9/11 Tributes and Gundam

 I just got back from a rehearsal for a 9/11 memorial service, and I wonder if I'm torturing myself on purpose.  I'm not much for rah-rah patriotism right now (what with an ongoing attempt by the government to claim no responsibility for a crippling injury I sustained in their service over 6 years ago), and several of the songs we sing are high rah-rah-tolerance songs.  I got moved to the front row for no reason today (along with all the other Alto II singers), so I definitely can't start crying in frustration when we sing those songs.  Maniacal, hysterical laughter would also be a bad choice.

I'm sure this has something to do with me watching too much Gundam lately.  Nothing makes it more obvious to you how stupid and hellish war is than lots of Gundam.  I read an interesting sort-of-criticism of the most recent series to make its way over here (Gundam00).  Over at Anime News Network, Carl Kimlinger reviewed the first boxed set and concluded that it's "a worthwhile watch for anyone who doesn't mind their entertainment with more brain than heart."  It's true that describes me.

It's also true that I think too hard about a great many things, including the anime I watch, so in my own way, I get more invested in the characters than I should, and this is true of the drama-fests that are Gundam.  (I'll admit it: there were times when I even cried during G-Gundam.  Yeah, I said it.)  The questions the pilots ask and don't ask are important questions even if we don't have answers and even if they ooze with excess cheese.  :)  I get a lot of laughs from clunky lines that can't be delivered in any way that doesn't sound ridiculous; sometimes it's easier to watch in Japanese with subtitles because I'm used to reading such arguments more than hearing them dramatized.

The situations that seem plausible in reality make my skin crawl.  To hear people baldly debating philosophies of war and the proper use of violence and then having to live out/with the consequences: this is what made me love Gundam in the first place (Gundam Wing as well as "First" Gundam and each one I've seen since).  Sometimes I think the world might be a better place if things could be as simple as the theory of a tournament like G Gundam, the damage (mostly) kept away from the civilians.

Have you ever read Terry Pratchett's Guards, Guards!?  It's a fun book that grew partly out of his pity for the poor extras who get called in and promptly dispatched by the hero or villain.  What if they didn't die?  What if they were the main characters?  What if they (sometimes) even won?  Sort of.   

I find myself really pitying average enlisted people.  Don't get me wrong: I have a lot of respect for soldiers because they do a job most of us agree needs to be done to protect our country but most of us are highly unwilling to do.  People like that need to be honored, especially when the cost can be as high as death or permanent impairment.  Some of them are patriotic people who want to serve their countries; some need an education and have few options.  Some want to protect their families or help liberate others.  There are a lot of reasons to become a soldier and fight.

In the end, they have no control over anything, not even whether they are being used to accomplish the goals they want.  One of the songs we sing for this tribute is a medley of songs for different branches of the military.  (After watching a lot of Young Indiana Jones episodes and documentaries about World War I, some of these are even harder to sing.)

The officers, including the highest officers, often have no control.  War isn't something you can really control.  No plan survives first contact with the enemy and all that.  (My Vorkosigan obsession is showing again.)  This chaos is what Gundam is about. 

I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but Gundam makes me think they're quite possible.  Armageddon will happen somehow; we will bring it on ourselves.  Maybe that's what gives Gundam the added chill of reality for me.  I weep for all the dead (soldiers and civilians) as we blunder around hurting each other, broken and breaking.

What are your thoughts on Gundam?  Does it leave you cold?  Why?  Are you thrown off by plot-driven action and sometimes downright distasteful characters?  (If you're in it for the pretty boys, I don't want to hear from you. :)