For a Memorial Day edition of Wednesday Watch, let’s talk about
Band of Brothers and
The Pacific. There are 10 episodes in each of these miniseries offerings from HBO. In order to get the full WWII picture, I think it is necessary to watch both, but I would suggest
Band of Brothers first and
The Pacific second. Doing so, however, sets the bar high for
The Pacific, as
Band of Brothers is generally regarded as the better series of the two.
Band of Brothers focuses on the WWII European theater, and
The Pacific focuses (voila) on the WWII Pacific theater and covers more of the emotional after effects of war in general. I’d argue that
The Pacific has a bit more significance because typically the events that occurred there are less known, less written about, and less visualized. The Dude believes that the European theater is more popular for two reasons: (1) since the majority of U.S. citizens migrated from Europe, the countries there are more relatable (consider your knowledge of England and France v.s. the Palau islands (including Peleliu)); and (2) the Hitler effect. As
The Pacific illustrates, the fact that the non-European aspects of WWII are less frequently covered in movies and literature doesn’t make them any less dramatic. It should be noted that while both
Band of Brothers and
The Pacific jibe with most of the actual events, there is some degree of editorial license taken by the producers. These aren’t documentaries, and frankly if you get wrapped up in those minor changes, you miss most of the overall point (hint: it doesn’t really matter). I would suggest that if you are looking for a documentary instead or in addition, watch the fantastic British series
World at War. It’s over 22 hours in length, but if you choose to watch an episode per night or week, it is well worth your time.
Back to
Band of Brothers and
The Pacific. I want to make two points. Number one is that for a high school aged kid, I think these should be must watches for the history class. Replacing most (if not all) high school curriculum on WWII with watching these episodes (and perhaps parts of the aforementioned
World at War) followed by discussions would make the learning of the events not only more interesting to the students, but give them a more accurate portrayal of the what people went through during this time (on all sides). This is especially true as we are losing many WWII veterans due to age. Also,
Band of Brothers in particular teaches more lessons about leadership than any course, book, seminar, or other teaching mechanism that I have experienced. The main example of this is Major Richard “Dick” Winters, portrayed brilliantly by the English actor Damian Lewis. And you wouldn’t realize that he is English because he nails the
American accent in
Band of Brothers and another stellar series, Showtime’s
Homeland. Watch the video. He starts the segment in his non-native accent (American).
For a Memorial Day edition of Wednesday Watch, let’s talk about Band of Brothers and The Pacific. There are 10 episodes in each of these miniseries offerings from HBO. In order to get the full WWII picture, I think it is necessary to watch both, but I would suggest Band of Brothers first and The Pacific second. Doing so, however, sets the bar high for The Pacific, as Band of Brothers is generally regarded as the better series of the two. Band of Brothers focuses on the WWII European theater, and The Pacific focuses (voila) on the WWII Pacific theater and covers more of the emotional after effects of war in general. I’d argue that The Pacific has a bit more significance because typically the events that occurred there are less known, less written about, and less visualized. The Dude believes that the European theater is more popular for two reasons: (1) since the majority of U.S. citizens migrated from Europe, the countries there are more relatable (consider your knowledge of England and France v.s. the Palau islands (including Peleliu)); and (2) the Hitler effect. As The Pacific illustrates, the fact that the non-European aspects of WWII are less frequently covered in movies and literature doesn’t make them any less dramatic. It should be noted that while both Band of Brothers and The Pacific jibe with most of the actual events, there is some degree of editorial license taken by the producers. These aren’t documentaries, and frankly if you get wrapped up in those minor changes, you miss most of the overall point (hint: it doesn’t really matter). I would suggest that if you are looking for a documentary instead or in addition, watch the fantastic British series World at War. It’s over 22 hours in length, but if you choose to watch an episode per night or week, it is well worth your time.
Back to Band of Brothers and The Pacific. I want to make two points. Number one is that for a high school aged kid, I think these should be must watches for the history class. Replacing most (if not all) high school curriculum on WWII with watching these episodes (and perhaps parts of the aforementioned World at War) followed by discussions would make the learning of the events not only more interesting to the students, but give them a more accurate portrayal of the what people went through during this time (on all sides). This is especially true as we are losing many WWII veterans due to age. Also, Band of Brothers in particular teaches more lessons about leadership than any course, book, seminar, or other teaching mechanism that I have experienced. The main example of this is Major Richard “Dick” Winters, portrayed brilliantly by the English actor Damian Lewis. And you wouldn’t realize that he is English because he nails the American accent in Band of Brothers and another stellar series, Showtime’s Homeland. Watch the video. He starts the segment in his non-native accent (American). 
