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M.A.S.H. was a sexist, racist glorification of a couple of self-absorbed, alchoholic bullies. I couldn't believe what I was seeing when it first came out, given that it was already being hailed as a "progressive, anti-war, counter-cultural anthem." Christ, it was about as counter-cultural as an evening at The Playboy Club.
Nobody used the word "progressive" back in the seventies.
And M.A.S.H. was never advertised as counter-cultural. It was beloved by many people in the counter-culture, but that was because it showed pot smoking and anti-authoritarian acting out.
I'm having trouble right now believing you watched M.A.S.H. in 1970, because I don't remember any men back in 1970 when the film came out who had heard the word "sexist" or would have judged Altman's film that way -- the women's movement hadn't yet become that well known or powerful or visible.
In fact, back in 1970, the most "progressive" men around were actually very sexist. Women in the anti-war movement were expected to type and make coffee.
You sound like someone who went to college in the nineties -- the way you use your power of judgment to hold yourself superior to an entire decade and shower verbal abuse down on everyone beneath you.
