http://thefbomb.org/2012/01/rudolph-the-sexist-reindeer/
So I'm willing to bet quite a few of you have seen this at least once. Personally, I have seen the film several times, but being a child, never noticed the serious social implications. Women are blatantly kept in subservient positions, while men are able to aspire to and compete in the reindeer games, which can be related to a career or business or male-only organization. There are several other flaws which the article doesn't touch on, however. For example, Rudolph is bombarded with demands to conform for a "defect" that he does not consider a defect, much in the same way society is geared towards the able-bodied as we read in the Wendell article. The misfit toys, who are led by a jack-in-the-box who has a stereotypically "gay sounding" voice are all banished to an island because they aren't proper or right, much how homosexuals were often excluded from society in the past (and continue to struggle today). Santa Claus is ruthless and abuses his worker elves much like a plantation owner and slaves or a boss and sweatshop workers, pointing to a clear class struggle. Mrs. Claus sounds Italian as well, which may reference the practice of lower-income foreign women marrying wealthy older white men for economic gain and a way to the States, which is sometimes involved in human trafficking.
The effect of the movie isn't always good either:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmqUDjtbAjs
It looks to me like the little boy doesn't even understand the implications of what he's saying or that it's even inherently wrong and is just trying to tease his sister, as siblings are accustomed to, which demonstrates how children at a young age are indoctrinated to act in certain ways. No one is inherently a sexist, they are taught how to become one.
I always struggle with old classic movies and TV shows like this, and previously blogged about similar problems in Gilligan's Island. I have yet to come to terms with whether or not it is acceptable to continue to watch movies like this, or if there comes a point when we as a society must stop watching them altogether to avoid passing their messages on to future generations.
ReplyDeleteI see no reason to stop watching movies that carry outdated messages like that. I do see where you're coming from though, the real issue isn't the movies, it's our society. If our society would finally accept that the values that those movies encourage are "old" and "wrong," then there would be no reason to discontinue watching. Our issue isn't the old movies with old values, it's the current society with old values. There needs to be an understanding that movies from the 20's or even the 50's will probably be inherently racist, the issue is that there are still people who believe in that racism. With good parenting, there would be a very minimal effect of those movies on the development of kids. People still read Uncle Tom's Cabin and To Kill A Mockingbird, why should movies be any different?
ReplyDeleteI love that you posted this because it reminded me how i thought something like this when i was watching Rudolph this past christmas. I have watched this movie every year for christmas since before i can remember. My mom forces my whole family to watch this together every year. last year i was thinking what a jerk santa claus was for not accepting Rudolph just because his nose glowed. Im sure many other families have this tradition that i do as well and its sad because this movie is sending a bad message to children over and over every year.
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