Responses to M*A*S*H, Catch 22 and Kelly's Heroes
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Responses to M*A*S*H, Catch 22 and Kelly’s Heroes: Developing a Method of Investigating Changes in Discourse Timothy Simon Whittlesea Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of East Anglia School of Art, Media & American Studies June 2017 This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with the author and that use of any information derived there from must be in accordance with current UK Copyright Law. In addition, any quotation or extract must include full attribution. 2 Abstract The war-comedy films M*A*S*H and Catch 22 are frequently discussed in academia as related to the anti-Vietnam War movement and the counterculture movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Kelly’s Heroes, also a war-comedy film released in 1970, and thematically similar to M*A*S*H and Catch 22, is rarely discussed as such. This research suggests that the relationship these films have with the Vietnam War may be overstated, misrepresented or more complicated than previously thought. In examining this relationship the research presented here explores a methodology which seeks to trace changes within the critical and academic discourses which surround the three films. Rather than assessing and attempting to understand the film texts in isolation, this thesis assesses the (often changing) meanings that have been associated with them since they were released, to provide a more holistic expansive understanding of their perceived position in North American culture. To do this a method was developed that sought to contextualise and analyse the reviews, marketing material and newspaper articles related to the films. This method, which focusses on what was written about the films rather than analysis of the films themselves as a way of exploring how they were being perceived, draws upon the relationships which exist between these texts, placing them in context both with each other and the wider cultural milieu. The research traces changing perceptions of the films’ genres, the relationships between the values associated with them and their positions in the film canon, and the impact of events ancillary to the films on the ways they have been understood. It shows 3 that it is possible to demonstrate how certain ways of understanding the film texts came to dominate the discourse which surrounds them, demonstrating the viability of, and value in, longitudinal tracking of discursive trends. 4 Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... 7 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 9 Understanding M*A*S*H and Catch 22 – Recent Textbook Examples ................................. 14 The Canon and Social Worth .................................................................................................. 17 Why M*A*S*H, Catch 22 and Kelly’s Heroes? ..................................................................... 28 Static Views & Counterculture Connections (Changing/Static Meanings and Audiences/Locating Meanings) .............................................................................................. 33 The Academic, the Critic and the Audience - A Unified View of Discourse ......................... 46 The Importance of Genre ........................................................................................................ 48 A Different Story: Early Reviews of M*A*S*H and Catch 22 ............................................... 51 Aims ........................................................................................................................................ 56 Methodological Statement ...................................................................................................... 60 Chapter One: M*A*S*H ............................................................................................................. 69 “They get their message across” – February 1970 .................................................................. 71 The Press Book ....................................................................................................................... 75 The Military Ban – March 1970 ............................................................................................. 85 Advertising M*A*S*H – Stars ................................................................................................ 89 Advertising M*A*S*H – Patterns and Genres ........................................................................ 92 Anti-War Satire - April 1970 .................................................................................................. 94 The Ban Is Lifted – April 1970 ............................................................................................... 99 The Cannes Film Festival Controversy – May 1970 ............................................................ 101 Returning to M*A*S*H - June – August 1970 ...................................................................... 108 Recent examples ................................................................................................................... 111 Critical Responses and Genre Categorisations ..................................................................... 116 Chapter Two: Kelly’s Heroes .................................................................................................... 121 ‘Traditional’ Genres .............................................................................................................. 126 Early Reviews and Mentions ................................................................................................ 132 Advertising and Embracing Genres ...................................................................................... 148 The Critical Community ....................................................................................................... 159 Attitudes to Genre ................................................................................................................. 167 Masculine Programming & Clint Eastwood ......................................................................... 172 Dominant Notions and Fluctuations in Discourses ............................................................... 177 Chapter Three: Catch 22 ........................................................................................................... 181 5 Sharing themes and audiences? : Catch 22 and its relationship with M*A*S*H in early reviews ................................................................................................................................... 188 An emotional response: the novel and the film ..................................................................... 195 High Expectations: Catch 22 and its Marketing .................................................................... 211 A counterculture image: The film poster ............................................................................... 217 Its rightful place in the discourse: Emotion in the marketing ................................................ 219 Success and failure: Post release reviews .............................................................................. 231 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 239 Genre, the canon and the counterculture: responses to the research questions ..................... 241 Starting points and goals: Responses to the literature ........................................................... 251 Future work: Texts ................................................................................................................ 258 Future Work: Methods .......................................................................................................... 261 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 265 Filmography .............................................................................................................................. 277 6 Acknowledgements I would like to thank first my primary advisor, Dr. Brett Mills. Without your guidance, support and feedback this thesis would never have been achievable, and certainly wouldn’t have gone in the exciting direction it has. I would also like to thank my secondary advisors Mr. Peter Kramer and Dr. Christine Cornea, who at various times throughout the process gave either words of encouragement or course corrections, depending on the requirement. Professor Mark Jancovich likely doesn’t remember these conversations, but his two simple instructions ‘well, write about something you like’, then, post-transfer up, ‘you just need to write it now’, marked some pivotal moments. I am also very grateful to my examiners, Professor Yvonne Tasker and Dr. Michael Hammond not only for an interesting and informative viva, but also for the advice which followed. I am indebted to my friends, both within and outside of academia, who have variously supplied me with invaluable advice, shared their own experiences, listened patiently to my ideas, and, perhaps most