Sunday, December 15, 2013

Exploiting Christmas

                                                 

A couple of decades ago we were complaining that Christmas had become too commercial.  We lamented the stores breaking out Christmas decorations before we finished with Thanksgiving.  Then we began seeing Christmas promotions before the kiddies had even finished "trick or treating"  '

Little did we know, those early Christmas promotions can now be deemed "the good ole days".  The exploitation of Christmas has now reached all new highs.

I love Christmas movies so I always get excited when I begin to see TV listings for Rudolph and Charlie  Brown and It's A Wonderful Life.  Tragically, what I am seeing is the broadcast of "holiday movies" that have little to do with Christmas.

This bastardization of Christmas began a few years ago on the Lifetime Channel.  This female oriented channel has been exploiting the Christmas theme to promote romance movies; the plot of which has little to do with Christmas at all.  One need only peruse your latest TV Guide to find such silly titles as "Marry Christmas", "A Husband For Christmas", "A Boyfriend for Christmas", etc.  Lest anyone be offended, the producers of these movies take great care to never mention Christ in any of these blockbusters.

Alas, the women's book industry has enthusiastically joined the fray.  Go to Amazon books and note all of the Christmas themed romances.  This year the romance publishers have taken this to frantic levels of ecstasy as we are seeing such Sado-Masochism titles as "Bound For Christmas", which details the joy of bringing the joy of ropes and whips to the holiday experience.  In Amazon's "top forty" one can find no less than a dozen sex-charged Christmas books to ramp up the old Mistletoe tradition.

Given the latest trends, how long will it be before we begin to see some re-makes of our old Christmas favorites?  Perhaps "Miracle At the Bordello?".  How about George Bailey, instead of lassoing the moon, chooses instead to use that rope for more erotic purposes on an adoring Donna Reed?  Shall "Holiday Inn" gather greater viewership if we turn it in to a house of ill repute?

Sigh...I've got to go now.  

Marry Christmas....:)


5 comments:

PammieJean said...

I know what you mean because that channel is one I watch sometimes. My daughter calls the movies 'cheesy'. Just saw one the other day called "Road to Christmas"...I think...they sort of all sound the same. But I sort of liked it only because one of the main characters was a sculptor who had all his work hidden away in the barn.

Books? Eh....I'm still working on many my mom left. Had to give away a couple hundred. She liked the obscure, unknown authors. Many have "discard" stamped inside which she bought for 10 cents at the library's book sale.

A Modest Scribler said...

Tonight's Hallmark Fare is 'Mistletoe in Manhattan' which followed If You Believe and, earlier "12 Men for Christmas" about a gal having to get 12 men to pose for beefcake photos for a Christmas calendar....sigh.

PammieJean said...

Well, my all time favorite classic is A Christmas Story. That's the one with the little boy with glasses who wants a BB gun. The scene where he tries on the pink footy bunny pajamas his grandma made is so funny. And so is when the dogs steal the turkey and they have to go out for Chinese food. I try to watch it every Christmas.

Ken said...

My hat's off to PammieJean!! Let's not ruin it for ourselves. We've allowed this evil to permeate every corner of our lives. I constantly see trash in every form of media available, but conversely there are those who, like myself and Mr. Sense here and most of us reading this blog who look for, and find the same good old things we have found all our lives. Those things that remind us that this is the season Christ was born with the primary mission of saving us all from the evil we see all around us. Saving us from ourselves, we are all susceptible to the temptations of the evil surrounding us. I prefer to say no to it and keep on the "Good Path" so to speak. I love Christmas and this country for the most part still remembers why we celebrate it. I'll spend the rest of the year fighting all those forces who are trying to destroy our great country and all our wonderful traditions, we might be losing our country but I'll never lose my soul to those who want to destroy me!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!

A Modest Scribler said...

Well said, Ken…and Merry Christmas to you and yours….but you may wish to read tomorrow's blog because I have yet another Christmas bone to pick…:)