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#I'm the loser of the game

marley-manson · 2 months

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Hawkeye and Frank are the two most diametrically opposed characters on Mash. They clash politically, ideologically, emotionally, intellectually, and even physically on more than one occasion. There is virtually nothing they agree on. But they do have one significant similarity: both Hawkeye and Frank are notably, pointedly effeminate.

Hawkeye is the central protagonist, so he's written to be likeable, even admirable, especially in the first five seasons of the show when satire dominated rather than character drama. He's the character who makes the correct political points and voices the show's ideology, and male audience members are encouraged to identify with him and aspire to be like him. He's witty, he's smart, he's charismatic, he dodges consequences a lot, he's highly skilled in his work, and he has a strong personality and natural leadership qualities.

Frank is the main antagonist up until the end of season five. He's written for audiences to hate him, mock him, and occasionally be horrified by him. He's dull-witted, incompetent, awkward, easily led and manipulated, and always gets his comeuppance. Few audience members are likely to aspire to be more like Frank Burns.

And yet, while most likeable protagonist/detestable antagonist duos in American popular media would also be differentiated in terms of gender performance as a matter of course - the effeminate villain being a standard stock character, always set against a ruggedly masculine hero - Mash takes a different approach.

From his core personality as a sniveling, weak-willed follower, to the way other characters, including Hawkeye, routinely make fun of him by comparing him to a woman or insinuating that he's gay, Frank Burns certainly fits the part of weak, emasculated villain. What's more interesting, and much less commonly seen in Hollywood media, is that Hawkeye is portrayed as just as unmanly, and just as, if not more prone to having it pointed out in the show.

Often Hawkeye's jokes at Frank's expense include the implication that Hawkeye is attracted to him himself, and not necessarily as "the man." He jokes, "Guess it's a marriage, Frank. I know I can do better, but at my age, can I wait?" in Hawkeye, Get Your Gun; he switches from calling Frank one of his vampire brides to taking the feminine part in post-coital pillow talk after siphoning his blood in Germ Warfare; he kisses or tells Frank to kiss him in Major Fred C. Dobbs, For the Good of the Outfit, and Bulletin Board, etc.

Other times, the jokes Hawkeye makes about himself are virtually identical to the jokes made at Frank's expense - their respective attractions to Margaret as a potentially dominant sexual partner, eg, with both Frank and Hawkeye portrayed as eagerly submissive. For instance, in 5 O'Clock Charlie Hawkeye jokes about tying Frank to Margaret's tent, then dismisses the thought with, "He'd probably love it. I know I would." And Hawkeye/Trapper and Frank/Margaret are sometimes paralleled as dual couples, Hawkeye and Frank usually being framed as the more feminine partner in each.

And of course, unconnected to Frank, there are many, many more examples of Hawkeye's effeminacy, both in jokes and in personality traits.

Hawkeye is a self-professed coward who is loud and proud about how terrified he is to be stuck in a war zone. He's emotionally open and highly empathetic, always willing to listen to others' problems and discuss (or scream about) his own. He abhors institutional violence and faces every enemy combatant with his hands firmly in the air. When authority is thrust upon him he strives to relinquish it, and uses it as little as possible.

More shallowly, he has little interest in sports and exercise, derides masculine hobby magazines like Field and Stream and Popular Mechanics, is incapable of performing mechanical tasks to the exasperation of others at least four times (Comrades in Arms which explicitly frames this emasculating, In Love and War, Patent 4077, and Hey, Look Me Over), mocks traditional masculinity in many ways, and enjoys musical theatre and Hollywood gossip. And he makes and takes literally hundreds of jokes about being unmanly and having sex with men himself, many more than he makes at Frank's expense.

But while the jokes are at Frank's expense and meant to belittle him, they're rarely made at Hawkeye's expense, especially in the first five seasons. Hawkeye doesn't make the jokes out of self-deprecation, he makes them out of pride and a desire to differentiate himself from the army men he's surrounded by. He's almost always in on the jokes others make about him, rather than offended - Potter telling him to file a paternity suit against his rival in Hepatitis makes him laugh delightedly, and Trapper's remarks on his effeminacy, such as Miz Hawkeye in Hot Lips and Empty Arms, are sometimes lightly teasing but always a regular aspect of their dynamic that Hawkeye enjoys playing up. Frank doesn't make any jokes directly mocking Hawkeye's masculinity that I can recall, beyond vague "pervert" and "degenerate" remarks, which, while often historically homophobic, in the show's context tend to be treated as a reference to his heterosexual endeavours.

