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Christmas Specials
Dec. 15th, 2005 09:21 amLike pretty much everyone else of my generation, I've got a sense of nostalgia for TV shows, books and other things from my youth. (Feeling nostalgic for something like Happy Days would be multi-generational nostalgia as when it first aired it appealed to the nostalgic feelings of the generation before mine.)
On good days, I think this is a perfectly fine feeling which brings me much pleasure. On more depressing days, I think my attachment to things past is what's held me and most of the child-like Generation-X back. And on my really cynical days, I think about just how corporate nostalgia is. A feeling created to sell Micronauts comic books, vintage Transformers figures and Good Times DVDs to man-sized Peter Pans that now have disposable income. (Further down, I'll give the most evil example of corporate nostalgia I've seen.)
Anyway, nostalgia and Christmas. You know that means. It means Rudolph teaming up with an outcast elf, mailbags proving the existence of Santa Claus, a multitude of Marleys haunting a score of Scrooges, and a cute dog named Max being forced to wear an antler strapped to his head as he endures all the indiginities that the Grinch and Chuck Jones (accept no live action version) can throw at him.
But for me, there are two Christmas Specials that I especially try to watch every year. It's a Wonderful Life starring Jimmy Stewart and directed by Frank Capra, and A Charlie Brown Christmas featuring Charles Schulz's classic characters.
So, why these two? Well, like most Christmas specials, they both have feel-good endings. But unlike some Christmas specials, they actually earn those endings by having some genuine emotional honesty. Let's face it -- for all the presents, decorations and good will towards others, Christmas isn't the happiest time of year for some. People -- like me -- do get depressed at winter. And it's nice to see other characters acknowledge those feelings. Charlie Brown confesses to Linus that he doesn't feel happy. George Bailey might always help the citizens of Bedford Falls, but he's allowed darker emotions while doing it. George can be sarcastic, bitter, and depressed to the point of suicide ... but he's thoroughly human.
And who hasn't felt like Charlie Brown? When sickened by the commercialization of Christmas, he befriends the sadest, most pathetic tree -- more an upright branch -- in existence. Then he adds one decoration, the tree flops over. "I killed it." He says at his bleakest moment. It's so tender. So human. Wouldn't you like to own that tree?
Now, we come to that evil bit I mentioned above. Charlie Brown chose the tree because he was rebelling against the commercialization of Christmas. He steadfastly refused to get the fake trees favoured by Lucy. What a great message! And it's a message totally perverted by the fact you can buy a fake, mass-produced replica of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree at Urban Outfitters. That kind of corporate kidnapping of our youthful icons makes me want to give up and head straight to Lucy's psychiatry booth.
Anyway, here's a fun holiday viewing suggestion. The Worst Jobs in History -- Christmas Edition hosted by Tony Robinson (Baldrick from Blackadder). Robinson looks at two millennia of crappy holiday-related jobs, and the special is infused with his wit, intelligence and genuine passion for all things historical. It airs again tomorrow (Friday, Dec. 16 at 8pm on History Television in Canada, and again on Christmas Day at 6pm.
I had the privilege of interviewing Tony Robinson a few years ago for my website. http://www.boldoutlaw.com/robint/tonyrob1.html
Allen
On good days, I think this is a perfectly fine feeling which brings me much pleasure. On more depressing days, I think my attachment to things past is what's held me and most of the child-like Generation-X back. And on my really cynical days, I think about just how corporate nostalgia is. A feeling created to sell Micronauts comic books, vintage Transformers figures and Good Times DVDs to man-sized Peter Pans that now have disposable income. (Further down, I'll give the most evil example of corporate nostalgia I've seen.)
Anyway, nostalgia and Christmas. You know that means. It means Rudolph teaming up with an outcast elf, mailbags proving the existence of Santa Claus, a multitude of Marleys haunting a score of Scrooges, and a cute dog named Max being forced to wear an antler strapped to his head as he endures all the indiginities that the Grinch and Chuck Jones (accept no live action version) can throw at him.
But for me, there are two Christmas Specials that I especially try to watch every year. It's a Wonderful Life starring Jimmy Stewart and directed by Frank Capra, and A Charlie Brown Christmas featuring Charles Schulz's classic characters.
So, why these two? Well, like most Christmas specials, they both have feel-good endings. But unlike some Christmas specials, they actually earn those endings by having some genuine emotional honesty. Let's face it -- for all the presents, decorations and good will towards others, Christmas isn't the happiest time of year for some. People -- like me -- do get depressed at winter. And it's nice to see other characters acknowledge those feelings. Charlie Brown confesses to Linus that he doesn't feel happy. George Bailey might always help the citizens of Bedford Falls, but he's allowed darker emotions while doing it. George can be sarcastic, bitter, and depressed to the point of suicide ... but he's thoroughly human.
And who hasn't felt like Charlie Brown? When sickened by the commercialization of Christmas, he befriends the sadest, most pathetic tree -- more an upright branch -- in existence. Then he adds one decoration, the tree flops over. "I killed it." He says at his bleakest moment. It's so tender. So human. Wouldn't you like to own that tree?
Now, we come to that evil bit I mentioned above. Charlie Brown chose the tree because he was rebelling against the commercialization of Christmas. He steadfastly refused to get the fake trees favoured by Lucy. What a great message! And it's a message totally perverted by the fact you can buy a fake, mass-produced replica of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree at Urban Outfitters. That kind of corporate kidnapping of our youthful icons makes me want to give up and head straight to Lucy's psychiatry booth.
Anyway, here's a fun holiday viewing suggestion. The Worst Jobs in History -- Christmas Edition hosted by Tony Robinson (Baldrick from Blackadder). Robinson looks at two millennia of crappy holiday-related jobs, and the special is infused with his wit, intelligence and genuine passion for all things historical. It airs again tomorrow (Friday, Dec. 16 at 8pm on History Television in Canada, and again on Christmas Day at 6pm.
I had the privilege of interviewing Tony Robinson a few years ago for my website. http://www.boldoutlaw.com/robint/tonyrob1.html
Allen
