Best Care Anywhere: The Legacy of "M*A*S*H"

This exhibit tells a fraction of the story of M*A*S*H. Four decades of discussion about this show and its history is impossible to sum up in one project or paper, but I wanted to say what I could. I grew up watching M*A*S*H, and as a kid, I found it boring, like I’m sure many of my peers did. I chose to rediscover it as I got older, bonding over it with my father (a lifelong fan), and I finally began to understand it both politically and emotionally.

M*A*S*H is a 50-year-old show set during a 70-year-old war, but the stories it tells are timeless. Through my exhibit, I want my audience to begin to understand the impact it had on American society and history. The show was not only funny, but also poignant, transgressive, and emotional. It was a show that made statements. 

Because M*A*S*H is still under copyright, it proved nearly impossible to find photographs or use still images or clips from the show. As a result, I had to get creative with my exhibit images. The M*A*S*H archive at the National Museum of American History is extremely extensive, but so little of it is digitized, so I was only able to use what was available which, unfortunately, did not include many photographs. Thankfully, I was able to use some archival props and costumes to represent the characters, and the few photos and documents that I was able to find fit into my exhibit well.

My hope for this exhibit is for viewers to watch the show for themselves, or gain a new understanding if they have already seen it. I urge my audience to do their own exploration or analysis of M*A*S*H because there are so many ways to understand it. I hope both new and old fans think deeper about the themes I shallowly address in my exhibit, like death, mental health, and queerness, and even themes I didn’t touch on, like religion and faith. 

A novel, a film, two wars, three presidencies, eleven seasons, fifty years, and millions and millions of fans make up the legacy of M*A*S*H. It is rare for a show to be both historical and timeless, both inciting and beloved, but when M*A*S*H managed to encapsulate two different war-torn eras and package them in a half-hour comedy, its legacy in both American and television history was solidified for good.

Curator Biography

Max Truelsen is currently a senior at Northern Arizona University in the Department of Comparative Cultural Studies. A double minor in Museum Studies and Comparative Religion, their academic interests involve archival work and contemporary religious and cultural expression. Max hopes to attend graduate school for Library Sciences and become an archival librarian.

Bibliography

Austerlitz, Saul. “Alan Alda on ‘M*A*S*H’: ‘Everybody Had Something Taken From Them’.” Nytimes.com, The New York Times, 16 Sept. 2022. www.nytimes.com/2022/09/16/arts/television/alan-alda-mash-anniversary.html?unlocked_article_code=1.oU8.fBm5.0et5fj7hKmXp. 24 Sept. 2025. 

Cullen, Jim. “A Funny War: M*A*S*H as a 1970s Version of the 1950s,” in From Memory to History: Television Versions of the Twentieth Century. Rutgers University Press, 2021. 

“Deluge.” M*A*S*H: The Complete Collection, written by Larry Gelbart and Simon Muntner, directed by William K. Jurgensen, 20th Century Fox, 2018.

Diffrient, David Scott. M*A*S*H. Wayne State University Press, 2008.

Fox, Levi. “Not Forgotten: The Korean War in American Public Memory, 1950–2017.” 2018. Temple University, PhD Dissertation. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. libproxy.nau.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/not-forgotten-korean-war-american-public-memory/docview/2046825166/se-2?accountid=12706

Gelbart, Larry, developer. M*A*S*H. 20th Century Fox Television, 1983.

“George.” M*A*S*H: The Complete Collection, written by John W. Reiger and Gary Markowitz, directed by Gene Reynolds, 20th Century Fox, 2018.

Jeffreys-Jones, Rhodri. Peace Now!: American Society and the Ending of the Vietnam War. Yale University Press, 1999.

Keck, Claire Lauren. “Whatever Were We Fighting for?”: M*A*S*H and the Vietnam Era.” 2024. University of Houston, PhD Dissertation. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. libproxy.nau.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/whatever-were-we-fighting-em-m-s-h-vietnam-era-gt/docview/3240553885/se-2?accountid=12706.

Lowry, Brian. “‘Seinfeld’s’ Finale Ends Up in Sixth Place of All Time.” Los Angeles Times, 16 May 1998.

Emily Niekrasz. “M*A*S*H: Binding Up the Exhibit.” Smithsonian Institution Archives Blogs, Smithsonian Institution Archives, siarchives.si.edu/blog/mash-binding-exhibit. 

United Press International. “‘M*A*S*H,’ 11 Years Old, Ends Tonight.” New York Times, 28 February 1983, p. C14.