Gregory Pratt Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 Someone wrote in a book I'm reading, "MASH became a series about Vietnam once removed to Korea." What does that mean? I never watched the show so I know. Is there truth to that? Was MASH really a bad look at Korea? Did it have anything to really do with Korea? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmteam Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 I'm assuming that it means it was a commentary on the Vietnam War even though it was depicting the lives of doctors serving in the Korean War (the show ran from 1972-1982). The series (I haven't seen the movie, but I've seen the show all the time) wasn't so much a bad look at the Korean War as it was at war in general. Really, it could have been set in any war and been the same show. The most prevalent theme throughout the series is the brutality of war, the fact that humans are doing this brutal thing to eachother. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigEdWalsh Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 First the movie and then the TV show were set in the Korean war but neither really had much of anything to do with that particular war. The fact that it was actually during the time of the Vietnam war, it was much more of an anti-war statement on Vietnam than anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 The movie is even better than the TV show. I place the TV show in my top 5 of all time. It claimed the #1 sitcom spot for a very long time. You may wish to mention in your homework assignment that the TV show actually ran longer than the war itself. One of the themes that would periodically emerge was that the Doctors really did not care which side their patient fought on, they all bled the same. Well all except Major Burns who was the rabid war hawk. Unlike WW1 and WW2, this enemy was a little less clear, a little less evil. With Vietnam, hundreds of thousands of citizens stood up and said, maybe we shouldn't be fighting this war. M*A*S*H was able to show this to a greater extent because of the Vietnam War. Prior to Vietnam, depicting a Japanese or German soldier in a sympathetic way would not have been well received. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Gleason Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 QUOTE(Texsox @ Nov 19, 2007 -> 08:38 AM) The movie is even better than the TV show. I place the TV show in my top 5 of all time. It claimed the #1 sitcom spot for a very long time. You may wish to mention in your homework assignment that the TV show actually ran longer than the war itself. One of the themes that would periodically emerge was that the Doctors really did not care which side their patient fought on, they all bled the same. Well all except Major Burns who was the rabid war hawk. Unlike WW1 and WW2, this enemy was a little less clear, a little less evil. With Vietnam, hundreds of thousands of citizens stood up and said, maybe we shouldn't be fighting this war. M*A*S*H was able to show this to a greater extent because of the Vietnam War. Prior to Vietnam, depicting a Japanese or German soldier in a sympathetic way would not have been well received. I wouldn't call Ferret Face a "rabid warhawk". He was more of a War Chickenhawk with a bad cold. Rabid Warhawk actually makes him sound like a threat, and aside from being a BAD tank driver, I don't know if he was ever that much of a threat. I know what ya mean though. Now...Col. Flag, he was a rabid warhawk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 QUOTE(Kid Gleason @ Nov 19, 2007 -> 09:22 AM) I wouldn't call Ferret Face a "rabid warhawk". He was more of a War Chickenhawk with a bad cold. Rabid Warhawk actually makes him sound like a threat, and aside from being a BAD tank driver, I don't know if he was ever that much of a threat. I know what ya mean though. Now...Col. Flag, he was a rabid warhawk. Was that really Flag? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Gleason Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 It still amazes me how funny that show was for the first 4 (I think it was 4) seasons, then how serious and depressing it became. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sox4lifeinPA Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 I wonder when the next M*A*S*H-like show will hit our TV waves? Hospital shows, Lawyer shows, Crime Scene Investigator shows, shows about a dad who happened to be a former stand up comic shows, Crime Scene Lawyer who used to be stand up comic shows that take place in Hospitals, etc It's been a while since we had a war show... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Gleason Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 QUOTE(sox4lifeinPA @ Nov 20, 2007 -> 05:05 PM) I wonder when the next M*A*S*H-like show will hit our TV waves? Hospital shows, Lawyer shows, Crime Scene Investigator shows, shows about a dad who happened to be a former stand up comic shows, Crime Scene Lawyer who used to be stand up comic shows that take place in Hospitals, etc It's been a while since we had a war show... What was that one from about 10 years ago? China Beach or something like that. It was a BIG hit in the first year, then faded away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mplssoxfan Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Nov 18, 2007 -> 10:46 PM) Someone wrote in a book I'm reading, "MASH became a series about Vietnam once removed to Korea." What does that mean? I never watched the show so I know. Is there truth to that? Was MASH really a bad look at Korea? Did it have anything to really do with Korea? The book was about Korea. The film was nominally about Korea, but it was actually Robert Altman's dark comedic take on the war in Vietnam, since it was released in 1970. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milkman delivers Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 QUOTE(sox4lifeinPA @ Nov 20, 2007 -> 06:05 PM) I wonder when the next M*A*S*H-like show will hit our TV waves? Hospital shows, Lawyer shows, Crime Scene Investigator shows, shows about a dad who happened to be a former stand up comic shows, Crime Scene Lawyer who used to be stand up comic shows that take place in Hospitals, etc It's been a while since we had a war show... What are those two? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 QUOTE(Milkman delivers @ Nov 21, 2007 -> 12:02 PM) What are those two? George Lopez for one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Gleason Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 Maybe the other is the Richard Belzer show? I forget which one of the crime shows he is on. CSI: ZIMBABWAE maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmteam Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 Belzer is on Law and Order: SVU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowerCaseRepublican Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 QUOTE(Kid Gleason @ Nov 23, 2007 -> 11:15 AM) Maybe the other is the Richard Belzer show? I forget which one of the crime shows he is on. CSI: ZIMBABWAE maybe? Perhaps they can just leave Caruso in Zimbabwe? /wishin'.hopin'.prayin'. And as for MASH, it was definitely a commentary about war in general -- one which the public was more open to and willing to listen to after the Vietnam war had begun. It was a fun show to watch re-runs of but at times it gets a bit too preachy. (After Hawkeye treated a wounded North Korean soldier prior to operating on an American one) "You took a yellow Red before a White American, and that's pretty pinko!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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