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| Elliot Gould, Donald Sutherland, Sally Kellerman, and Tom Skerritt. |
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| The Last Supper...for Painless Pole Waldowksi |
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| Waiting for Margaret O'Houlihan to take her shower. |
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| Yes, made the same year. |
Screenplay...Ring Lardner Jr., based on MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors by Richard Hooker (Hiester Richard Hornberger Jr.)
Music...Johnny Mandel (Theme "Suicide is Painless" by Mandel and Mike Altman, director Altman's 14-year old son)
Cinematography...Harold E. Stine
Released 25 January 1970
Budget $3.025 million
Box Office $81.6 million
Capt. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce...Donald Sutherland
Capt. Francis Xavier "Trapper John" McIntyre...Elliot Gould
Capt. Augustus Bedford "Duke" Forrest...Tom Skerritt
Maj. Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan...Sally Kellerman
Maj. Frank Burns...Robert Duvall
Lt. Col. Henry Blake...Roger Bowen
Father Francis John Patrick "Dago Red" Mulcahy...Rene Auberjonois
SSgt. Wade Volmer...David Arkin
Lt. Marie "Dish" Schneider...Jo Ann Pflug
Capt. Walter "The Painless Pole" Waldowski, DDS...John Schuck
Lt. Leslie...Indus Arthur
Capt. Bridget "Knocko" McCarthy...Tamara Horrocks
Cpl. "Radar" O'Reilly...Gary Burghoff
Capt. Oliver Harmon "Spearchucker" Jones...Fred Williamson
Pvt. Warren Boone...Bud Cort
Ho-Jon...Kim Atwood
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| Movie Poster 1970 |
FATHER MULCAHY. [looks up from his Bible] He was drafted.
P.A. ANNOUNCER. Attention. Attention. May I have the camps' attention? This week's movie will be When Willie Comes Marching Home. Uh...The biggest parade of laughs of World War II. All the love, laughs and escapades of the Willies who came marching home. This film stars Dan Dailey, Corinne Calvet, and Colleen Townsend.
Satire: 1. A literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule and scorn. 2. Trenchant wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose and discredit vice or folly. (Webster's Ninth New College Dictionary)
MASH is Robert Altman's second film, and to know anything about Altman is to know that so much of what's important is on the fringes of the movie: in the overlapping dialogue, in the little bits and pieces that can so easily be missed. The visual joke of Col. Blake and Radar looking in the wrong direction for Hot Lips' helicopter; the announcements over the camp loud speaker (added after the movie was finished)—the "short arm" inspection required of officers; the war movies that make their way to the camp ("When Willie Comes Marching Home Again": a real movie and advertisement for it, by the way); and, of course, Trapper John's comment about the "clowns"—himself and the others—working on some poor soldier's mangled chest. This is a movie where you laugh so you don't cry or scream.
Altman, by the war, was a veteran of the bombing campaign in Europe during World War II.
This was a gigantic success when it came out, one of the highest grossing movies of the year—hard to believe, perhaps, given its graphic depiction of the operating rooms, its satirical swipes at just about everything and everyone, its allegiance to its crude, rebellious heroes and critique of what is clearly meant to be the Vietnam War. This movie would never get made today. And a movie like this today certainly would not gross 85 million dollars. Ah, but this was 1970—protests on the streets and on campuses across the country against the war; in a few months, the U.S. would invade Cambodia, and at Kent State in Ohio and Jackson State in Mississippi, college students would be gunned down by state police and National Guardsmen. Altamont. Harold and Maude. In a world like this, a movie like MASH could be a hit.
My questions: be sure for every question you cite specifically some detail or details directly from the movie.
1. Sophia said in class that she felt our protagonists—Hawkeye, Trapper, Duke—behaved amorally. Do you agree? Why or why not?
2. Could you talk a little about Major Margaret O'Houlihan—"Hot Lips"? When I said this was awful, what was coming up, referring to the exposure of O'Houlihan's body, I meant it. I have never been sure how Altman wanted us to respond to this. It is the cruelest moment in a movie filled with cruelties, often visual cruelties—how many retractors can be inserted into a hole in one's body? How mangled can a human body be after being shot or blown up? How cruel can one human be to another? (And don't overlook the complicity of Hot Lips fellow nurses in this prank) So—unless you already addressed this in #1, write about how you react to both Margaret O'Houlihan and to how she is treated.
Choose one of the two below.
3. Clark said after class that the behavior of our doctors and nurses—with the exception of Frank Burns—is an act of moral defense. Agree or disagree. And why?