Frank's effeminacy is a point of mockery and derision, but Hawkeye's is a point of pride, and not intended to make him any less likeable to an audience. Antagonists don't get to score points off of Hawkeye by mocking his feminine traits, but Hawkeye makes fun of Frank regularly by mocking his feminine traits.

This difference in framing can partially be explained by the nature of their respective gender performances.

While Hawkeye and Frank are both effeminate, they're effeminate in many opposite ways. Frank is weak-willed while Hawkeye is strong-willed. Frank is unappealing to most women, while Hawkeye is something of a lady's man. Frank cannot face his fears to rise to a challenge, but Hawkeye can. But on the flipside, Frank refuses to admit to fear while Hawkeye openly proclaims it. Frank strives to attain authority while Hawkeye refuses it or takes it on only begrudgingly. Frank is obsessed with guns to a freudian extent while one of Hawkeye's most famous monologues of the show is a speech about refusing to carry one. Frank worships the concept of traditional masculinity even while he can't perform it himself, while Hawkeye mocks the concept and would refuse to perform it even if he could.

The Sniper is an excellent case study of these contrasts. In this episode, Hawkeye is effeminate and at ease with it, while Frank is desperate to prove himself masculine. Frank and Margaret flirt with strong Freudian overtones while Frank shoots a gun while nearby Hawkeye flirts with with a nurse with a line about "tasting" her. Hawkeye connects with the nurse he's wooing by relating to how scared she is and huddling in fear with her, while Margaret demands that Frank prove his masculinity by going out and taking down the sniper himself. Frank carries a gun while trying to approach the sniper, while Hawkeye carries a white flag. Frank tries to make fun of Hawkeye for wanting to surrender, but he can't bring himself to approach the sniper while Hawkeye does.

This contrast of gender performance is a consistent aspect of Hawkeye and Frank's dynamic throughout the show, but The Sniper makes it a central theme so it's a useful example to show how their relationships to masculinity are a deliberate aspect of their dynamic.

And while Hawkeye makes fun of Frank's femininity, it's significant that he also regularly makes fun of Frank's masculinity - his love of guns (eg The Sniper), his sexual affairs (eg the exchange about Frank as a "fantastic performer" in Yankee Doodle Doctor), his numerous attempts to exert authority (eg Welcome to Korea), his desire for socially approved success (eg Hot Lips and Empty Arms), etc.

Both masculine and feminine sides of Frank are comprised of negative character traits, while Hawkeye embodies the best of both - emotional expression and healthy ways of coping by talking about his feelings; bravery but not machismo; intelligence and skill as a doctor rather than an officer; empathy and a willingness to listen; sexual prowess but largely through his love of foreplay rather than his dick game (which, in the context of the early 70s, is a somewhat feminine attribute that distinguishes him from a typical traditionally masculine man); etc.

Hawkeye demonstrates some of the most appealing and healthy qualities of both masculinity and femininity while Frank demonstrates, or strives to demonstrate, the more toxic qualities of both. Through including a few positive masculine traits in the mix, the narrative is able to depict Hawkeye as likeable, admirable, and desirable in his effeminacy while Frank is depicted as loathesome in his. Hawkeye gets one of many, many women in The Sniper by showing vulnerability, while Frank only appeals to Margaret, and Margaret is portrayed as borderline pathological in her sexual attraction to violent masculinity (the scene where Frank excites her with his gun, for example, also includes an electra complex joke, and there's a running rape kink gag in this episode as well).

Another aspect to consider when it comes to differentiating Hawkeye and Frank's respective femininities is hypocrisy. Similar to how Frank and Margaret's affair is mocked because they can't admit to it while Hawkeye and Trapper's affairs are glorified, part of what makes Frank's effeminacy so mock-worthy, while Hawkeye's feminine qualities are a source of pride and rebellion, is that Frank refuses to admit to them.

Frank desperately wants to be the ideal heroic army man and often play-acts the part, poorly. When Hawkeye mocks him by calling him a woman, for example, he's drawing attention to Frank's failure to live up to his own ideals. And when Hawkeye calls himself a woman, he's mocking those same ideals. The message is that Frank is pathetic not so much for failing to be traditionally masculine, but for wanting to be traditionally masculine at all.

