*sad*
Tonight, as it always seems, was one of the more sad M*A*S*H episodes. I thought "Oh, it must be from the last season or two of the series, when it got very serious." Turns out, it was actually from mid-run. I watched "Deluge" which aired February 17, 1976. The Wikipedia synopsis of the episode reads: 'October 1950: A sudden deluge of wounded at the 4077th is followed by a laundry fire and a rainstorm to make matters difficult for the staff. The Chinese Army enters the war.'
The episode is an interesting one. The clips of the show are interspersed with a MovieTone news reel. Of course in 1950, several parts of America were still only seeing the news through theater news reels that aired before features. The reel segments are entirely of light-hearted 'fluff' pieces- much like our national media today, unfortunately. The pieces were about celebrity news - from a golf tournament, a ballroom dancing event, and one piece of "world" news about Elizabeth Taylor? marrying Nicky Hilton (not quite sure... I think this was another celeb. wedding). Anyway. There was a fluff piece about a cat playing ping pong in Portland, Ore. too.
The reel makes no mention of anything going on in Korea. Meanwhile, the 4077th is out of supplies (gloves, etc.) and is facing sending its nurses away to be out of the line of fire. Margaret makes a stand and the nurses stay. Bodies are seen littering the hospital grounds, tagged and ready to be sent out. The Chinese have entered the Korean War so changes are coming.
I couldn't help but feel the parallels to our current state of affairs. Yes, strong news outlets like the BBC and NPR continue to bring coverage of the events in Iraq and Afghanistan (Hey, did you know that Canada recently lost several soldiers in Afghanistan? Didn't think so [not directed at the Canadian friends, as I'm sure you all do know]). We do get the news, but find it so painful to hear at this point that even those who are 'news hungry' like myself find it hard to listen. I can't wake up to NPR right now because the lead out of bed is inevitably about some developments in the middle east. It is just too painful to hear about. I think most Americans have reached this point, which is one reason we are not demanding more from our news media (print, TV, Internet, radio) in these matters. Our current administration is doing what it wants, so it can be discouraging to think we can even affect things.
I hope I am wrong and our soldiers are being better cared for than the ones show in M*A*S*H, but I'm not so sure sometimes. Maybe we can rise to be heroes, like the Reagan-esque military heroes portrayed in "Transformers."
The episode is an interesting one. The clips of the show are interspersed with a MovieTone news reel. Of course in 1950, several parts of America were still only seeing the news through theater news reels that aired before features. The reel segments are entirely of light-hearted 'fluff' pieces- much like our national media today, unfortunately. The pieces were about celebrity news - from a golf tournament, a ballroom dancing event, and one piece of "world" news about Elizabeth Taylor? marrying Nicky Hilton (not quite sure... I think this was another celeb. wedding). Anyway. There was a fluff piece about a cat playing ping pong in Portland, Ore. too.
The reel makes no mention of anything going on in Korea. Meanwhile, the 4077th is out of supplies (gloves, etc.) and is facing sending its nurses away to be out of the line of fire. Margaret makes a stand and the nurses stay. Bodies are seen littering the hospital grounds, tagged and ready to be sent out. The Chinese have entered the Korean War so changes are coming.
I couldn't help but feel the parallels to our current state of affairs. Yes, strong news outlets like the BBC and NPR continue to bring coverage of the events in Iraq and Afghanistan (Hey, did you know that Canada recently lost several soldiers in Afghanistan? Didn't think so [not directed at the Canadian friends, as I'm sure you all do know]). We do get the news, but find it so painful to hear at this point that even those who are 'news hungry' like myself find it hard to listen. I can't wake up to NPR right now because the lead out of bed is inevitably about some developments in the middle east. It is just too painful to hear about. I think most Americans have reached this point, which is one reason we are not demanding more from our news media (print, TV, Internet, radio) in these matters. Our current administration is doing what it wants, so it can be discouraging to think we can even affect things.
I hope I am wrong and our soldiers are being better cared for than the ones show in M*A*S*H, but I'm not so sure sometimes. Maybe we can rise to be heroes, like the Reagan-esque military heroes portrayed in "Transformers."