Or:
3. If you had to pick the "vice or folly" that the film exposes the most, which would it be? And what is it exposing about it? And what moment best shows the film's attitude toward it?
Finally: slapstick and violence. This is the war we get to see in the film. Fought for profit.
1. Sophia said in class that she felt our protagonists—Hawkeye, Trapper, Duke—behaved amorally. Do you agree? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteI agree that the protagonists acted kind of amorally — at least for our time period. I feel like most military operations would be more organized and less flippant about the death and horrors associated with war in general. The main characters disrespected women (cheated on their wives) and just did not really act like ethical, responsible people. They disrespected Major Margaret O’Houlihan (“Hot Lips”) not only by recording her having sex with Frank Burns but also by the incredibly cruel prank with the shower. The main characters planned it out and laughed about it and then when she went into a hysterical fit, didn’t try to rectify the situation that they had put her in. (Who does that?) That was incredibly amoral, especially because the Major was just trying to do her job and organize the camp a bit. Later, her cluelessness about football made her seem like a dumb blonde, and the protagonists did not try to change that mentality in the camp. So, the main characters in the film definitely were behaving amorally.
2. Could you talk a little about Major Margaret O'Houlihan—"Hot Lips"? When I said this was awful, what was coming up, referring to the exposure of O'Houlihan's body, I meant it. I have never been sure how Altman wanted us to respond to this. It is the cruelest moment in a movie filled with cruelties, often visual cruelties—how many retractors can be inserted into a hole in one's body? How mangled can a human body be after being shot or blown up? How cruel can one human be to another? (And don't overlook the complicity of Hot Lips fellow nurses in this prank) So—unless you already addressed this in #1, write about how you react to both Margaret O'Houlihan and to how she is treated.
See above answer
3. If you had to pick the "vice or folly" that the film exposes the most, which would it be? And what is it exposing about it? And what moment best shows the film's attitude toward it?
The film seems to most prominently expose religion as a “folly.” It shows that the main characters do not think that religion is something that will help in a wartime situation. Frank Burns, when he prays, is made fun of by the protagonists because he believes that God put them in their situations for a reason. This idea is seen by the main characters as silly because why would God want violence and war? The moment where Burns is praying best shows the film’s satirical attitude towards religion, thanks to the reactions the protagonists have to his choice of words.
1. I personally agree with Sophia. The protagonists seem to act purely for their own amusement and pleasure. I think this is shown especially when they go to Japan when their help is unnecessary so they can play golf on a Japanese course. They constantly convince or trick others into doing things to hurt themselves just to get a laugh from the people around camp. Hawkeye also steals a Jeep and there are multiple attempted arrests on the protagonists that shows their general misbehaviors without concern for the consequences which overall make me believe that they are amoral.
ReplyDelete2. In this film, Margaret feels like a character that is solely used for her sexuality and is a bit of a stereotypical tough female character who is repeatedly humiliated because she isn’t one of “the boys”. The character didn’t really make me uncomfortable the first time she is humiliated when she and Frank were having sex. However she became the object of these jokes so much it just felt almost too harsh. This was cemented by the scenes where she is a dumb cheerleader even though she is a nurse which takes a large level of intelligence.
3. I think the vice that the film explores the most is the large amount of sex between separately married individuals. Sex is treated very casually in this movie, because most people do it even if their wives or husbands are at home waiting for them. Many disregard their lives in the states in order to have sex and don’t treat it as any sort of thoughtful matter. The scene that shows this most for me is when Margaret and Frank have sex after their only real interaction is helping each other write up a letter. This goes to show the casual nature of sex and even if the people they love at home would disapprove, the people in Korea don’t seem to care as much.
1. I will admit that this comment was made in the midst of my frustration with the characters’ actions at the end of the film. Now that a few hours have passed (though I still believe that many- if not all- of the characters often behaved immorally), I can recognize that they did have their moments of demonstrated morals. I admired Hawkeye and Trapper’s dedication to helping the governor's son and the baby; they actually seem to care for the patients under their care, and they will not deal with the pompous military routine that stands in their way. However, there are so many grey areas when their morality is questioned- yes, Hawkeye and Trapper vehemently care about their role as surgeons, but they are just as interested in spending the day putting on the helicopter landing strip… the same location where the mangled bodies of soldiers are brought in the hope that the doctors-turned-golfers can save their life. And in terms of Duke,- who I will readily admit frustrated me the most out of any of the characters in the film- it bothers me that he disguises the few morals he does retain. He seems to be attracted to O’Houlihan beyond the childish, sexist bets and pranks; he refuses to admit this to his fellow soldiers, though. And I was so disgusted when he rushed her out of the tent beneath the blanket, afraid to admit who he was sexually active with. I did find his little daydream about his return to his wife and children rather sweet, however. Perhaps he is introspective- he seems both excited to return home, but also a bit nervous about his departure as well. But I find it hard to locate other instances when Duke behaves even somewhat moral. If I remember correctly, even Echo, who appeared likeable enough and not too harmful, planted the microphone beneath the bed to purposely embarrass O’Houlihan and Burns.
