Big Blog Of Cheese Day

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See, that’s what the app is perfect for.

Sounds perfect Wahhhh, I don’t wanna
lord-starquaad
bookdork1

Best TV Theme Song (No Words, Just Vibes Edition)

“Theme from The Office” -The Office (US)

“Buffy theme” -Buffy the Vampire Slayer

“Doctor Who theme” -Doctor Who

“The X-Files theme” -The X-Files

“Suicide is Painless” -MASH

“Game of Thrones theme” -Game of Thrones

“Theme from ER” -ER

“Main title (the West Wing)” -The West Wing

“Stranger Things theme” -Stranger Things

How could you not include (insert in tags)????!

fuck this is difficult I think I'm too emotionally invested to make an unbiased call
thebreakfastgenie
thebreakfastgenie

Everyone sympathetic's acceptance of Klinger is great but there is an argument to be made that they're so accepting because they know Klinger is straight. Henry even tells the psychiatrist in Divided We Stand "he goes out with girls!"

big-blog-of-cheese-day

I think this is actually one of the weird cases where the show actually becomes retroactively more (or, if not more, at the very least differently) progressive when it’s read/seen in different eras. Right now, people’s defences of Klinger in the show feel (at least to me) very similar to discussions around gender expression, gender, and sexuality that I don’t think it was going for at the time.

A lot of it reminds me of the way people talk about the streamer Finster (I THINK that’s his name I only know about him in passing). He very clearly dresses and presents as feminine, but also (again, just from what I’ve heard, I don’t really know much about him) has been fairly clear that he is not trans in any way shape or form. Despite this, people still speculate about him being trans or gay (sorry if I’m repeating things that are common knowledge to most, this is all second hand tumblr knowledge for me)

When people in the show insist on Klinger being straight (and when he turns down the sex change surgery, although that feels more like an intentional joke from the show rather than contemplating what what the show would see as an actual possiblity), Klinger becomes a statement about the separation of gender identity, gender expression, and sexuality are all interconnected, but ultimately independent concepts, in a way that I don’t think was really the point when it was written.

*slaps roof of this post* this bad boy can fit so many parentheses in it
thebreakfastgenie
thebreakfastgenie

I guess Frank's reaction to Klinger is homophobic but like... man that's such a complicated thing. Most of the time he's more angry that Klinger is flaunting regulations than anything else, and of course Klinger is wearing the dresses to flaunt regulations. But this all comes back to the central point that gay themes on MASH are used to make a point about authority.

thotful-opinions4u

Exactly, because essentially fanatic love of authority is one of the core principles of Frank's character and so being homophobic leans more towards an afterthought when Klinger is out of uniform.

"How dare you wear that hat while in uniform" is an example how it's more about the perceived "disrespect" (lack of total obedience and often fanatic displays of unquestioned orders) taking place towards authority/military patriotism than the actual clothing items and/or gender in of themselves.

big-blog-of-cheese-day

I also think that choice is reflected in basically the entirety of M*A*S*H, beyond just the moments surrounding gay/homophobic/gender-non-conforming characters, which is part of what makes the show as funny as it is a lot of the time.

So many of the best gags (at least in my opinion) in M*A*S*H result from the explicit subversion of audience expectations of how a character will react to a given situation. To me, the way Klinger is reprimanded for how he dresses, and the ways he reacts to them, are the inverse of the scenes where the camp is being shelled, but because of the bureaucracy of the army, they’re told they are not being shelled.

The expected reaction in both of these situations from the audience’s perspective is fairly clear. Kilnger will be shamed for wearing women’s clothes, and the shelling will either stop, or at least the person on the phone would be apologetic and frantic. But neither of these happen, and the scenes are funnier for it. They pull the rug out from under the audience in a way that make the whole thing funnier, because they don’t go for the obvious joke.

On top of that, this style of humour also helps create the sense of alienation in the audience that the characters are also feeling. Klinger being reprimanded for being out of uniform rather than being shamed for crossdressing throws us off of what we at home are primed to expect from a situation, and helps establish just how strange and different being in or around the Korean War, the military, or conflict in general can feel. Same with the shelling sequence.

The Late Doctor Pierce uses this concept for the entire episode, and uses it both for humour and for pathos. Ultimately, I think this subversion of expectations is what makes M*A*S*H so funny and so charged while not (or at least not always) coming off as preachy, and why the show has endured so long.

evilsnootlord
secondbeatsongs

somehow instead of saying "as a treat", I've started using the phrase "for morale", as if my body is a ship and its crew, and I (the captain) have to keep us in high spirits, lest we suffer a mutiny in the coming days.

and so I will eat this small block of fancy cheese, for morale. I will take a break and drink some tea, for morale. I will pick up that weird bug, for morale.

I'm not sure if it helps, but it does entertain me