From: "Strong, Lee" <StrongL at MTMC.ARMY.MIL>
To: "'WSFA members'" <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Grit and Punk
Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 13:44:57 -0400
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

	I didn't see the 30th Reunion Show but know what my Dad said.  He
was on the south side of Hamburger Hill when the Communist Chinese were on
the north side with a line of GI's in the middle.  Not a lot of fun.  Not
much time for practical jokes in the operating theater, chasing the nurses,
or cross dressing during off hours.  Not much time for off hours.  Doctors,
especially surgeons, are under a lot of stress in peacetime.  "Controlled
craziness" under those circumstances is a recipe for disaster.

-----Original Message-----
From: Ted White [mailto:tedwhite at compusnet.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2002 12:27 PM
To: WSFA members
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Grit and Punk

"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