'Generation Kill': Too Good to Languish in DVR Hell

Let me propose an alternative. Cultural const — okay, I just can't type that word again, so let me rephrase in a way that brings us back to Generation Kill: Gulf War Movie Syndrome is caused when a gap opens up between the kind of entertainment consumers we want to be (intelligent, discerning, thoughtful) and the kind we actually are (oh, look, The Mole is on!). We are not entirely at fault, though we're not innocent, either. There's a lot to choose from, a lot of hyperbole to thrash through, and — when it comes to the Iraq war — a kind of sullen resistance to movies that either tediously tell us what we already know or dangerously tell us what we don't want to know about a topic we desperately want to be rid of. All that is reinforced by a sort of smug, why-bother tone to much of contemporary pop culture commentary that is more comfortable applying the word genius to I Want to Work for Diddy than to something that involves, say, a level of actual creative brilliance. And yes, a TV show like Generation Kill that requires your sustained, undivided attention is, on some level, work. And work is the opposite of what entertainment is supposed to be all about, right?

Actually, no, not necessarily. Sometimes, as my niece once said while doing a puzzle, ''Is harder is funner.'' If she figured that out at 3, we can all probably remember it as adults. There are only two ways to cure cultural you-know-what. One is to say, screw it, I'm totally comfortable with the fact that Friday Night Lights is never going to happen for me, hit that delete button, shake it off, and move on. (Unless you're planning to do that with Mad Men — in which case not making the effort to start from episode 1 would be the biggest mistake of your TV-viewing year.) But the other is to take a deep breath and jump in. Come on. It's not that hard. You just spent part of the last two weeks pretending to care about synchronized swimming, so you can give Generation Kill a try. Just press play.

Meanwhile, I'd like to hear what movies, books, and TV shows are stuck on your personal runway. Post them at popwatch.ew.com.