Ultimately the ways Hawkeye and Frank perform masculinity and femininity are pointedly in opposition, from which masc and fem traits they embody, to how proudly they embody them. The show itself draws attention to these gendered similarities and differences between Frank and Hawkeye through a constant barrage of jokes, and even whole scenes and episodes. In this way the show portrays Frank as a hypocritical loser who wants to be masculine but fails to embody all but the worst traits, and Hawkeye as a cool, admirable guy who disdains the traditional pillars of masculinity and embraces his own effeminacy.

#mash #marley on mash #mash gen #mash gs #frank mash #hawkeye mash #since you guys liked that trapper gender meta a lot more than i thought you would here have another one #though this is written a little less formally lol #i have more examples of whole scenes that make these comparisons than just the sniper but i'm trying to keep this from being #even longer than it already is #but eg white gold is another good example wrt how they relate to flagg; yankee doodle doctor; army navy game; george; the gun; etc etc #(also it's interesting that when frank leaves hawkeye gets the pathetic loser portrayal more often... though i think that's a coincidence #the shift from early to late mash could be yet another essay on mash and gender lol)#long post

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blindmagdalena · 1 year

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Just imagine watching a movie or TV with homelander and then an attractive actor/actress comes up on screen

He can hear your heart quicken and be like

">:O how dare u :("

AHAHAHAHAH. Homelander keeps randomly turning off whatever you're watching, inexplicably annoyed. He always says it's nothing, that he's not enjoying it, he's bored. He just wants to do something else. "Something else" almost invariably means making out, or sex, or a very attentive cuddling session. You're thoroughly baffled until you finally recognize the pattern. It happens every single time you're attracted to or (god forbid) aroused by a character in a movie that isn't him.

#asdfghjk he's such a LOSER LMAO #homelander headcanons #homelander x reader #homelander x you #darling anon #ask and you shall receive #uhhhh i wonder if i should be queuing these asks out.... am i spamming??#this is prob the last one i'm procrastinating prepping my dnd game anyways oops

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sunshinediaz · 1 month

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tease tidbit tuesday 🫧

i have not stopped thinking of eddie thumping his head against the wall when buck and chris were talking about shannon, thank you very much. that felt very much like fanservice specifically for me lmao TIM MINEAR I'M IN YOUR WALLS BROTHER

anyway, have hoa eddie angst <3

He looks at Eddie. “Did you throw that at me?” Eddie shakes his head so hard he sees stars. “No. I swear I didn’t.” He erases the distance between them. “God, let me—” “Don’t touch me,” Buck interrupts him, stepping away swiftly “I don’t want you to touch me.”

tagged by @daffi-990, mwah

tagging @spagheddiediaz, @jeeyuns, @puppyboybuckley, @devirnis, @wikiangela, @watchyourbuck, @eddiebabygirldiaz, @underwater-ninja-13, @actualalligator, @exhuastedpigeon, @rogerzsteven, @honestlydarkprincess, and @monsterrae1 if any of you wanna share something!

#i'm so early for tag games for once i feel slightly put together and accomplished?#also pls don't be put off by this lil bit of angst smh it's not what u think + it's very much something that would happen to these 2 losers #because that's what they are! losers!#every single one of my wips is kicking my ass and i'm afraid i'm not gonna meet my 3 fics a month quota i set for myself but alas #i will survive? maybe?#tag games

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supermantv · 6 months

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jag would have been a much more compelling player if he had just accepted and leaned into the villain role. instead he whined and complained the entire second half of the season to anyone who would listen and never wanted to take the heat or blame for the moves he made. i think if he had just owned that he'd pivoted into playing a more cutthroat game it would have made a world of difference in how he's perceived by most people

#i'm not saying he's a good villain or some strategic genius..#just that i think he would've been slightly more bearable #as opposed to 'i've been bullied the entire game' and 'they used me to do their dirty work'#like i mean it just would have been better than the whole woe is me schtick #this is from purely a game standpoint he's still a loser for plotting psychological warfare on a 60 yr old and isolating her #i still don't like him 😁#bb25

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lesbiansloveseokjin · 10 months

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day 190/547 of seokjin’s military service

this selca was posted on 150430

#MusicBank #Stardustnextweek! What's happening on the set of #BTS music video that's back in #INEEDU? I need you girl #ARMY 🙆🏻 Naughty #BTS #Jin #Jimin #J-Hope Selfie Revealed #LookForwardToIt

