INTENT
The conclusion our group came to was that the episode functions as a warning to the audience about the risks associated with computing technologies corrupting our sense of logic and allowing us to repeat mistakes we’ve made in the past including: eugenics making a resurgence, media propaganda being used to make genocide more acceptable, and big brother surveillance with the MASS implant.
TITLE ORIGIN
The title of the episode, "Men Against Fire," comes from the title of the book by SLA Marshall, "Men Against Fire: The Problem of the Battle Command," which was originally published in 1947 [2]. The synopsis of the book is: “S.L.A. "Slam" Marshall was a veteran of World War I and a combat historian during World War II. He startled the military and civilian world in 1947 by announcing that, in an average infantry company, no more than one in four soldiers actually fired their weapons while in contact with the enemy. His contention was based on interviews he conducted immediately after combat in both the European and Pacific theaters of World War II. To remedy the gunfire imbalance he proposed changes to infantry training designed to ensure that American soldiers in future wars brought more fire upon the enemy. His studies during the Korean War showed that the ratio of fire and more than doubled since World War II.” [1][2]
References:
[1] SLA Marshall, “Men Against Fire: The Problem of Battle Command,” University of Oklahoma Press, November 15 2012. https://books.google.com/books/about/Men_Against_Fire.html?id=rsfA3LkUsTYC (10/11/2021)
[2] SLA Marshall, “Men Against Fire: The Problem of Battle Command,” University of Oklahoma Press, 1947. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=iau.31858021616788&view=1up&seq=4 (10/11/2021)