Dem
47
GOP
53
For someone who teaches a lot about 20th century cultural history, as (Z) does, M*A*S*H is a remarkably rich resource.
On one hand, it is undeniably a product of its time. For example, when it comes to race, M*A*S*H is very much post-Civil Rights movement, and yet very much NOT of today. Yes, the producers tried to avoid obvious bigotries, and they did not cast white actors in non-white roles (by contrast, both things happened all the time in 1950s and 1960s shows; catch an episode of Bonanza on TV Land sometime). At the same time, the only regular Black character (Capt. Oliver Harmon "Spearchucker" Jones, played by Timothy Jones) was dismissed after six episodes of Season 1, the only semi-regular Black character (Lt. Ginger Bayliss, played by Odessa Cleveland) was dismissed after 24 episodes spread across the first five seasons, and thereafter, there were very few Black characters, even in one-off roles.
Similarly, the show certainly tried to treat its Korean characters with some amount of sensitivity. That said, the writers still tended to dabble in stereotypes, rotating among half a dozen or so recurring ones (the wise elder, the barely-literate peasant, the slick operator, the Asian temptress, etc.). Also, they were more than happy to cast any sort of Asian person in those roles, such that "Koreans" were often played by actors who were actually Japanese, Chinese or, in a couple of cases, Vietnamese. Again, the folks who made the show were trying their best, but the fact is that most of the writers and producers and directors were born in the 1910s, 1920s, or 1930s, and old ways of thinking die hard.
At the same time, the show lasted a long time (12 seasons) and was on at a pretty momentous time in U.S. history. So, while the portrayals of non-white characters were pretty static between 1972 and 1983, there are other ways in which the show's early seasons are very different from its final seasons. To take one example, the show was based on the movie MASH (no asterisks), and both the movie and the early seasons of the show were meant to be comments on the Vietnam War, which was still ongoing. By seasons 10, 11 and 12, the war was over, the U.S. had left that country, and South Vietnam had fallen. And so, while the anti-war element certainly remained, much of the critical commentary was about bureaucracy and corruption more broadly. Like, for example, the kinds of bureaucracy and corruption that allowed for the Watergate scandal of the mid-1970s.
The most obvious way in which the show changed over the years, however, was in its approach to women. Because the 1950s were dripping with various forms of sexism and misogyny, the movie was dripping with various forms of sexism and misogyny. Sometimes it's actually uncomfortable to watch; one wonders if director Robert Altman took things a little too far. The TV show—which, again, took its early cues from the movie—carried this on into the early and middle years of its run.
There are two characters where this dynamic is particularly evident. The first of those is Chief Surgeon Hawkeye Pierce, who was, of course, played by Alan Alda on the TV show, and who became the centerpiece of what was initially supposed to be an ensemble show. Although presented as a gifted surgeon and a humanist, Hawkeye started out as quite the sexist. He leered at the women characters, with constant comments on their appearance, their figures, their attractiveness, etc. He was often dismissive of the capabilities of his women colleagues. If it was 2025, instead of 1952, he would be a walking, talking sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen.
The other character, which will be obvious to anyone who's seen the show, is Head Nurse Margaret Houlihan (O'Houlihan in the movie), played by Loretta Swit on the TV show. The not-meant-to-be-kind nickname "Hot Lips" carried over from the movie; she acquired it due to some sexual escapades. Houlihan was the target of more leering, and more come-on attempts, than any other female character on the show, by far. And though she was a high-ranking officer in a time when few women achieved the rank of major, her fondest dream was to find a man and marry him (a goal realized when she wedded Lt. Col. Donald Penobscott).
But whereas the show was pretty static on race, it eventually moved leaps and bounds forward in shedding its early sexism and misogyny. Hawkeye may have maintained his libido, but he stopped leering, and he eventually got an object lesson in how to treat women, courtesy of a Swedish surgeon named Inga. Houlihan eventually shed the name Hot Lips, and stopped putting up with men who weren't good enough for her. That included Penobscott, whom she divorced, after concluding that: (1) he was a lech, and (2) marriage is not the end all and be all for a woman. Later in her life, Swit remarked: "If you've got a long-run series, then there's always got to be room for growth." It would actually be pretty hard to think of a TV character who changed more radically over the run of a TV show than did Margaret Houlihan. Perhaps Nog on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, or Walter White on Breaking Bad, or... Max Klinger on M*A*S*H (the show also dialed way back what some might have seen as homophobia/transphobia).
The primary reason for the change is that while there were no people of color in the main cast of M*A*S*H to advocate for better portrayals on that front, there were two cast members who were very invested in the ongoing feminist movement and very concerned with women's equality. The first was Alda, who embraced women's liberation, and, over time, became the key creative figure behind the scenes (in addition to his work in front of the camera). The show eventually embraced 1970s gender politics (and liberal politics in general) to the point that some called it "preachy." We're not sure where these people are coming from; they may be the same folks who hate DEI.
The second person who was responsible for moving the show forward was, of course, Swit. She was frustrated enough with the portrayal that she intended to quit the show, and to join the cast of the more woman-forward Cagney & Lacey. The show's producers said they could not get by without her, and so refused to void Swit's contract. But they did agree they needed to do better in how the character was portrayed (Sharon Gless took over for Swit on Cagney).
There weren't too many forward-looking women characters on 1970s TV; for every late-M*A*S*H Houlihan or Maude, there were at least three "jiggle television" women like on Charlie's Angels, or every Jack Tripper roommate save one on Three's Company. That means Swit's work (and Bea Arthur's work) was very important, playing a similar role in the 1970s that The Cosby Show and A Different World would play in advancing views of Black people in the 1980s (this was long before Bill Cosby was outed as a slimeball, of course).
This comes up because, as many readers will have heard, Swit passed away this week. She had a long and varied career that included dozens of movies, many guest spots on TV shows, and some Broadway and regional theater. However, she was remembered first, and foremost, for M*A*S*H. This was not a problem for her; she considered it to be the best work of her career, and spent much time in her later years attending conventions and meeting fans.
On hearing the news of his longtime colleague and collaborator's passing, Alda posted this to eX-Twitter:
Loretta was a supremely talented actor. She deserved all her 10 EMMY nominations and her 2 wins. But more than acting her part, she created it. She worked hard in showing the writing staff how they could turn the character from a one joke sexist stereotype into a real person—with real feelings and ambitions. We celebrated the day the script came out listing her character not as Hot Lips, but as Margaret. Loretta made the most of her time here.
We couldn't have said it better. Abyssinia, Loretta Swit.
Have a good weekend, all! (Z)