Thank you everyone For watching over us prettily! I love you, ARMY

(trans cr: Mary @ bts-trans)

I Need U performance from that day:

youtube

Lovers High performance from that day:

youtube

this video of the tannies playing a ridiculous game was filmed that day:

youtube

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anomalouscorvid · 8 months

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judgement oc. haven't done much with them, but they're a thing! and have been a thing without me ever posting about them for... way too long. my working names for them have been just 'bronze' or, alternatively, 'mouldy star' so, like, whatever, here's the small wretched mouldy star. maybe they have the judgement equivalent of cordyceps and that's why they're so wretched. no escape from fungi even if you're considered kind of like an actual god

…the imagery used there really does look like fungi-related things. wasn't intentional actually believe it or not

fun fact: fig's species comes from their domain. or fig's species is descended from things that came from their domain. either way, vague connection to fig but... not really that much

#sunless skies #sunless skies spoilers #failbetter games #fallen london spoilers #fallen london #fallen london oc #....does it make sense to put them in the fallen london tag?#well. look at this loser anyway. admire the many dots and lines and etc.#art #digital art #drawing #digital drawing #ah shit i'm going to have to think of a name to tag them as. um uhhhhh #mouldy bronze (oc)#that's them. that's the Mouldy Bronze regent.#fig (oc)#yes i have more i could say about them but im exhausted 👍 pretend i wrote a paragraph about their star politics and star thoughts

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somepinkthing · 8 months

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Everybody seriously judging other people's bg3 playthroughs and interpretations as if it weren't a game literally designed for people to try different options and explore different paths? You are boring and annoying and your opinions invalid actually. I'll block any annoying discourse I see. "You have to understand that—" actually I don't and I'm throwing grease and casting fireball at u

#and dont u dare well what about me #in fact if u wanna well what abt me u can go ahead and assume I'm talking abt u #this post is talking abt annoying ppl who wanna pretend their video game interpretation is activism not literal creeps u know that loser #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate 3 #baldurs

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forcedhesitation · 15 days

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this is... interesting. If I'm not mistaken, the list of people banned from the waning moon is supposed to be a bunch of devs, but gerringothe thorm obviously isn't one, and the "unknown elf" sounds far too much like astarion to not be him.

if you have a companion interact with the magic mirror, they have unique wishes they can share. the first wish always seems to be their deepest desire, past all the fear, pride, anger, regret, etc. that they may feel. wyll's, for example, is wishing to see his father extending his arms in forgiveness to him (wyll. pleeease pleaase pleease your dad was the one who was wrong T____T).

astarion wishes to see his home. his real home. after reading this line, I was reminded of the note in the waning moon...and well...what if astarion's real home was originally reithwin town? or somewhere nearby it? the timeline checks out, the shadowcurse has been around for about 100 years, according to halsin. astarion's been a spawn for around 200 years...

the only thing I can think of that might contradict this is something mr. stephen rooney (his writer) said in an interview, about not being sure what direction to take astarion's story in act 2. but given that this was said of the astarion made for the 3 act story we know, and that there still exist many remnants of old ideas since reworked in the live game, it's not impossible that the original story might have included something about astarion's real home being the shadowcursed lands.

sad too, because if it is true, it means that it's very likely that his family was lost to the shadowcurse. and his family wouldn't have ever known that they lost their son to the shadows long ago....

#bg3 #thoughts about media #disclaimer necessary bc this is an astarion post: if you annoy me. I will block you without a second thought.#I really wonder what the ending of the game would have been had their only ever been two acts.#I wonder if that would have resulted in more bad endings for certain companions...given what happens in act 3.#it really does show that they were only originally planning for two acts though jeez.#I did the myrkul fight on jantar's save a few nights ago and wow. myrkul's entrance really makes bhaal and bane look like losers.#anyway. whatever you choose to believe about where astarion might have come from- this is an interesting bit of dialogue!#as far as I'm aware- his desire to see his long-lost home is not ever mentioned if he's a companion.#makes me curious if it's ever mentioned anywhere again in an origin run campaign with him as the avatar.#I will admit. this DOES make a star/halsin romance a bit cuter. because halsin goes back to reithwin town to rebuild.#in the context of korydalis' story...makes their romance much sweeter too. because astarion would also regain a family with him-#-as he has adopted teens & a wife (they're friend married. not actually together romantically).

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