I was thinking about the hygiene video we watched part-of: Shy Guy. (Any relationship with the Nintendo character?). While we were watching that, I found myself thinking about Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, the old Rankin and Bass Classic. Remember how Rudolph sang, "Why am I such a mis-fit, I am not just a nit wit," etc.? I was wondering during class, and thought I would explore a bit now, whether that whole film was kind of a stop-motion, Christmas, hygiene film. If I do this right, below is a clip in which Rudolph and Herbie (the misfit elf who doesn't like to make toys) team up together and set off on a dangerous journey. (Please watch clip now.)
Did you notice the ominous portents? The log that fell in the crevasse, and the ornaments that fell off the tree and broke? Foreshadowing?
For those of you who remember this Christmas special, in it, Santa, Rudolph's coach, and Rudolph's best friend Fireball, are all kind of jerks. Each of them, in their own way, make it clear that reindeer who are different should be outcasts.
In the end, even though, by their absence, the misfits put loved ones in danger, it seems to me that they wind up being the heroes of the film, and it's not by emulating the popular (Fireball) and powerful (Santa and coach). In fact, I think that the popular and powerful are transformed by the misfits. Santa comes to see that Rudolph's nose is his savior in getting through the fog, and it is Rudolph, not Rudolph's Dad (who was ashamed of him), who helps save his mother and girlfriend. Plus, Yukon Cornelius (the ultimate loner) and Herbie end up humbling the Abominable (a.k.a. the Humble Bumble), taming him, and he is the one who puts the star on the top of the North Pole Christmas tree!
I think maybe the developers of children's programming during the late 60's and early 70's were rethinking the hygiene message of "fitting in." Maybe being "in-de-PEN-dent" wasn't so horrible after all...
Monte,
ReplyDeleteYes, I noticed the ominous portents. Yes, I noticed the log falling and the ornaments breaking. Yes, that is definitely foreshadowing. Yes, I just answered all the rhetorical questions in your post.
I do find it very interesting that educational videos shown at school encouraged students to fit in, while films they were exposed to at home told them that it's okay to be different. If I was a kid at that time, I wouldn't know what the heck to think. Personally, I'm fine with being different; it gives you a lot of interesting stories to tell.
It makes me wonder when mainstream society decided that being independent was the popular thing to do, especially because those who are independent are usually seen as unpopular. Was there a particular event that caused this change of heart? It's very obvious that the strange underdogs are praised in this day and age: look at the plot of any TV show or movie.
Anyway, those are my thoughts on the matter. Nice job finding and embedding that clip into your post. It brought me back...
-Stephanie
Monte,
ReplyDeleteI really like your thoughts and I think you're right that it's good for people to be independent of what might be the main stream culture that's within any school. I think that part of our job as educators is to facilitate a climate where it's ok for students to follow their own beat and figure out who they are and what they believe in without being pressured from their classmates. I think that's a huge part of high school and the overall maturation process and something that we need to work to cultivate.
Monte,
ReplyDeleteThank God for independent films! Thank God for independent people! I love this film and am so glad you brought a positive example of educational film up. One of my favorite childhood examples of this is Sesame Street-talk about a visionary program for independent people and their children. Kermit and Rudolph for president!
Monte,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great connection, comparing Shy-Guy to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Thank you for taking me back to one of my childhood favorites! :). Nice job on embedding that media file, too! Just wanted to know that you are bring a lot to our cohort, and I'm glad you are in the program. Your kids must be so proud :)
~Hillary
I don't know that this is the answer to Monte's question, but most of what I've read about the hygiene films indicates that their popularity crested in the mid-50's. The argument that was made to explain this is that movies had started to depict young people searching for who they were (think James Dean and Natalie Wood in "Rebel Without a Cause" or Marlon Brando in "The Wild One"), these characters often didn't value fitting in, and in general there was no longer a novelty in seeing teens on the screen (something that the mental hygiene films took advantage of).
ReplyDeleteThe mental hygiene films were ALL about moral guidance (what we might label as indoctrination), which raises the question about what are the overt and less overt messages kids are getting today? Thinking about this is especially important in that we each have to think about what kinds of messages we want to convey, both explicitly and implicitly (via modeling, for example) to our students. Of course, as a parent you've thought about this a great deal, Monte, but some of our most important decisions as teachers have to do with what we determine to be the teachable moments (a good many of which won't have to do with out subject) and how we take advantage of them.