I miss this era of TV

[CRM114]

Originally Posted by Blansky

I guess it depends on your point of view. And the lessons still aren't learned. Sending young men to die needlessly to serve old men's pissing contests is a pretty common theme that plays itself out almost every other generation.

And when someone buys the rights to someone's book, they then have the right to do what they want with it, original intentions not withstanding.

MASH the movie and MASH the TV series were anti-war. Most people are actually. Hopefully.

The idea that moralizing, TV-land pablum fit for living room consumption masquerading as a "lesson" on war changed the opinions of anyone over the age of 12 on the matter is funnier than any of it's episodes.

As the series devolved into characters becoming caricatures and the preaching about issues at hand unintentionally funny, the "war" became mere window dressing for the actors/writer's socially-conscious circle jerk.

War is so extreme and horrible that good anti-war stuff is either satire that ignores reality in favor or accentuating ridiculousness and/or insanity (Dr. Strangelove, Catch 22, Black Adder) or focuses on the stark reality highlighting the inhumanity and futility (All Quiet on the Western Front, A War Prayer (Mark Twain).

MASH does neither, it only dabbles and the message it sends isn't "War is Hell" but rather "War is kinda bad and super-inconvenient". Using cheap comedy plus cliche'd & mawkish snippets of drama MASH quickly became what all TV shows become; geared towards keeping the viewership comfortable enough to perpetuate itself with higher ratings.

MASH did some things, but nobody was ever educated about war watching MASH, it merely played to the crowd after the fact. With millions of WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam veterans still alive and well during it's production beginning in '72 not to mention the families and friends of those who didn't return or did carrying the baggage with them, it's not as if this 30 minute sitcom was breaking new ground or making any great revelations to society as it existed then just because there were a few fake-bloodied surgery smocks or Hawkeye walked around with a wise-ass mouth and a giant halo on his head.

[CRM114]

Originally Posted by Blansky

Except that the world population is close to 8 billion and living in specific areas due to access to water, food production and a climate to live comfortably in.

As climates make now drastic changes, there will be migrations, famines, wars, and other issues like the change in the gulf stream, mass destruction of coastal areas and large scale extinction in our food chain as well as other species. In less than 100 years we made so many destructive decisions that may never be corrected that we've put our children and their children in a terribly precarious position.

Don't worry, in my spare time I, along with many others, volunteer flying aircraft spraying chemical trails high in the sky designed to linger there in order to dim the earth and moderate the drastic and dangerous changes you cite. Rest assured, this scientific operation will stave off the mass destruction, large scale extinctions, and famines that would have occurred had we not been doing so. Due to these efforts, your children and grandchildren are safe so you don't have to feel guilty for all those destructive decisions you've made in your past any longer. You are hereby released.

The real problem facing humanity is an ancient, even Biblical threat; locusts. Scary indeed, but I have it on good authority that after this atmosphere/climate gig is complete, laying down a worldwide pesticide spray-job is next so your crops won't fail due to bugs either.

You're welcome.

[betterwatchit]

Originally Posted by Fat_ninja

Yup...sad

Yes, depressingly sad ...