Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 12:27:00 -0400
From: Ted White <tedwhite at compusnet.com>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Grit and Punk
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

"Strong, Lee" wrote:

>         Ted White provided histories of "grit" and "punk" in response to my
> question What realities do "grit" and "punk" reveal.  He asked if I would
> consider "M*A*S*H" noir?  Answer:  Based on my extremely limited viewing of
> the program, and Ted's definition of "noir", No.
>         My father ran a real MASH unit in the real Korean War, and he said
> that both Korea and MASH were a hell of a lot more fun on TV than in real
> life.  If the TV show "M*A*S*H" was supposed to be realistic, it failed.

That runs directly counter to real-life Korean MASH doctors who were
interviewed for the 30th Reunion show.  That show also pointed out that the
show's creators did extensive interviews with actual MASH doctors when setting
the show up, and drew on those interviews to create specific plotlines and bits
of detail and texture.  (What they *failed* to credit was either the original
book or the movie.)

Of course the TV series was more fun than real life -- it's television
entertainment, after all -- but a strong undercurrent of msery and death held
at arm's length by controlled craziness ran through the entire show,
underscored by the occasional death of a continuing character.

--Ted White