At first, it doesn’t really seem all that obvious like M*A*S*H was a show of the 1970s.
Being set in the 1950s in a military hospital gave some leeway when it came to hairstyles and clothing (Mostly military uniforms). Even the discussion of the news and pop culture (although occasionally inaccurate for individual years) that happened around camp placed the show firmly in a period past, another in a string of television shows and films made in the 1970s that were set in the 1950s. Even some things, like attitudes towards women and the minority of non-white cast members seems to place the show so firmly in the 1950s, it might be hard to pick out that this is a ‘70s show.
But in reality, M*A*S*H might not have been made if not for the 1970s.
Coming on the heels of the 1960s, the ‘70s were quite a period of change. Following the Civil Rights movement, American culture was beginning to be more integrated. Disco was big on the scene, and styles were quickly becoming…a lot. The digital revolution began as video games and personal computers began to become a little more prevalent, and thanks to movie directors like George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, the blockbuster became a staple of every movie season. As for television, edutainment shows like Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood and Sesame Street took off while Star Trek experienced its first reruns, gaining the audience it’d never had during it’s runtime. Game-shows experienced a comeback, and cop shows replaced the westerns as the most-watched action shows of the decade, and family dramas took up another chunk of the airwaves, while variety shows and increasingly daring sketch comedy filled up the rest.
Throughout all this, sitcoms like Happy Days enjoyed incredible success, along with more ‘issue based’ sitcoms like All in the Family, Good Times, and even The Mary Tyler Moore Show. And it is here that M*A*S*H sits, filling in a slot as one of the ‘issue’ based sitcoms…but why here? Why in the 1970s, could this show work the best?
As wild and crazy as American culture was becoming after the unrest of the 1960s, one thing held over that had not yet been resolved: America’s involvement in the Vietnam war.
Starting in November of 1955, and ending in April of 1975, the Vietnam conflict was one that occupied much of the world, and much of the American population’s minds. Between the protestors and people who genuinely supported the effort, the country was torn in two by people who thought we shouldn’t have gotten involved, and people who thought the opposite.
Why does this matter?
Because when the characters on M*A*S*H talk about war, they aren’t just talking about Korea. Indeed, they aren’t even just talking about Vietnam. They’re talking about all wars.
But it was very important that this was a show made during Vietnam, rather than before.
Before shows like The A-Team and Magnum P.I. began using the Vietnam conflict as part of backstories of characters, shows like M*A*S*H were still processing the American attitude during the war. Much like Korea, Vietnam was never officially declared ‘a war’, and was regarded as a ‘police action’. Much like Korea, a draft recruited soldiers, some just out of high school, into a conflict that blew up into a political struggle.
The difference was, in 1951, Americans were all for Korea. In 1972, the enthusiasm had waned. America turned against the war effort, and there lies exactly why M*A*S*H could not have been anything but a ‘70s ‘topical’ sitcom.
When you watch M*A*S*H and listen to the characters speak about the war, the attitude isn’t hard to pick out: anti-war, anti-US involvement, anti-military. They shouldn’t be here. They want to go home. They tried to duck the draft. One character spends almost all of his time on the show attempting to get discharged due to insanity. The only characters who are for this war are treated as antagonists.
This wasn’t the attitude of the Korean war. This was an attitude that could only have existed after Vietnam, if not specifically about Vietnam.
So, the show isn’t dated from a 1950s sense…but that does leave the question of whether or not it’s dated in a 1970s sense.
Ironically, being set in a decade not your own can actually help a series (or film) in the long run. By not showing contemporary life and creating a world that had already ‘disappeared’, these shows were able to not become relics of the time they were made. However, in the case of M*A*S*H, some might argue that the show, while groundbreaking and revolutionary in the 1970s, may not hold up so well today.
While not having the traditional troubles of hairstyles, technology and pop culture dating it, M*A*S*H does have a few different, more important issues that might render it a little uncomfortable to modern audiences. Let’s start with the women.
At first, it may seem almost impossible from a modern standpoint to approach a show where the only major female character is nicknamed Hot Lips, and even if you get past that enough to start the show from the beginning, it doesn’t get much better.
In early seasons of the show, Margaret Houlihan existed primarily as a woman defined by the men she had been with, her attractiveness to her male coworkers, and her stickler army attitude. Mostly serving as a partner-in-crime to her lover, Frank Burns (who was married), Margaret’s past involvements with many members of high-ranking army brass was a bit of a running joke, as was her level of desirability to her coworkers.
Thankfully, as the show matured, so did the writing for Margaret’s character. As time went on, Margaret ended up losing not only the nickname, but her intimate relationship with Frank Burns, and even the jokes about her previous relationships disappeared. After her marriage to Donald Penobscott, and subsequent divorce, Margaret remained unattached for the remainder of the series, as well as the only major female character in the show. (Pun intended.)
The other female characters appeared in small doses, most notably Nurse Kealani Kellye, a relatively prominent Japanese-Hawaiian nurse. Most of the nurses tended to be interchangeable, with small parts that (in early seasons especially) tended to rely on the men of the episode. While there were exceptions (notably The Nurses), especially as the show went on, for the most part, the focus of the show tended to be on the male characters.
And it was even worse for characters of color.
Of the main cast, only Klinger (Lebonese) and the aforementioned Nurse Kelleye were not caucasian. Early on in the show, a black character by the name of Spearchucker Jones was omitted by the end of the second season (due to writers mistakenly believing that there were no black doctors in the Korean war.)
There are other things that date the show: Klinger’s cross-dressing as a gag would likely be looked upon more unfavorably today, as would a few instances of sexual harassment looked over for comedy’s sake. Korean characters were often portrayed (especially in early season) in rather stereotypical fashions, and were never played by actors of actual Korean descent (though admittedly, there were not many Korean actors in Hollywood at the time).
In other words, the show wasn’t perfect. And it certainly was a product of the 1970s.
But, the good news is, it’s not all bad.
M*A*S*H was, overall, a fairly progressive show for its day. Despite its problems writing women, by the end of the show, Margaret Houlihan was one of the best-developed female characters on television. The writing for Korean characters improved drastically by the eleventh season, and Klinger’s ‘crossdressing’ gag was never played at his own expense.
And, more importantly? The characters, attitudes, and interactions, for the most part, ring just as truly now as they did then.
M*A*S*H was definitely fair for its day. For the 1970s, it was up-to-date, discussing attitudes and problems that were prevalent for the time, and slowly improving in the areas it was somewhat lacking in. It’s not really a surprise that the show still has a fanbase (and a young one, at that) to this day, full of fans who can recognize the problematic elements of the show, appreciate it’s growth, and enjoy its characters and situations to this day. These characters still captivate people just as well as they did in 1972, a primary reason that this show, despite its occasional differences from modern ideas, remains so beloved even today.
Thank you guys so much for reading! If you have a thought, suggestion, or question, don’t be afraid to leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you. Please join us next time as we look at the facets of M*A*S*H. I hope to see you there!
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