Critique #1

Images that we see and store in our brains can come back to life when we drift to sleep. Especially horrific or traumatic ideas return as nightmares. A dangerous or treacherous environment such as war not only affects our well-being, but our subconscious as well. A good representation of this is in the 1980’s television show MASH, in an episode called “Dreams”. During this episode, an army nurse dreams about her wedding day and the horror of wounded soldiers from the war. In this photograph from the show she is depicted standing next to a surgeon in her wedding gown standing over a bed of bleeding soldiers. In this still shot from MASH directed by Larry Gelbart, photographer Gerald B. Wolfe captures this candid moment in order to convey the idea that certain environments can affect a person’s subconscious and dreams.

                This image taken from the MASH episode “Dreams” depicts an army nurse (Margaret Houlihan) standing next to a surgeon (Hawkeye Pierce) over a bed of bleeding soldiers, all in front of the Korean countryside. The subject matter of this still shot is Margaret wearing her pristine white wedding dress, her blonde hair curled around a flowing veil. Her upright hands and shocked facial expression convey her feelings of distress as she looks the surgeon in the eyes. He wears a duller, grayed white doctor’s gown and cap splattered with bright red blood. His gloved hands are blood-soaked and gesturing towards two dying soldiers lying on a grand bed with tall golden rods. Wearing bandages that are so bloody that they have turned from white to completely crimson, one of their faces has an expression of utter hopelessness. The image as a whole is almost overwhelming, but expresses the fear and anxiety the character Margaret must feel during her nightmare. The environment in her dream matches the one she must live and work in every day, so the horror she witnesses in her life seeps into her subconscious as she sleeps.

                The powerful symbols illustrated in this still shot help the viewer visualize the unbearable images the nurse sees during the war, and how they creep back into her mind as she sleeps. The first symbol that draws the attention of the viewer is Margaret’s wedding gown. It represents her very real desire to be married, and the comforting thought of normality among the chaos she lives through. Her gown is her hope and small light of joy she uses to get through the hardships of war. Those hardships too are depicted in the image. The bleeding soldiers symbolize the war and the youth of the soldiers and their innocence being ripped from them. It represents the pain and sadness that people try to romanticize out of war, but in the end can not be forgotten. They are a reminder to Margaret that no matter what she desires or hopes for, there is always suffering around her. The surgeon to her right, splashed with the scarlet blood of the soldiers below, also symbolizes the interruption the war has caused in her life, how she will never be whole because of her surroundings. Their body language as well conveys the frustration and helplessness she feels as she is trapped in the war. The juxtaposition of her wedding dress and the blood from the soldiers put into perspective how two very different ideas mould together in her subconscious to create a picture of how out of control her life is. All of the images Margaret’s mind absorbs blend together in this nightmare and allow the viewer to see into her life.
                The connection between our minds and our surroundings can affect out subconscious and dreams. Whether it is a calm environment or the terrifying environment depicted in the still shot, where we are can determine what we dream about. When our minds are free from distractions, they are able to remember and create images that have a deeper meaning. The composition and symbolism in the still shot allow the viewer to connect with Margaret and fully understand how different environments can affect our dreams.