A Christmas Story actually wasn’t one of the movies we watched and discussed in the class I led with the junior high and high school boys, but given the season I thought it appropriate to delve into some of the character lessons that can be found in this classic film.
| First let me say that this movie is a favorite for at least two generations of my family, and especially for my mom. She thinks that Ralphie looks a lot like I did at that age, while the era that is depicted is the same as the one when she was that age. I’ve always admired Jean Shepard’s ability to aptly describe the thinking of children without turning it into a caricature. |  |
Secondly, unlike the movies I used in the class to help youngsters learn lessons by watching adults, this is a movie where it’s the youngsters that have the lessons for adults. One of the things that I get out of the movie is that we don’t just see a child’s-eye view of Christmas, but of adults (especially the father) as well.
Ralphie’s dad is a force of nature in his life, amazingly powerful yet unpredictable. His temper tantrums and cursing, while humorously portrayed, can’t help but have an influence on his son’s life. This is certainly illustrated in the incident with the spare tire, but also when Ralphie has finally had enough and takes his frustrations out on the bully, Scott Farkus. (That in itself is a good lesson about how bullies rule through reputation and intimidation but are ill-equiped to deal with the consequences when they push a good man too far, ala The Tin Star). Ralphie knows and fears he has gone over the line, even though he’s probably only acting the way his father would have (why else did it seem so natural for the little brother to cry, “Daddy’s going to kill Ralphie”?).
While I love this movie and don’t mean to draw out it’s darker aspects, there is another lesson that I find myself tripping over all too often, and that is how important it is to realize when your child is offering you a brief opportunity to get inside his or her world and find out what’s important to them. Just like Ralphie’s parents, I’m so wrapped up in my own frame of reference that I don’t realize, until after the fact, when my child has opened herself up to show me something where my acceptance and approval are vital to her (not in terms of getting a specific item, but in knowing she can trust me with her heart). When I’m brusque or dismissive I risk closing a door that I may one day wish I could open but can’t because of all the “you’ll shoot your eyes out” stacked in front of it.
Questions:
- What were the Red Ryder BB guns in your own life, and what did you learn by either getting, or not getting, these?
- What have been the results of “double-dog” dares in your life?
Point to Ponder:
What stories are your children going to tell about you when they grow up?
HOLIDAY BONUS FUNDAMENTALS IN FILM: White Christmas
| This is another movie I always try to watch when it comes on each year at this time. Yeah, it’s sappy and the plot is mainly designed to sketch together a bunch of singing and dancing scenes, but I really enjoy the themes of friendship, loyalty and decency that pervade the story. There’s the friendship between Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye, the respect and concern that they have for their former commanding officer, and the graciousness and maturity displayed in the way the romantic stories are played out, without all the drooling passion and physicality that seems to be required to show “love” in films today. |  |
I love the naturalness of each characters desire to do good to others, and Rosemary Clooney’s character’s willingness to put her principles ahead of her heart when she (erroneously) thinks the man she loves has behaved poorly. Yeah, they don’t make them like that any more, and more’s the pity. If you haven’t seen this movie before, or haven’t seen it for awhile, take a look. It’s probably showing right now on a channel near you.
