Things I Learned From M*A*S*H, Pt 4
Other Lessons From M*A*S*H
There were so many characters in the M*A*S*H series who were each worth watching the show for. Notwithstanding those already mentioned, consider:
Maxwell Klinger, the young man so desperate to go home that he tried for years to achieve that Section 8 by dressing as a woman. Interestingly, however, the dog tags he wore were the genuine article which Jamie Farr attained from time he spent in Korea as a real soldier. Klinger never hesitated to help anyone whenever he could, often putting his life on the line in spite of his self-imposed status as a coward. And yet, after all of his protestations and supposed disdain for all things to do with the Korean war, he ended up marrying a Korean local and staying to help her find family members displaced by the war.
Father John Patrick Francis Mulcahy, the camp chaplain was another one who was easy to admire, due in no small measure to his humanity. So often people of faith are portrayed on screens large and small to be proud humorless buffoons. Mulcahy showed himself to be both self-deprecating and wise with quotes like, “I expect you to listen to me! This isn’t one of my sermons!” He knew when to offer counseling and when to seek it- making himself vulnerable in revealing his weaknesses and downplaying his strengths. The qualities are ideal for people seeking to live out their faith.
Colonel Sherman T. Potter got to play the father figure in the later years of the M*A*S*H series and he was good at it. His ideal blend of concern and stern made him someone who could tug at your heart with just a look for a certain tone. His leadership skills were formed out of true concern for people and purpose and if you observed him at all you saw his purpose was people- not war.
Maj. Margaret “Hotlips” Houlihan developed a great deal as a character. She began as a by-the-book Army purist and eventually came to understand that legalism could get in the way of reaching those who really needed help. In no scene was this more evident than in one wherein a young soldier is brought in to the hospital on Christmas Day while the 4077 is having a party for the local orphanage. B.J., Hawkeye and Margaret soon become aware that they have no chance of saving the young soldier, but they try valiantly to postpone his death so his family will not remember Christmas as the day their Daddy died. Ultimately, they lose their battle with roughly a half-hour to go so they decide to move the clock forward and declare the time and date of death to be just after midnight on the 26th. Margaret comments on how falsifying records is a first for her but she almost seems to do so wistfully as though she regrets not having done it sooner. It is a watershed moment for her.
There are obviously other examples- not to mention that there was at least one character with Abilene ties (McLean Stevenson (Henry Blake) spoke at ACU). Any time people can thrive in a time of war it is a compelling circumstance, which brings me to one of the few things I ever liked about Hawkeye. There was a scene in an episode wherein someone offers the famous quote, “War is Hell.” Upon hearing this, Hawkeye responds with one of my all-time favorite M*A*S*H quotes (paraphrased).
“No! War is war and Hell is Hell, but they are not the same. There are no innocent victims in Hell.”
There were so many characters in the M*A*S*H series who were each worth watching the show for. Notwithstanding those already mentioned, consider:
Maxwell Klinger, the young man so desperate to go home that he tried for years to achieve that Section 8 by dressing as a woman. Interestingly, however, the dog tags he wore were the genuine article which Jamie Farr attained from time he spent in Korea as a real soldier. Klinger never hesitated to help anyone whenever he could, often putting his life on the line in spite of his self-imposed status as a coward. And yet, after all of his protestations and supposed disdain for all things to do with the Korean war, he ended up marrying a Korean local and staying to help her find family members displaced by the war.
Father John Patrick Francis Mulcahy, the camp chaplain was another one who was easy to admire, due in no small measure to his humanity. So often people of faith are portrayed on screens large and small to be proud humorless buffoons. Mulcahy showed himself to be both self-deprecating and wise with quotes like, “I expect you to listen to me! This isn’t one of my sermons!” He knew when to offer counseling and when to seek it- making himself vulnerable in revealing his weaknesses and downplaying his strengths. The qualities are ideal for people seeking to live out their faith.
Colonel Sherman T. Potter got to play the father figure in the later years of the M*A*S*H series and he was good at it. His ideal blend of concern and stern made him someone who could tug at your heart with just a look for a certain tone. His leadership skills were formed out of true concern for people and purpose and if you observed him at all you saw his purpose was people- not war.
Maj. Margaret “Hotlips” Houlihan developed a great deal as a character. She began as a by-the-book Army purist and eventually came to understand that legalism could get in the way of reaching those who really needed help. In no scene was this more evident than in one wherein a young soldier is brought in to the hospital on Christmas Day while the 4077 is having a party for the local orphanage. B.J., Hawkeye and Margaret soon become aware that they have no chance of saving the young soldier, but they try valiantly to postpone his death so his family will not remember Christmas as the day their Daddy died. Ultimately, they lose their battle with roughly a half-hour to go so they decide to move the clock forward and declare the time and date of death to be just after midnight on the 26th. Margaret comments on how falsifying records is a first for her but she almost seems to do so wistfully as though she regrets not having done it sooner. It is a watershed moment for her.
There are obviously other examples- not to mention that there was at least one character with Abilene ties (McLean Stevenson (Henry Blake) spoke at ACU). Any time people can thrive in a time of war it is a compelling circumstance, which brings me to one of the few things I ever liked about Hawkeye. There was a scene in an episode wherein someone offers the famous quote, “War is Hell.” Upon hearing this, Hawkeye responds with one of my all-time favorite M*A*S*H quotes (paraphrased).
“No! War is war and Hell is Hell, but they are not the same. There are no innocent victims in Hell.”
1 Comments:
I well remember the night McLean Stevenson came to ACU. It was the night I first met Sarah as we both worked as volunteer ushers (in Moody Coliseum) for the Student Foundation, a now defunct co-ed service organization on the ACU campus. Getting to meet McLean and obtaining his autograph was the highlight of the night- at least I thought so at the time. It was months later that I realized the true highlight was meeting my bride-to-be!
-TMS
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