Discuss M*A*S*H
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How realistic honestly was the dialogue?
posted by Benton12STAFFMOD on September 21, 2023 at 1:34 PM
(Kim ll Sung was a brutal North Korean mass-murderer/leader who began the entire Korean War. He was never mentioned once on Mash.)
In early eps Radar interrupted Henry alot. Realistic. In another early ep Frank fired a pistol inside a tent and destroyed a lighting fixture while the gang was having a poker game. Everyone started bickering at once and all at the same time over Frank's scripted bumbling act. Realistic too. But outside of this mostly everyone got their full say and that was a little unrealistic.
It was pointed out years ago at Jumptheshark.com that in the later years of the show most of the cast was using snappy one-liners ( "horse hockey") instead of something that sounded like real dialogue unlike in the show's earlier years.
Reply by DRDMovieMusings
on September 21, 2023 at 1:52 PM
Not mentioning him may actually have been a stroke of creative genius.
War is madness. Vets often express the trauma of never knowing what was going on or why they did half the things they did. Most 19 and 19 year olds had little education as adults, little knowledge of geography or geopolitics or politics, and not a few had no clue why they were there at all. They enlisted, got deployed, stood where they were told to stand, march where they were told to march, shoot where they were told to shoot - independent thinking was not a mandate for your garden variety grunt.
Also, why any country goes to war with another is often a debate. There is going to be the publicized reason on paper, the official statement, but we often come to find that there are more clandestine motives beneath the surface.
By taking that aspect out of the narrative, the show could be a comedy, an "escape" from the brutal reality. MASH was never intended to be a documentary, except as it possibly portrayed this unit's efforts to cope with the madness of war best they could through humor. I mean, if they managed to never mention him once, it must have had to have been a deliberate decision.
I'm inclined to say "kudos" are in order for this masterful stroke.
Reply by Benton12
on September 21, 2023 at 8:01 PM
You look like you are following again! Ignoring you.
Reply by DRDMovieMusings
on September 21, 2023 at 8:26 PM
I was talking about the show and speaking to the comment you made.
If you don't want replies, set up a blog and turn off comments.
Reply by Benton12
on September 21, 2023 at 8:39 PM
Repeating myself.
Reply by bratface
on September 21, 2023 at 11:09 PM
Don't bother telling him to set up a blog (or whatever). He thinks that this is his personal website & if you try to challenge him he whines & goes to the mods & says people are being mean to him! 🙄
Reply by Benton12
on September 22, 2023 at 9:09 AM
I am not responding to anyone else on this. I am adding this for just readers of this. There was one fourth season ep when BJ stopped Hawk from the latter's attempt to down Frank some more.