Comments on: Ban Rudolph! And Santa, too!

By: kb

kb — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:15:05 +0000

Donna, I agree! I loved all those cartoons, too.

By: Donna

Donna — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:56:22 +0000

The question posed in the photo above is, “Do you want your children watching that kind of garbage?” and my answer is unequivocally YES, YES, YES!!! Why, you ask? My son, who is 11, and in middle school has an academic average of 98. Chances are, he’s never going to be the jock, the popular guy, and no offense, but kids getting picked on is a harsh reality that my son is likely to encounter, so why not use cartoon characters, anaimation, and the joy of Christmas as a learning tool? I won’t be in school with him if and/or when he gets picked on, and allowing him to see that this is, unfortunately, the way some behave, and rather than protect him and shield him from these realities, having him shocked that they occur, I use those classics as a tool to prepare him. Not to mention the fact that our entire family enjoys them. AND… having seen those classic Christmas specials every year for the past 25+ years, I seem to have made it through….

By: Joanne Mason

Joanne Mason — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:52:09 +0000

My favorite, hands down, is “A Charlie Brown Christmas” – and all the Charlie Brown cartoons. My nephew and I used to act out scenes from the Christmas special for our family. And I think there’s just as much in there to amuse adults as there is for children. Like when Lucy comments (I’m paraphrasing) “We all know Christmas is one big commercial racket. It’s run by a big Eastern syndicate, you know.”

But don’t get me started on Rudolph! Like your sister, I posted a status update about Rudolph this week:

“Do you think all of the other reindeer would have accepted Rudolph if there hadn’t been that foggy Christmas Eve? Did they just like him because they wanted something out of him? Couldn’t Rudolph have just flipped them the bird and said “screw you, all-of-the other-reindeer, I’m not helping you after you’ve been so mean.”? Or was Rudolph the bigger reindeer, showing compassion and maturity?”

It’s been quite a discussion! Someone said he thought Rudolph was being noble. Another said that Santa was nice to Rudolph, so he pulled the sleigh for Santa alone and not the others. But I don’t know. I’m still bothered by the whole story, myself.

By: MarthaandMe

MarthaandMe — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 22:10:02 +0000

I’ve always thought these specials were a bit rough for kids. I remember not enjoying them when I was a child.

By: Joene

Joene — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:02:03 +0000

Hi fellow FLXer. I’m a Charlie Brown nut through and through. My husband loves the Grinch, and our kids grew up watching both. All are now adults, but we did limit their TV watching when they were younger.

By: Shari G

Shari G — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 01:41:22 +0000

The only one I am familiar with is the Charlie Brown Christmas. While I think that the Charlie Brown kids speak in a fresh/rude way and are not at all PC, I still think they are harmless and fun. As for adult movies, I agree that children should not be exposed to violence. I can’t understand why some people are so afraid to let their kids see nudity but yet guns and killing are OK. Nudity is natural, guns are not. I am not saying kids should see inapropriate naked images, I am just saying that if I had to choose between my child seeing nudity or violence I would choose the nudity any day.

By: sheri

sheri — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:55:03 +0000

I never thought about it but you are right! My favorite was Frosty the Snowman (the very old one) and Rudolph. I remember the abominable snowman vividly, he made quite an impact on me.
I think the diversity is good for our children to learn about.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:52:07 +0000

Rudolph has got to be my favorite.

Rudolph an outsider; he doesn’t fit in with the “in crowd.” I related that aspect of the story. He goes on a journey that shows him regardless of how mean others can be that he can be special by just being himself. It’s a powerful message IMHO. Sure, they represent challenges that seem unfair (i.e., a Santa that allows discrimination to go on in his own backyard), but that’s what life is about, overcoming challenges and finding your way inspite of (or because of) them.