In watching soldiers laugh at screwball comedies, swoon to Frank Sinatra, and gaze longingly at Jennifer Jones, might it be a stretch to think movies mattered to troops as much as munitions? National Archives. Take, for example, the screwball comedies she mentions. Hogan’s Heroes fits perfectly into this category, and would, without a doubt, have brought the “flicker” into the eyes of the beholder. This is clear in the 100% rating it receives on Rotten Tomatoes, clarifying the show's relevance to this day. In a year that saw the likes of Bonanza, The Andy Griffith Show, and Batman, Hogan’s Heroes placed 9th on the list of best rated TV shows in 1965. This would have been based solely on the opinion of the families that sat comfortably in their living rooms back home, but overseas, what would the opinion have been of soldiers? Most likely a pleasant response, as they were able to relate to the likes of Hogan, Kinchloe, and Carter. 33.5 out of every 100,000 veterans from Vietnam committed suicide 40 years after the war, contrasted by the 26.4 a year following the end of the …show more content…
To take into account what has been learned would almost contradict the present nature of our society. Everything all-encompassing in the media seems to be a point of contention. In the 60s, it seems that the only real argument in terms of sitcoms would have been which is the best. Now, parents are having to censure certain content from their children, have side discussions regarding references, or even take away the child’s ability to watch shows. This, of course, is not a consistency among households, but it is more of a reality than it was in the earlier stages of sitcoms. Here, I can crack the problem wide open. The issue is that the media embraces the partisanship rather than rebuking division. Hogan’s Heroes included many cultural references that targeted far from trivial issues of the time, but it also made up for it with clean humor. If we are to bring back the idea of censure – not as severe as the rather antique ideals of the past – humor and honest intervention of both sides of the so-called isle, then it appears impossible for there to not at least be a chance of change or