Thursday, December 22, 2011
starting over on another website pretty soon but i did not want to start off with the first post being a Christmas entry. or anti-Christmas, however you want to look at it.
i have no intention of going all Grouchy Smurf on ya with the "i hate Christmas" vibe. (personally, i feel Grouchy's pain)
i've been thinking about the Grinch lately. and how i totally understand him, up to a certain point. my daughter watched jim carey's version of the How the Grinch stole Christmas quite a lot when she was younger. of course to fill up the hour and a half to a short children's story they have to stretch and flesh out the character with bad jokes and back story.
the more i think about it i'm not so sure the Grinch should have given Christmas back.
now hear me out, oh Suess and Christmas purists.
the idea was that the Grinch was shunned and given every reason to hate the holiday season. and in further story line, when he was finally coming around to the idea of holiday cheer he was again placed in the same circumstances that made him so spiteful in the first place. so he decides to take Christmas away and show everybody an example of how ridiculous they all get every year about the same time.
so he succeeds in stealing snoofs, fuzzles, tringlers and trappings and waits to see how distressed they will be to find out all their Christmasy paraphernalia has disappeared.
but instead! the Who's all sing hand in hand about how great it is that it's Christmas day and being glad (not sad) they still celebrate each other.
they prove to the Grinch and the world that they do not need anything. (as i'm writing this, i'm trying to avoid the terms like "material goods" and stuff like that. i never try to get "preachy" i just like to make a point from time to time.)
now here is where i would like to add the spin to the story.
what if the Grinch did not give Christmas back?
what if he had made more of a permanent point that the Who's themselves were doing a good job making. maybe he did more evil by messing with their heads.
he taught them all a harsh lesson, they responded. then he says, just kidding!! you can have your stuff back. you've been punk'd and all that.
so his point has no staying power. next year it all just starts over again with the materialism (had do use it) and utter insanity that continues to represent the season that is Christmas. or whatever holiday that happens in the winter for you. i could be really mean and push to bring back Saturnalia. but that's a rant for another time.
until then, A FESTIVUS FOR THE REST OF US!
i have no intention of going all Grouchy Smurf on ya with the "i hate Christmas" vibe. (personally, i feel Grouchy's pain)
i've been thinking about the Grinch lately. and how i totally understand him, up to a certain point. my daughter watched jim carey's version of the How the Grinch stole Christmas quite a lot when she was younger. of course to fill up the hour and a half to a short children's story they have to stretch and flesh out the character with bad jokes and back story.
the more i think about it i'm not so sure the Grinch should have given Christmas back.
now hear me out, oh Suess and Christmas purists.
the idea was that the Grinch was shunned and given every reason to hate the holiday season. and in further story line, when he was finally coming around to the idea of holiday cheer he was again placed in the same circumstances that made him so spiteful in the first place. so he decides to take Christmas away and show everybody an example of how ridiculous they all get every year about the same time.
so he succeeds in stealing snoofs, fuzzles, tringlers and trappings and waits to see how distressed they will be to find out all their Christmasy paraphernalia has disappeared.
but instead! the Who's all sing hand in hand about how great it is that it's Christmas day and being glad (not sad) they still celebrate each other.
they prove to the Grinch and the world that they do not need anything. (as i'm writing this, i'm trying to avoid the terms like "material goods" and stuff like that. i never try to get "preachy" i just like to make a point from time to time.)
now here is where i would like to add the spin to the story.
what if the Grinch did not give Christmas back?
what if he had made more of a permanent point that the Who's themselves were doing a good job making. maybe he did more evil by messing with their heads.
he taught them all a harsh lesson, they responded. then he says, just kidding!! you can have your stuff back. you've been punk'd and all that.
so his point has no staying power. next year it all just starts over again with the materialism (had do use it) and utter insanity that continues to represent the season that is Christmas. or whatever holiday that happens in the winter for you. i could be really mean and push to bring back Saturnalia. but that's a rant for another time.
until then, A FESTIVUS FOR THE REST OF US!
