Popular Culture and Feminist Perspectives in M*A*S*H | by Kate Reiner

Photo credit: IMDb M*A*S*H (1972-1983) photo library
Photo credit: IMDb M*A*S*H (1972-1983) 

Sellnow (2018) defines popular culture as “those everyday objects, actions, and events that influence people to believe and behave in certain ways” (p. 3). As I think about how popular culture has influenced my values and perspectives, I can’t help but think of the popular, and arguably iconic, television series M*A*S*H.

Whether you have watched it or not, M*A*S*H likely needs no introduction, nor does its infamous theme song. My husband often jokes about it being a song that signifies it’s time for bed (a throwback to its late-night air schedule). But for me, the iconic tune takes me back to fond memories of watching the show with my grandma and engaging in discussions about it while we enjoyed a pop, aka soda, and some fish n’ chips from our favorite local grease pit. I think my grandma always saw a little bit of herself in one of the show’s leading characters, Major Margaret Houlihan, and spoiler alert, my grandma was my first real-life role model. So it may come as no surprise that Major Houlihan was one of my earliest television role models and remains so to this day. 

Like many popular culture artifacts, M*A*S*H is a treasure trove of socio-political themes to explore and texts to analyze against real-life scenarios. In considering the nine rhetorical perspectives (Sellnow, 2018) that can be used in analyzing popular culture artifacts, the perspective that I will discuss here is the feminist perspective as it relates to many of the scenes featuring Major Houlihan, and how the show has been personally influential. 

The feminist perspective is especially evident in the following scene where Major Houlihan shares in confidence with her colleague, Major Pierce, that she might be pregnant. In the discourse that ensues, the two dive headlong into an exchange of viewpoints that confronts how society sees it, that women should embrace the idea of motherhood, versus how Major Houlihan sees it, that it’s a threat to her career. The scene explores the idea that not all women share the same sentiment about motherhood and careers and in doing so asks the viewer to consider the same. 


For me, this scene is an important social critique (especially when I first saw it) and where I learned to consider social and gender norms in the workplace and form my own opinions about them. 

So why is it important to recognize popular cultural influences like I’ve described here? Because popular culture “has the persuasive power to shape beliefs and behaviors” (Sellnow, 2018, p. 7). Additionally, Brummett (2006) believes that the study of popular culture is imperative to gaining a better understanding of ourselves, those around us, and even larger societal issues, and just based on my own experience, I have to agree.

Whether you are a connoisseur of M*A*S*H or some other popular television program, in what ways do you identify with the characters and themes it addresses? How has that contributed to your current perspectives? Or how did it inspire you to change or redirect a perspective you had previously held? 


References
Brummett, B. (2006). Rhetoric in popular culture (2nd ed.). Sage Publications. 
Sellnow, D. D. (2018). The rhetorical power of popular culture: considering mediated texts (3rd ed.). Sage Publications. 


Comments

  1. JessieJanuary 13, 2024 at 9:59 PM

    M*A*S*H is a great example of media that confronted the hot topics of the time and encouraged discussion outside of the show. I liked how you included how you are connected to the show and how it impacted you.
    Furthermore, I thought it was good that you talked about how your grandma and Major Houlihan were both role models to you. It is really important for children to have positive role models in both real life and media so that kids can start to think about who they are and what impact they want to have in the future.

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