Peter Billingsley as adult Ralphie Parker in 1973,
from the 2022 film A Christmas Story Christmas,
the official sequel to the classic.
It just occurred to me: A Christmas Story is a better story than Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer -- especially the TV special version.
Rudolph tries to teach the lesson that, "If you're different, it's okay, and you might even get to use your difference for good and be praised for it." Except that's not the lesson it teaches. Instead, it's, "If you're different, the only way you'll get accepted is to catch the luckiest of lucky breaks, and even then, they won't apologize for having ridiculed you for your difference."
Contrast that with what A Christmas Story teaches:
* Guns are bad.
* It's okay to wear glasses. Indeed, if Ralphie wasn't wearing glasses, he would have shot his eye out. In other words...
* In spite of often seeming to be the enemy, sometimes, adults know what they're talking about, and should be trusted.
* Pushing merchandise on a kid is bad. In other words...
* Sometimes, adults CAN'T be trusted.
* Kitsch is okay up to a point, but don't be tacky. (The leg lamp.)
* The only thing a bully respects is power. If you don't stand up to him, and show him you're stronger, he'll never stop. This story takes place in 1940, so the Scut Farkas storyline is an allegory for Hitler and the Nazis. Note that he has two pals, perhaps standing in for Mussolini and Hirohito. (The remake, set in 1973, proves the point: Farkas realized that he was a jerk, and became a better person. So, he wasn't Hitler, he was Germany.)
* Profanity is not necessarily bad. Sometimes, it's even justifiable.
* If you do something wrong, own up to it. Don't blame someone else.
* Control your dog(s).
* A Chinese restaurant will always be a good backup plan.
* And, however flawed a family member might be in your eyes, family is important, especially during holidays.
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