond the political issues and ideologies of our war in Iraq, or of any war anywhere. It takes viewers along on a personal journey, from which they will likely emerge with a deeper human understanding and respect for concepts such as freedom, teamwork, honor, sacrifice, and committment. One question: Did anyone else notice that the fella who kept getting into trouble with "racism," and eventually got himself booted out of the Navy, probably had a serious drinking problem (like alcoholism) that could have been at the core of his issues?
