M*A*S*H

Long gone are the films were the points of view of directors and writers portray the most critical views on a particular issues such as patriotism, the arm forces of the United States, and sexuality. Although nowadays there are films that convey a strong message, they tend to be documentaries, or simply, they fail to enjoy any significant success. In my opinion, the 1970's American black comedy M*A*S*H, directed by Robert Altman and written by Ring Lardner, Jr, not only had a strong message, but also gained a success that can hardly be compared to any recent films that deal with similar issues. The classic M*A*S*H, generally used medium to close up shots, crude and crowded settings, and mischievous characters to portray in film a more realistic perspective of War. Altman and Lardner, in my opinion, attack the shallow, idealistic and nationalistic view held by Americans of the military personnel in combat zones by using black comedy to approach difficult subjects such as, sexuality, lack of purpose, and the detachment from the appreciation for human life that war and the military can bring upon human identity.
From the first scenes of the film, we can observe bodies covered in blood being flown into a military camp in contrast with very unorganized military personnel whom seemed to not care enough for the wounded. Right after the shot from the bodies in helicopters, we can observe Captain "Hawkeye," played by Donald Sutherland, and Captain "Duke" Forrest, played by Tom Skerritt, walk carelessly into their assigned areas and steal a jeep just with the intention of being rebellious. As the two captains drive off, the group of military men who tries to follow them unsuccessfully start fighting among themselves as a result of their failure. In this shots, we can see the lack of leadership, lack of purpose, and some disregard for human life.
In addition to rebellious and careless behavior of the characters, we can also see that the mid to close shots throughout most of the film intend to take us closer to the blood in the settings of a less than sanitized military medical unit area. During the scenes in the dinning as well as the medical emergency areas , we have similar shots. There is not very much difference in the way Captain "Duke" Forrest grabs the silverware and looks at women and the way he grabs the medical equipment while looking at women as he digs inside of a human body. Booth scenes and shots seem to be very crowded and somewhat uncomfortable to watch because they are cut ins-type of shot- into the emergency area as well as the dinning area. In addition, the camera angles are below eye level, thus contributing to the crowding of the place and giving a stronger sense of disorganization.
Women and gay issues in the military are heavily depicted throughout this 1970's classic. In scenes where women are an important part of a shot, we see boobs, face, and more boobs. Women are portrayed as an object with no power or mental capacity. Female characters become an important part of the plot only when a camera shot captures their physical beauty.
But not only women sexual issues are approached. The way trained doctors such as Captain "Hawkeye" treat the suicidal behavior of the Dentist perhaps conveys the ignorance in the general public and military personnel in regards with homosexuality. Thinking that a homosexual can be turned back into a heterosexual just with the magic of good sex glorifies ignorance as much as the joke about the tent and the music at the end of the funeral scene glorifies good sex.
Finally, although the movie was not very interesting from my perspective, I can see why it generated such a big success at the time of its release. The crude images of the emergency area, mixed with the untamed and reckless sexual behavior of military personnel, and the dark jokes along the film brought to American theaters a reason to have a healthy laugh without forgetting about the crude reality of the Vietnam War. Lack of purpose, disregard for life, sexual ignorance. Not so far from the reality of today.