it’s me, cas

They have a character called Frank Burns who would now be recognised as MAGA. In nearly episode he’s in, he’s treated as the villain and representation of the absurd, soulless incompetent us government/us military that it’s keeping them all prisoner.

I actually did my phd on M*A*S*H, so if you have questions or want some recommendations for the best episodes/episodes worth avoiding, let me know.

Absolutely, watch M*A*S*H. But in being you to watch out without the laugh track. America got the laugh track cos CBS was afraid people wouldn’t realise it’s was a comedy without it.

I think they were as clear as they could’ve possibly been that this is an anti-war show.

‘Sometimes You Hear the Bullet’ was a very important episode. I consider it their second pilot, and the episode where they finally get things right. There’s really not much before that episode that means anything to me.

Tommy had to be a lot like Hawkeye. He is a lot like Hawkeye. He had to die, he had to die in front of Hawkeye, in front of everyone there who saw how much he was like Hawkeye. They were telling us this can just as easily be Hawkeye on this table dying. And it had to happen in front of Hawkeye. Hawkeye had to continue stitching up other young people and didn’t even get a chance to fall apart and cry because his childhood friend is dead. That needed to happen. It needed to happen to prove this show could fulfil its potential, and it’s original statement of purpose – which is war destroys. War destroys without prejudice, and without compassion. It doesn’t matter that Tommy is a good guy. It doesn’t matter that Tommy is funny, but he’s intelligent, but he’s sweet, and he’s fun. It doesn’t matter that Tommy is a good person. Because war does not care. Good people die in war. Bad people live through war. They survive. War does not care who or what you are. Or does not care how much you hurt. War is more than happy to destroy you. Because it is one of the most ultimate evil things in the universe. 

and the craziest thing is, it’s not even necessary. It’s not. It is something that humans invented, should’ve been invented.

And M*A*S*H was begging people – begging people to comprehend That nothing good can come from war. That it is only ever destruction.

That the good old boys go to war to become men very often never come home at all.

I don’t understand how anybody could watch the show and not understand that it’s an anti war show. The only thing I can say (again. I’ve said it before several times, including here ) is that I think the laugh track in America camouflage just how serious the show was, and just how anti-war and far left (and queer) the show was, and allowed the Frank Burnses of the world to continue to enjoy the show even though it was lampooning against everything they were.

Which was precisely what the producers of M*A*S*H were afraid of. That the laugh track would camouflage the horrors and realities of how destructive and evil war was.

I don’t know how it’s possible to make a more anti-war show. I think it pretty much just goes to show you how stupid people are, quite frankly.

Cos M*A*S*H was not subtle.

Cormorant fishing in Yangshuo near Guilin, Guangxi, China. Christian Vaisse