Why watch the Catch 22 miniseries by George Clooney

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

At the very least, you can laugh at the bureaucracy, the absurdities of war, Hugh Laurie and the director himself.

A new six-part project of the famous actor and director has been released on the Hulu streaming service. This is a film adaptation of the famous book by the American writer Joseph Heller, published in 1961, an absurd satirical work about American pilots during the Second World War.

The original novel has long become a real cult: it took 11th place in the list of "200 best books according to the BBC", and the term "Catch-22" has long turned into a catch phrase dedicated to ubiquitous bureaucracy.

What the book talks about

Catch-22 (originally Catch-22) is based in part on the memories of writer Joseph Heller, who served in a bomber in Italy during the war. The plot of the novel is dedicated to Captain John Yossarian. He serves at the Pianosa base and is very tired of the hardships of the battles. Therefore, he prefers to pretend to be sick in order to evade combat missions.

At some point, the hero decides that the best tactic is to be crazy. But he learns about the main paradox - "catch-22".

Catch-22 says: "Anyone who tries to shirk his military duty is not truly insane."

That is, anyone who deliberately does not want to participate in the war, as if thinking sensibly. Madmen are only those who want to fight. And so Yossarian has to keep fighting. And the management is constantly increasing the rate of departures.

In parallel, the book tells the story of the other inhabitants of Pianosa. The first chapters are devoted to individual unusual characters like the nosy Milo Minderbinder, who buys and sells literally everything that is possible on the base. And there is also mention of Major Major Major Major - a ridiculous chief, who received the title only because of his name and surname.

Yossarian diligently portrays a madman and realizes that in fact, around him, too, are madmen. And for many, war is a way to solve their problems and advance in the service.

This is the satirical basis of the novel. Heller was one of the first to publish such a striking anti-war book, anticipating both Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five, or the Children's Crusade and Thomas Pynchon's Rainbow of Gravity. The author portrayed the main evil not to enemies, but to the higher ranks, who care only about their own welfare and put ordinary soldiers at risk.

The book begins as an absurd, humorous piece. The hero over and over again encounters meaningless contradictions and tries to somehow adjust to them. But then everything gets darker.

The most vividly anti-war orientation is noticeable closer to the end. Dealers from Pianosa, who are trying to make money on any contracts, bomb their own base under an agreement with the enemy. Thus, what began as a farce in the spirit of The Adventures of the Gallant Soldier Schweik turns into a real tragedy.

What does the term itself mean

Catch-22 became the theme throughout the book. And it's not just the already mentioned impossibility of avoiding service. In fact, this is a designation of any logical contradictions and mutually exclusive rules. And John Yossarian and others are faced with the same all the time.

In meetings, questions are only allowed to be asked by those who have never asked them. Eventually, everyone stops asking and the meetings are canceled. The doctor diagnoses himself and admits himself unfit for service, at the same time attributing to himself an amputated leg. During the training from Major Major, everyone wants to get rid of as soon as possible, and that is why they pay special attention to him.

Such rules even apply to life and death. Yossarian lives in a tent with a dead man. The neighbor died even before he was registered in the unit, and therefore things cannot be thrown away without the permission of the owner. And also at the base is Dr. Deineka, who is formally listed as dead. He was on the crew list of the downed plane, although in fact he did not fly anywhere.

After the book was published, the term "catch-22" quickly became popular. So they began to call any logical contradiction that people encounter in life. The most common example: to get a job, you need work experience.

Other examples include classical paradoxes.

This statement is false.

Is this statement true?

The Liar's Paradox

Let in a certain village live a barber who shaves all the villagers who do not shave themselves, and only them.

Does the barber shave himself?

Bertrand Russell's barber paradox

But more often the term "catch-22" is used in relation to bureaucracy and mutually exclusive laws at all levels. For example, self-government student circles can operate only as long as their work is approved by the dean's office. Or the legend about the Cuban constitution from the time of Fidel Castro: the president determines the council of ministers, which, in turn, appoints the president.

What was the first film adaptation

In 1970, the book was filmed by director Mike Nichols, who shot the famous films "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and The Graduate is an Oscar, Golden Globe, Grammy, Emmy, BAFTA and Tony winner.

The plot of the picture is close to the content of the book, but the action fit into two hours of screen time. This did not allow to tell the backstories of most of the characters - many of them appear literally for one episode. But Nichols managed to convey the main thing - the atmosphere of absurdity and madness at the American base.

Yossarian was played by the famous Alan Arkin. Very famous actors also played supporting roles. So, in the role of chaplain Tappman appears Anthony Perkins ("Psycho"), Major Major is played by Bob Newhart (Professor Proton in "The Big Bang Theory"). And the role of the base commander, General Driedl, was played by the legendary actor and director Orson Welles.

Despite some confusion of the action, the authors were able to convey the main events and even add their own surrealistic jokes to them. Churchill's portrait on the wall during a conversation can change to Stalin, Yossarian returns to one event over and over again in his thoughts, and the film itself begins at the end of the story.

What is interesting about the series

The new project has several important differences from the previous film adaptation. Firstly, it is the increased timing. Six episodes give authors much more leeway than two hours of film, and they often quote verbatim from the original book.

Secondly, it was shot by George Clooney. This is not his first experience as a director. Some of Clooney's films are not very successful, but "The Ides of March" are recognized by many viewers and critics. In order to focus more on filming, he even turned down an important role in the series.

Clooney originally planned to appear as Colonel Cathcart, but then Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights) took over. George now plays a minor role as Lieutenant Scheiskopf, the training commander.

The image of John Yossarian was embodied by Christopher Abbott ("The Sinner"). In this role, the actor resembles Alan Arkin, who played in the classic film. Also in the new film adaptation appeared Hugh Laurie ("House Doctor").

The series offers a more relevant and complete retelling of a classic story with familiar actors, absurd humor and modern filming.