Rudolph or, working through childhood traumas

It's Christmas time, so the first batch of reviews will be about Christmas Specials. I have always loved Christmas. Now, not so much, and part of it has to do with re-watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I "taped" it for my daughter, so we could share in one of my favorite Christmas Specials. And I was completely blown away. The stop-motion animation still holds up and Burl Ives still makes a great talking snowman. But the rest of the story? Oh dear.

It's interesting to note that this show aired in 1964, at the height of the GREAT SOCIAL CHANGE, civil rights, women's rights, gay rights, etc. There are a lot of those themes that come though subtly and not-so-subtly throughout the narrative. But in order to get the message across, some beloved characters take a real beating. Namely, Santa himself, but Donner doesn't come off to well, either.

When Rudolph is first born, his father, Donner, goes from being a proud papa to an embarrassed as soon as he sees that shiny nose, that you could even say glows. Brutal. Because they go to great pains to show that Rudolph is brilliant. I don't know when a reindeer is supposed to start talking, but I'm pretty sure it's not right out of the womb. To make matters worse, Donner's boss, Santa Claus, comes by to congratulate his star reindeer on siring a son, only to chastise the father for his part in the genetic freak of nature. So much so loving jolly old St. Nick. The guy literally tells him that no matter how good he becomes as a reindeer, the nose will keep him from ever pulling his sled.

The most heartbreaking scene for me is when they go to play reindeer games. Rudolph would seem to be batting 1.000: he makes a friend, gets the girl, and flies! But then the nose, which his father has forced him to hide, comes a-shining. It's not the name-calling and the laughing. It's not the fact that he can't play in any reindeer games. It's not that Clarisse isn't allowed to see Rudolph anymore either. It's Santa telling Donner that he should be ashamed of himself because of his son's nose, in front of Rudolph. It's like a dagger.

The whole theme of "misfits" who are different runs through the entire narrative, with Hermey the elf who wants to be a dentist. Now, my academic cap goes on. Or at least my gaydar. They go to great pains to showing Rudolph as straight, but Hermey? Come on, none of the other elves had great hair like that. His personality and manner of speaking? Anyone who took any sort of gender studies or cinema or media class as an undergrad knows the code or shorthand for "gay" in movies during that time, and Hermey fits the bill. But it works for the time and the period. There would need to be a balance between 50's values and 60's values. Because who was watching the show in 1964? Those who were about to blow up the universities were too old, and anyone people who had young kids would have probably missed the boat by a few years on the social movements still coming. And if they had been in some of the underground movements in the 1950s, I doubt they would be watching crass commercial nonsense with their kids or even celebrating the commercialized holiday that is Christmas.

But back to the gay thing. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I was in love with a guy, who turned out to be gay, all through high school. That may be why I am constantly on the lookout, if only to save my 12-16 year old self from the quasi-humiliation. It doesn't make any sense. But there it is. As if the story wasn't weird enough, at the end, Hermey takes great pleasure in pulling out all of the teeth of the snow monster. Which would fit into the narrative that gays were limited to playing at that time: psychos. In this case a psycho who would seem to benefit the larger North Pole society, but a bit of a nut nonetheless. Two steps forward, one step back.

Imagine, if you will, the discussions that must have taken place in conceiving and then "selling" said show. Imagine Mad Men, but TV executives instead of advertising executives. Yeah, Hermey is "independent", isn't that what all the kids are saying? Yes (snicker) independent (snicker). This is great stuff. Rudolph, a beloved reindeer outsider! An elf who wants to be a dentist! A cruel Santa! A scary snow beast! A gruff and greedy prospector! And an island of misfit toys! How does the special not just sell itself? This would NEVER get made today.

And those toys on the island of misfit toys? So sad. That winged lion comes off as being way better than Santa. He saves these toys, while Santa needs to be cajoled into it. I just checked wikipedia (which I tell my students never to do, but for blogging, it's perfectly acceptable), and it would appear that the original version of the special didn't feature Santa going back to rescue the toys. Public outcry forced them to add the "new" ending. Two strikes against Santa. "Good" means either conformist or useful. 1950's messages reading loud and clear.

But back to those toys. There is one doll who doesn't seem to have anything wrong with her. I know why she is a misfit. All the other dolls figure skated. But she was a swimmer. And because she didn't participate in the same sport as all the other dolls, she was exiled to the island. That's right. I was that little doll. That's the genius of that one little doll who doesn't seem to have anything wrong with her: children were free to project their own perceived "misfitness" (I have a PhD, I can make up words) onto the doll. She's good at math! She has red hair! Daddy doesn't live with her anymore! She is the misfit in all of us.

Why does this depress me so much? I'm not sure. Maybe because my brain is so trained to pick up on these things now that I can no longer enjoy what was once a really special Christmas experience. Or maybe it's because Santa really is a giant a-hole in this show and I really hope that neither of my children figure it out. I didn't even mention how mean he is to the elves when they perform their special elf song for him. You might say that he's just under a lot of pressure having to deliver toys to all the girls and boys every year, keeping track of the naughty/nice list as well as ensure all toys are built to various federal regulations. But my daughter is already asking: Mommy, why is Santa so mean? Why does he make Rudolph sad? Perhaps I am the most depressed that she understands my answer: You know how sometimes when mommy gets stressed and over-tired and doesn't eat well how she can get cranky and short-tempered? Yeah, it's like Mommy at the end of the semester. Just with less intolerance.