The legend of Rudolph and Santa’s sleigh is charming, if you like that sort of thing, and as long as you don’t believe in it; and it’s kind of fun to be able to rattle off all of Santa’s reindeer. But the song itself has always annoyed me for being a completely unrealistic portrayal of human social interactions. (Perhaps that’s a bit of an unfounded gripe, considering that the song is actually about animals. Okay, okay! But start imposing human characteristics on animals, and it’s impossible to miss the role-playing.)
These beastly little beasts are obviously portraying young children, perhaps at the junior high stage. They have their snobby little pecking order and their exclusive Santa clique going strong, when along comes an outsider who wants to play with them. Not only is it an outsider, though, but it’s a problematic outsider, who sports a very obvious physical abnormality. You just know Rudolph couldn’t be any more of an outcast if he had worn glasses. So far, so standard. But then along comes an authority figure and picks out Rudolph to be Special, and suddenly all the little beasts love him? How ridiculous is that? The sharks circling for blood are only going to be more likely to despise and reject him now that he’s become Teacher’s Pet. Did Santa really think he was doing Rudolph a favour by picking him out for special attentions?
What bothers me about this yarn is that little kids who don’t know any better are going to identify with poor little Rudolph. Who wouldn’t? He’s the underdog, the unlikely hero – of course we’re all rooting for him. But the Santa myth holds out the illusion that the answer to unpopularity lies in securing the attentions of someone important, someone who cares, someone who can elevate you to prominence, at which point social affirmation and adoration will simply pour in. So this insidious little jingle reinforces the notion that it matters what other people think, that it’s important to be liked, and that our self-worth is directly linked to how important and accepted we are in the eyes of our peers. Why can’t the poor little lambs be taught, instead, that their identities are not irrevocably linked to who likes them or to temporal external physical characteristics, but are inextricably rooted in the truth and nature of their Creator? Why set them up to dream about the great Santa tapping them to lead his sleigh and put an end to all their troubles when the Lord of all Creation has already chosen them from before the beginning of time to be His children?
So I guess what really bothers me about this song is that the Santa myth attempts to cover for the stark realities of fallen human nature with humanistic feel-good platitudes about universal love and peace. It’s substituting a false god for the overwhelming greatness and sufficiency of the Creator, and that wears a little thin.
Whew. I don’t know where all that came from. I’m sure it’s a perfectly harmless little jingle.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I had always thought the same thing about Rudolph. However, when I brought it up in years past with males willing to analyze these things, they have thought it was not unreasonable as a depiction of *boys* interacting. The scrawny little runt is always picked on, but then on a hunch the coach puts him in so that he makes a big play for the team, and suddenly he's the hero of the hour. Girls would still snipe, but boys would give him a whack on the back.
Maybe they're right; it still seems a little weird to me.
Wow, so not only does it have a rotten moral (which has bothered me for years, also), but it's chauvinist as well. -- SJ
Hmm, that's an interesting insight. So does that mean that little boys are shallower and more easily swayed/influenced than girls, or that little girls are just meaner and more spiteful than little boys? =)
I think it's just an early indicator that men tend to be more achievement-oriented and women tend to be more relationship-oriented. But neither is bad or good, just different. Everyone is OK! (humming sappy tune)
Post a Comment