The Pacific

The Pacific is an epic series made by HBO. The Pacific is based on the memoirs of a group of U.S. Marines who fought in the war against the Empire of Japan. The series was produced by Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Gary Goetzman and much of it was filmed in Australia.

The series has been acclaimed for its realism and accuracy in telling the story of some of the individual marines during the conflict. Many viewers have commented that the realism made it hard to watch especially some of the battle scenes which were very graphic.

Also the focus of the psychological effect the war had on soldiers is truthful and this has caused a deep emotional response in many viewers. Particularly when details were given of the actual lives of the soldiers after the war and how they managed to reintegrate into their families and society.

The producers took every step to make the series as realistic as money will allow and this often meant that unsavoury language was used which may cause offense in more enlightened times.

The Pacific also illustrates how little information the soldiers had about the larger context in which they were operating. Due to the necessity to keep military strategy secret as well as the challenges in conveying information on the front, marines exist on a diet of rumour and speculation as to what would occur next.