Home > Research > Publications & Outputs > Monstrous M*A*S*H – Khaki Gothic and Comedy’

Electronic data

  • FINAL_Submission_Khaki_Swift_December

    Accepted author manuscript, 420 KB, PDF document

    Available under license: CC BY-NC: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Links

Text available via DOI:

View graph of relations

Monstrous M*A*S*H – Khaki Gothic and Comedy’

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
<mark>Journal publication date</mark>1/05/2017
<mark>Journal</mark>Gothic Studies
Issue number1
Volume19
Number of pages22
Pages (from-to)91-112
Publication StatusPublished
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

On first glance, M*A*S*H (1972-1983) might not be the ideal text for Gothic analysis. Aesthetically, the traditional dark castles surrounded by black forests in the moonlight are replaced by muted khaki and green canvas Army tents. The tinny canned laughter punctuating the sardonic jokes echo longer than the terrified screams in the night. Gothic and war are uneasy bedfellows; it is the inclusion of comedy, however, that determines just how horrific the result can be. Using M*A*S*H as a primary example to explore what I refer to as ‘Khaki Gothic’, this paper will explore how, utilising Gothic tropes, comedy can disguise, diffuse and intensify the horrors of war.