Hooray For Captain Tuttle!
March 04, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Resume writing is an art form. And our challenging economy demands artistic excellence.
I found an inspired example in a first-season episode of M*A*S*H influenced by the 1927 novella Lieutenant Kijé by Soviet author Yury Tynyanov.
Yes, classic television can inform as well as entertain.
In the 1973 M*A*S*H episode Tuttle, we learn the art of writing a resume for the reader.
The episode centers on U.S. Army Captain Jonathan Tuttle.
But he does not exist. He is, in fact, fictional.
Initially, Hawkeye creates the fictional Captain Tuttle as a smokescreen to authorize donations of supplies to Sister Teresa’s orphanage under Tuttle’s name.
When word spreads about Tuttle, Hawkeye and Trapper realize they have to build a personnel file to lend further credence to Tuttle’s history.
And they artfully construct his resume by writing for the readers, their antagonists who want to see the file – Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan and Frank Burns.
The deed of Hawkeye and Trapper is an excellent example of writing for the reader, in this case, the blindingly patriotic Houlihan and Burns.
Hawkeye and Trapper view the task of writing a resume as a challenge, not a chore. And so, a resume is born for Tuttle.
Birth Year, 1924.
Birthplace, Battle Creek, Michigan.
What’s more patriotic than the home of Snap, Crackle, and Pop?
The tricky part comes when they need a medical school for Tuttle. Knowing that they can’t pick a place that Hot Lips and Frank can check, they invent Berlin Polytechnic or Berlinicius Polyteshnicus.
And in a nod to the ‘write for the reader’ theme, Hawkeye gives specific, physical attributes to Tuttle and emphasizes the purpose, stating, “Now a little something for Hot Lips. Height, six-four. Weight, 195 pounds. Hair, auburn. Eyes, hazel.”
He knows that Hot Lips will be physically drawn to the description. Her attraction will prevent her from realizing the fiction.
Ultimately, Hawkeye has to kill Tuttle when a general wants to give Tuttle a commendation.
Hawkeye explains that Tuttle died when he jumped from a helicopter to perform surgery in the combat field. But he forgot to put on a parachute.
In the eulogy, Hawkeye says, In fact, you might say that all of us together made up Tuttle.
Truer words were never spoken.
david@davidkrell.com
Resume writing is an art form. And our challenging economy demands artistic excellence.
I found an inspired example in a first-season episode of M*A*S*H influenced by the 1927 novella Lieutenant Kijé by Soviet author Yury Tynyanov.
Yes, classic television can inform as well as entertain.
In the 1973 M*A*S*H episode Tuttle, we learn the art of writing a resume for the reader.
The episode centers on U.S. Army Captain Jonathan Tuttle.
But he does not exist. He is, in fact, fictional.
Initially, Hawkeye creates the fictional Captain Tuttle as a smokescreen to authorize donations of supplies to Sister Teresa’s orphanage under Tuttle’s name.
When word spreads about Tuttle, Hawkeye and Trapper realize they have to build a personnel file to lend further credence to Tuttle’s history.
And they artfully construct his resume by writing for the readers, their antagonists who want to see the file – Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan and Frank Burns.
The deed of Hawkeye and Trapper is an excellent example of writing for the reader, in this case, the blindingly patriotic Houlihan and Burns.
Hawkeye and Trapper view the task of writing a resume as a challenge, not a chore. And so, a resume is born for Tuttle.
Birth Year, 1924.
Birthplace, Battle Creek, Michigan.
What’s more patriotic than the home of Snap, Crackle, and Pop?
The tricky part comes when they need a medical school for Tuttle. Knowing that they can’t pick a place that Hot Lips and Frank can check, they invent Berlin Polytechnic or Berlinicius Polyteshnicus.
And in a nod to the ‘write for the reader’ theme, Hawkeye gives specific, physical attributes to Tuttle and emphasizes the purpose, stating, “Now a little something for Hot Lips. Height, six-four. Weight, 195 pounds. Hair, auburn. Eyes, hazel.”
He knows that Hot Lips will be physically drawn to the description. Her attraction will prevent her from realizing the fiction.
Ultimately, Hawkeye has to kill Tuttle when a general wants to give Tuttle a commendation.
Hawkeye explains that Tuttle died when he jumped from a helicopter to perform surgery in the combat field. But he forgot to put on a parachute.
In the eulogy, Hawkeye says, In fact, you might say that all of us together made up Tuttle.
Truer words were never spoken.