Santa is a Jerk

In the 1964 Rankin Bass Christmas special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus was a huge jerk. He actively encouraged discrimination and was self-centered.

Category:

Comedy

Tags:

• Christmas
• holiday
• xmas
• special
• rudolph
• red-nosed
• reindeer

[2ndGenerationGamer]

He was a total Jerk until he got fat again and Ms. Claus was telling him to eat maybe low blood sugar was making him cranky.

[bitzofdataz]

@StarrySuprisee 50 years of a happy childhood memory SHOT TO HELL!!! I bet the producers had a big laugh putting a 'screw you, kiddies' mind %#%% over on us!!!

[sonicwinx77]

If ya ask me every one who isnt rudolph, clarise, hermy, Yukon cornilos, the bumble, or the msifit toys are GREAT BIG JERKS!

[sebulia1]

Considering Rudolph began as part of a retail advertisement gimmick from Montgomery Ward in 1939 (shortly after the Great Depression) it's no wonder Santa is a selfish greedy old man only concerned with what he can exploit and his own bottom line... ;-D

[QuinnnMallory]

@theoriginalbillholt I suppose there is a parallel. One of the tactics of Navy seals is to insert them into hostile territory via an ocean drop. Typically this would be done at low altitude, though, so no need for umbrellas.

[theoriginalbillholt]

@QuinnnMallory Seems to parallel American military tactics, doesn't it?

[theoriginalbillholt]

@QuinnnMallory Interesting, but we all may be over-analyzing this. Look at the very end of this video, which was not commented on in the video text: Charlie-In-The-Box. I dig the dude and always felt sorry for him. Subliminal messages where he's concerned? He sounds gay, says kids don't want a 'Charlie-In-The-Box'. He feels out of place because CHARLIE doesn't want to be in a 'box' (vagina). If the surgery had been available and Hermie were not a dentist, Charlie could have become a hand puppet.

[theoriginalbillholt]

@theoriginalbillholt I might also add that, for as ethically and morally rough 'Rudolph' may appear in parts, it was produced by Rankin and Bass -- Jew and Jew -- people who, one might assume, would be more aware of addressing social and psychological matters with sensitivity, especially in a family-oriented Christmas special. Blacks were still segregated in the American South when 'Rudolph' was released. I always noticed some of the harshness in the script, but I believe it's there for realism.

[theoriginalbillholt]

I was 4 months old when Rudolph was released. I'll still take this over a politically 'correct' society wherein schools acquiesce and alter the words to The Pledge, or only permit 'Holiday' Trees or the 'Spring' Bunny in classrooms. Kids never brought firearms to school because Santa in 'Rudolph' was a bit of a self-absorbed, traditional chauvinist with a smattering of bigotry. 'Rudolph'? Made by people who were born 70 to 100 years ago. I know not to take this too seriously, but be realistic.

[imagineerboi]

1:27 "yeah, how dare you give birth to a child with a physical deformity!"

[donchrysler82]

@TimothyStoll Agreed 100%!

[donchrysler82]

It's funny how one of the all time classic Christmas specials holds probably the worst representation of Santa ever. Even the Grinch was nice enough to give Cindy Lou a glass of water and a pat on the head!