An outcry of despair

Rating: 7/10 (5 April 2017)

Mash is not merely a film, it is an institute! Nowadays it is difficult to imagine the dispiriting effect of the Vietnam war. A whole generation of young Americans grew up in fear of being drafted and killed in a senseless battle. After each presidential speech for peace more troops were sent to the front. Many famous films express this depressing experience in repulsive pictures: Apocalypse now, to begin with, but also The deer hunter, and Coming home. And yes, Mash. It describes the Korean war, but everybody knows it is about Vietnam. At least wars teach us geography. This film really solidified in the subsequent popular TV series. It is one of the rare attempts to make fun of the devastation on the Vietnamese battlefield. For this purpose a military hospital is chosen as the film set. Hospitals are good fun. The humour is of a bizarre type, which rejects the existing order and institutions. Patients can be misused for jokes. The condition of dead men is called "stable". A sucking chest wound is nature's way of telling you to slow down. The military hierarchy is also in the focus of the pranks. Superiors are ridiculed, in spite of the military demand for respect, even if he were your father. But the events are just as averse to marriage, fair play in sport, religion, prudery, honesty or private property. The middle-class morals are sacrificed, and no certainty is left. Even the nurses are offensive ("It is just a rash"). Evidently the army will never be a virtuous organization. It is true that military intelligence is a contradiction in terms. But Mash takes this mark to the extreme. Mash shows the wrongs of life. I admit that this can be helpful and beneficial. Moreover, the story contains many sentimental appeals, for instance to protect the weak and truly vulnerable. Nevertheless, the moral degeneration in Mash is painful to watch. Why not lecture by means of exemplary behavior? Still, although it may seem ambiguous, I recommend this illustrious film, since Mash so well embodies the then outcry of despair.