Since M*A*S*H plays such a prominent role in the novel, In Country, I decided to do a little bit of research on it. I have never been interested enough to actually watch an episode because I always thought it was just an old comedy; however, I learned that its producers were very innovative for their time. They created a show that not only criticized the war in Vietnam, but also mimicked the chaotic lifestyle of the war and evolved as the war finally came to a close. The show is set in South Korea, on a military hospital base. The injured soldiers arrive by helicopter, are bandaged up or operated on, and then sent home or back to the front lines. One technical note that was highlighted was the manner in which the directors filmed the show as if the camera was a higher being looking down on the lives of the characters and their place in the war. They used long film shots and followed action shots with camera instead of breaking it up into smaller segments. “In this way, M*A*S*H seemed to be asserting the central fact of war, that individual human being are caught in the tangled mesh of other lives and their struggle must be to retain some sense of humanity and compassion. This approach was grounded in Altman’s film style and enabled M*A*S*H to manipulate its multiple story lines and its mixture of comedy and drama with techniques that matched the complex, absurd tragedy of war itself,” Jeff Shire. The characters were also very well developed. Interestingly, there is a contrast between two different types of medical workers: the skirt-chasing, gin-guzzling Dr. McIntyre and Dr. Peirce, and the straight-laced, uptight Dr. Burns and Nurse Houlihon. I imagine this is representative of real life in the war, where there are those who are serious about being there and others who cope with the horrific situation by not taking life too seriously. These characters did evolve over time, and as the war ended, many of the skirt-chasers became a little more respectful of women and the militants toned down their abrasiveness. The show began to focus more on the characterization of the soldiers these veterans of Vietnam were relating to instead of situations the characters were experiencing. The show was sensitive to the fact that the veterans were all coming home and attempting to integrate back into society. They were most likely focusing on themselves and trying to redefine their place in society, so to see the characters on M*A*S*H redefining themselves was probably very therapeutic.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Week 10 - Open Topic
Since M*A*S*H plays such a prominent role in the novel, In Country, I decided to do a little bit of research on it. I have never been interested enough to actually watch an episode because I always thought it was just an old comedy; however, I learned that its producers were very innovative for their time. They created a show that not only criticized the war in Vietnam, but also mimicked the chaotic lifestyle of the war and evolved as the war finally came to a close. The show is set in South Korea, on a military hospital base. The injured soldiers arrive by helicopter, are bandaged up or operated on, and then sent home or back to the front lines. One technical note that was highlighted was the manner in which the directors filmed the show as if the camera was a higher being looking down on the lives of the characters and their place in the war. They used long film shots and followed action shots with camera instead of breaking it up into smaller segments. “In this way, M*A*S*H seemed to be asserting the central fact of war, that individual human being are caught in the tangled mesh of other lives and their struggle must be to retain some sense of humanity and compassion. This approach was grounded in Altman’s film style and enabled M*A*S*H to manipulate its multiple story lines and its mixture of comedy and drama with techniques that matched the complex, absurd tragedy of war itself,” Jeff Shire. The characters were also very well developed. Interestingly, there is a contrast between two different types of medical workers: the skirt-chasing, gin-guzzling Dr. McIntyre and Dr. Peirce, and the straight-laced, uptight Dr. Burns and Nurse Houlihon. I imagine this is representative of real life in the war, where there are those who are serious about being there and others who cope with the horrific situation by not taking life too seriously. These characters did evolve over time, and as the war ended, many of the skirt-chasers became a little more respectful of women and the militants toned down their abrasiveness. The show began to focus more on the characterization of the soldiers these veterans of Vietnam were relating to instead of situations the characters were experiencing. The show was sensitive to the fact that the veterans were all coming home and attempting to integrate back into society. They were most likely focusing on themselves and trying to redefine their place in society, so to see the characters on M*A*S*H redefining themselves was probably very therapeutic.
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2 comments:
The day of your post we actually watched the finale of M*A*S*H in my television class. The finale was the most watched show in television history, I personally feel Boy Meets works should have taken the top spot but who is asking. It was great to read your post and refresh my memory on what we had just learned in class. My teacher mentioned that the first half of the series used more comedy with the second and final part of the series turning more to truth and politics. I wonder is this turn from humor to politics was due to the actual hatred of the war itself. I really enjoyed this post. Thanks.
I think that being someone at home and out of touch directly with what was going on in Vietnam having a show like M*A*S*H was something integral to life. We all find that we want to connect with things and understand them as more than just an onlooker. I think this television show allowed it's viewers to tap into this controversial subject without putting themselves and thier values on the line.
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