ReplyDelete2. I really appreciated Ashley’s comment at the end of class, when she discussed the “hysterical woman” role O’Houlihan descended into. I too was upset by this, especially after learning the intense historical implications of this role in Donna’s class this past year. And the scene described in the question was just so disgusting to me- I couldn’t believe that essentially everyone at the camp would become so passionately committed to shaming the Major. And as John mentioned above as well, the other nurses did not refuse to partake in the public embarrassment. Yes, they were the only people who ran up to O’Houlihan after she lay naked on the ground, but they also excitedly set up chairs to watch alongside the men. Perhaps it is not fair to expect women to always have each others’ backs, but I was still so angered by their actions. Throughout the scenes of the morning after “Hot Lips” drama, I had a difficult time deciding if O’Houlihan received more harassment than Burns, or if their degradation was mutual. After seeing the remainder of the film, I believe that her treatment rests firmly in continuous slut shaming. And as Ashley said as well, this strong, empowered female is cut down to something much more frivilous and “dumb blonde” (which in and of itself is just another horrible epithet for women).
2. (cont.) O’Houlihan’s crazed recitation to the lieutenant colonel as he sits in bed next to his mistress really is truly upsetting. And I understand the humour in his reaction, but I’m not sure that it’s fair to laugh at this scene. I won’t be the first to say it- just because it’s humorous does not mean you have to laugh. I’m not claiming that I didn’t laugh at some of the actions in this film, but this scene of the showering O’Houlihan is just dripping with cruelty. And it was just as upsetting, in my opinion, to see O’Houlihan descend into this “Hot Lips” role at the football game- yes, her chants and absolute lack of knowledge could be funny, but it also made the female Major appear as just a plain, stupid, cheerleader.
ReplyDelete2. I believe that the satire is obvious in its exposition of the unnecessary routine and lack of routine in the military. O’Houlihan’s strict routine is explicitly commented on at one point in the film; and as we discussed in class after the film’s conclusion, the soldiers who do not adhere to this militant routine are not only relaxed, but barely even appear as responsible doctors- let alone soldiers- at times. This dilemma reminded me a bit of my reaction to the scenes from Patton that we watched. The opening shot of that film, in which the camera pans to every single award and badge, ring and medal on Patton’s uniform, could have convinced me (assuming I had no previous knowledge as to the film’s content) that the film was about a member of the British monarchy. There is so much wealth and position/ title in the military that I feel often distract from the actual horrors of war. Does it really matter if you have three stars instead of two, or if you wear your helmet inside the medic tent as you care for injured soldiers? Similarly, I believe that MASH comments on this unnecessary routine and position in the military- after all, Hawkeye was just drafted. I’m sure many of the men did not willingly become involved. However, the soldiers opposite the strict, militant leaders are also satirized, from the opening scene of the soldier who falls backward as he carries a stretcher from the helicopters to the moment when Trapper magically pulls a jar of olives out of his jacket (Mary Poppins’ carpet bag-esque, in my opinion). Both the forced respect to the majors just for the sake of title, alongside the mindless actions of the other doctors and nurses (such as golf-cart thefts and placement of photographs of nude women next to wives and children), allow the characters to refuse to admit that a war is occuring and that some people- those who are on the front line, not the people who can afford their time to be spent on the golf green- are actually wounded or dead.
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ReplyDeleteI think Hawkeye, Trapper, and Duke are not the nicest people in the world; however, amoral was not the first adjective I thought of to describe them. It’s possible that I excused their behavior because of their extreme setting, or even because I found some humour in it. Looking back on the film, I can’t really argue that the way they treated women was disgusting, but I do find their wit and cunning to be somewhat charming. I’m not sure what this says about me, but it was just an honest reaction.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t really grasp the treatment of Margaret until the shower scene. I think the extremity of seeing her on the ground, in agony, shows the culmination of how she is being treated. I believe Katya said in class that what struck her was how strong Margaret was initially. She truly was the most professional person at the camp, eager to help in anyway possible. By the end of the movie, it appears she has lost this edge. I was almost more disturbed by her cheerleading than any of the sexual jokes or comments. Something about seeing her yell and scream incoherently conveyed the extent of how she had been broken down.
