Plan B Forum

And a perfect opportunity to repost one of my all-time favorite Christmas music videos...

Hit it Lindsey:

For the pagans and agnostics and others that say bah, humbug, to lighten your mood I call your attention to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q113y1ej2SA

'Frosty the Snowman' by the Roches.

snailgate

Lord Jim wrote:

And a perfect opportunity to repost one of my all-time favorite Christmas music videos...

Very nice. But I'm not sure what Green Sleeves has to do with Christmas. Some say Henry VIII composed it for Anne Boleyn - that didn't end well. But there are alternate theories.

EKA, that's What Child Is This?...

A religious Christmas classic...

Here's another version , with the lyrics:

The music is Green Sleeves: later hijacked for What Child is This? As I said, the popular story for a long time was that Henry VIII composed it for Anne Boleyn. Those of a less romantic disposition have suggested that Green Sleeves was a sobriquet for a lady of nocturnal and horizontal employment. I have no idea which legend is true. Either way it's a great tune and played beautifully.

Merry Christmas to all of you, whether or not you're Chinese.

Christmas at a Chinese Restaurant - not just for Jews!













Is this classic Christmas movie now hopelessly politically incorrect?

Yes, I would say so.

The main character displays a gun fetish that certainly wouldn't pass muster in today's world.

BoSoxGal wrote:Is this classic Christmas movie now hopelessly politically incorrect?

Not in the least. First, it depicts people at a particular time and place, acting as people of that time and place did. Second, depicting foreign-born people who struggle with American customs and the English language to comic effect is not inherently racist, and although stereotypical it is an immigrant experience shared by most Americans. Third, there is nothing demeaning or mean-spirited about the roles in this scene; quite the contrary, it is a very sweet silver-lining story.

I grew up listening to Jean Shepherd tell these embellished autobiographical stories every night on WOR. (The Fourth of July story, re-told every year, was an especial favorite of mine.) He was a man who truly loved people -- with all their foibles and vanities and shortsightedness, but always with the capacity to do good and sometimes great things, even if it wasn't exactly the result they had been aiming for. Shepherd's voice is one we could all do with hearing these days; the lightness of his touch in commenting on the human condition is sorely missed.

I agree with Sue but I'm confident there are plenty of people who are offended by that scene nowadays.

ETA: I decided to Google "is the Chinese restaurant scene in a Christmas Story racist?" and discovered how "incredibly racist" many people believe that scene was. There are many articles, Tweets etc.

A few links were to articles about a live musical version that was made in 2017 and it was updated so nobody would be offended. That explains why I never heard about the musical. Nobody was offended.

Quote from the following linked article: "Here’s the original, super offensive version of the song for comparison:"
Rotsa Ruck

Howie Mandel on Political Correctness.

I totally agree with his assessment.

Sue U wrote:

BoSoxGal wrote:Is this classic Christmas movie now hopelessly politically incorrect?

Not in the least. First, it depicts people at a particular time and place, acting as people of that time and place did. Second, depicting foreign-born people who struggle with American customs and the English language to comic effect is not inherently racist, and although stereotypical it is an immigrant experience shared by most Americans. Third, there is nothing demeaning or mean-spirited about the roles in this scene; quite the contrary, it is a very sweet silver-lining story.

I grew up listening to Jean Shepherd tell these embellished autobiographical stories every night on WOR. (The Fourth of July story, re-told every year, was an especial favorite of mine.) He was a man who truly loved people -- with all their foibles and vanities and shortsightedness, but always with the capacity to do good and sometimes great things, even if it wasn't exactly the result they had been aiming for. Shepherd's voice is one we could all do with hearing these days; the lightness of his touch in commenting on the human condition is sorely missed.

That’s my thinking too, and I’m sorry to see so many folks unable to see it that way. Despite the 24 hour marathon airing of the film on cable this year as in many years past, I was dismayed to see the film absent from a number of top holiday films lists I saw published this year, which I could only assume was because of the iconic Chinese restaurant scene, which I think is warm and humorous in a way that offends nobody - except maybe vegans.