What stuck out to me the most was the extreme violence in the film. The men being brought into the camp on helicopters, withering away and squirting blood. This didn’t faze any of the doctors or nurses, and they continued to carry on with their jokes and innuendos. We see this lack of acknowledgement again during the football game/war. Men are being nearly knocked unconscious every play, and the coaches are completely okay with it if they end up winning the money. I think this scene depicted how disheveled our priorities are. We’re more focused on financial gains than we are about our own mens’ lives.
1. Our protagonists didn’t act completely amorally and were very similar to the Wild Bunch who were criminals but also redeemable characters. The doctors were good doctors in that they strived to do their best for the patient but they were not good people to people like hot lips. An example of that would be their terrible shower prank/bet on hot lips. The characters had morals that saved a vast amount of lives but not morals that created respect for the people around them.
ReplyDelete2. As someone said in our discussion during class Major Margaret undergone serious changes to her personality and strength. At first she is seen as a strong and capable Major ready to do her duty in patching up the wounded until the microphone prank where she then got her title Hot Lips. After that she seemed broken and a void of those strong characteristics we saw in her earlier. The shower scene that originally started as a bet was the thing that tipped her over the edge (as it would with 99% of people). After that she’s hysterically screaming at the guy in charge who is extremely unconcerned with her state. Finally she is seen as a giddy cheerleader. How she got there I don’t know but my reaction to her emotional decline is sadness. It is sad to see someone so strong fall from grace as a result of other people. I will admit to laughing at the microphone prank although that would never be something I would ever do in a million years. The bet that ended up with her naked in front of everyone was the undisputed most cruel thing done in the movie. I definitely find that disgusting and not the slightest bit funny.
3. The vice in the movie is the relationship between the doctors and nurses which besides for helping each other perform surges, is purely sexual. The time where it is most exposed is when Hawkeye is making out with one of the nurses. They kept on repeating how they were going to stay loyal to their partners while they were away as they where kissing. Throughout the movie it’s generally accepted for these things to happen but the biggest example is when Hawkeye and another dude were kinda fighting over that’s same woman and then Hawkeye points out she’s married.
1. Although they behaved very poorly towards the women and at times fellow male soldiers, I would not say that they are quite amoral. Insensitive and cruel at times, definitely, but I still think that they had values and some moral code. I say this mainly because of how they behaved in the operating room. They were making jokes and talking with each other during the operations, but I still think you could tell by their body language and overall attitude that they cared about the person on the table in front of them, and about doing their job. I’m not saying that they are good people, but I do think they have at least some guiding principles.
ReplyDelete2. The way that Margaret it treated really makes me sad, because when she first arrives it is immediately evident how enthusiastic and optimistic she is about the job and the people there, but as the movie goes on she is repeatedly bullied and belittled at every turn. I also fell bad for her because I think that even after being treated so badly, she still makes an effort to be part of the group. The scene where she makes up a cheer for the football game comes to my mind. I saw this as her trying to find a way to fit in with the guys, and show them that she can be part of their group/team. The guy’s main complaint about Margaret is that she is too bossy/serious, and this irritates me because I don’t think they would have an issue if a man in her position were to act the same way.
3. I would have to agree with Katya’s comment. The theme of religion really stood out to me, especially when the one man(I can’t remember his name) decided to commit suicide, and they held a ceremony for him. From the recreation of the last supper, to the coffin that he lay in, I think that this scene was really making fun of how seriously our country takes religion and religious stories.
1. I agree that sometimes the protagonists behaved amorally, but I do not think their amorality was completely intentional. I think that their characters were just reckless and careless, not that that is an excuse for acting amorally. But, part of what made this movie so entertaining is that they never really faced any repercussions for their reckless behaviors. They did things just for the sake of doing them and getting a laugh. For instance, when their dentist comrade decided to kill himself, rather than doing the moral thing of asking their friend if he is ok, why he wants to do such a thing, and try to talk him out of it, they go along with it and even encourage him. They then turn it into a joke by recreating the Last Supper image and by having Hawkeye’s married girlfriend help him overcome his momentary lapse in heterosexuality. Although homosexuality and suicide are not things that are socially acceptable to joke about; specifically, suicide is very serious and convincing a friend to commit suicide by a certain method is far from ethically justified. I do not think that Hawkeye, Trapper, or Duke have malicious intentions, but rather they act without thinking. But, yes, I do agree they do act amorally.
ReplyDelete2. At first, I liked Margaret O’Houlihan’s character. I appreciated her strength and devotion to the formal and structured military and thought that she was going to sort of whip those crazy guys into shape. I could not have been more wrong. Not only did she not gain the respect and control over the group that I believe she deserved, she also slowly became weaker and reacted more stereotypically. For instance, in comparison to the scene where she arrived, her reaction to the way the protagonists expose her while she is showering shows the stereotypical female reaction: hysteria; ironically, in her hysteric rant, she even calls the base an “insane asylum” . This way of portraying women in really off putting to me, and I did not enjoy watching this scene because of how horribly she was treated and because of her reaction to this treatment. Granted, she was treated terribly by her supposed comrades; from being broadcasted having sex with Frank to being nicknamed “Hot Lips”, Major O’Houlihan could not catch a break. I agree with what John wrote in the blog, I really did laugh at these scenes to keep from screaming or crying.
3. The “vice or folly” that the film exposes the most is the negative, misogynistic way women are treated. There are innumerable scenes that involve objectifying women, subordinating women, and even forcing women into unwanted sexual situations. The moment that best shows the film’s attitude toward it is when many of the men exposed Hot Lips while she was in the shower. While she endured deep humiliation, the men laughed at her, cracked jokes, and made loud, obnoxious noises, one man even held up binoculars. The hyper-masculine nature of this environment almost intensifies this situation. Although, that seems to be part of a satire: outrageously extreme scenes featuring even more outrageous and extreme characters to focus on certain aspects of society. The fact that the women, as John noted in question two, did nothing to protect their colleague shows this vice on an even deeper level. It seems to comment that not only are men culpable for upholding this patriarchal society, but women are also to blame for standing by and allowing bad things to happen. Although, I am not sure what those women could have done considering where they were, the time period in which this movie is places, and who they were surrounded by. This film magnifies how terribly women were treated.
1. I would say that for the most part the main characters didnt act amorally, but I do think that they had some morals. Obviously they could have been significantly better people specifically with Margaret, but I think they did have some morals. The surgeons were all about saving the lives of the people who came into their hospital whether they were on their side of the fight or not. I am referencing the scene when the surgeons save the North Korean solider rather than let him die. Their morals may not reflect today but I would say that for the situation that they have been put into they are not bad people. Back to Margaret though while I believe they were cruel, Margaret was also trying to change the entire mentality of the camp, and I think that it is ok for the surgeons to fight back.
ReplyDelete2. I would say that Margaret while unfair isnt as sad as everyone else is saying it is. While I fully agree that in particluar the shower went way too far I think that you cant expect everybody to be serious all the time which is what she originally wanted. The surgeons were laughing among death which can happen when you are exposed to such horrible things everyday. I think that part of the soliders way of avoiding depression is by having fun and laughing. I think that Margaret getting more friendly with the soliders isnt about her conforming to stereotypes its rather her just becoming one of the group.
3. I think that the film more exposes more vice of the army. I think that people are raised to think of the army as a very good intending and organized group of motivated individuals and the film shows that this is not always the case. While I dont think that the soliders really fit into the defintion of vice, I think the film shows what the army could really be like. Some people might argue that the surgeons and nurses cheating on their wives and husbands is bad, I would say that it is excusable given the situation they are in. They are near the frontlines of an army and really if something bad happened the next day could easily be their last so why not.
1. I agree with this because I think that the point of the movie is a satire. You mentioned that this movie satirizes almost everything, so the main characters would not be moral role-models, or exemplary in any way. The men, however, serve more than just a satirical purpose. They are sometimes likeable and do have morals. These characters are likely realistic in their actions, including those that are sexist or cruel. While I don’t like them, it would be naive to think that no men, especially in this time period, act as entitled and mean as they do.
ReplyDelete3. If you had to pick the "vice or folly" that the film exposes the most, which would it be? And what is it exposing about it? And what moment best shows the film's attitude toward it?
The folly that stuck out to me that this film exposes is misogyny and the generaal treatment of women. There are few instances in the film that involved a woman that was not blatantly sexist. I cannot tell if these instances were included with the intention of exposing the awfulness of misogyny or if it was simply how men of this time would act. I suspect there are elements of both of these. The treatment of women in every scene is disgusting, and perhaps over the top. Because the instances are extreme, I believe that many of them are using satire to expose the folly of sexism.
2. Margaret is one of the characters in this movie that does not serve much of a satirical purpose. To me, this means that she is more rational and coherent. She is also very brave and professional initially, which makes the men’s treatment of her even worse. I again wonder if this scene is included for the purpose of exposing how awful sexist or ignorant treatment of people can be, or whether it simply includes misogynistic treatment because that was how men would commonly act.