Fit for Life: Rudolph = Venison Steak

Saturday, December 12, 2020

Matt Espeut, Health & Lifestyle Contributor

 

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Matt's Stella

When I am home alone, I usually turn on the radio, or television, just for the background sound, so I don’t feel like I’m in a library.

This past week, the movie Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer was on TV, and although I used to watch it every year as a kid, I haven’t really made it a point to watch it in its entirety this season.

So, I left it on, thinking it would put me in a festive mood to hear it in the background.

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As I was doing tasks around the house, I was listening to the show and to my disbelief I realized that in today’s culture, this isn’t an acceptable movie for kids to watch.

As I listened from a distance, I was drawn to the tv. So I rewound it, sat down, and started to watch it again. This time, I grabbed a pen and pad and took notes.

My girlfriend is a therapist, and I am always being reprimanded for saying “politically incorrect” things, so now I recognize what’s “acceptable” in this day and age.

Here is how I analyzed the movie and my interpretation of it today.

As a matter of fact, after reading this, please watch so you can understand where I am coming from and see for yourself why in today’s fragile environment, kids could be given the wrong impression of what’s right and wrong.

In the first segment, when Rudolph was born, they focus the cameras on the family welcoming their new edition. Everyone is standing around the baby reindeer, all proud and happy until his nose lights up. “Whoa”, the dad says, as he takes a step back, “what’s wrong with his nose?”

After a few minutes of discussion, the parents decide they will isolate him with the hopes that the nose will disappear.

This is where I started to analyze the movie.

What parent would do such a thing to their child?

Who would alienate their child because they were born a little different?

 

But wait, it gets worse.

 

Then Santa walks in, acts all proud until the nose lights up, then steps back and HE asks the parents what’s wrong with that nose?

He even tells Rudolph that he better get it together if he ever wants to be on his sleigh team. He confirms with the parents to keep him separated from the group until the nose stops glowing and throws an underhanded threat at the father that he could be cut from the team if he doesn’t figure out a solution.

WTF, even Santa is a a-hole in the movie for condemning the little guy and pressuring the parents for having a slightly different offspring. Talk about a discrimination lawsuit. Santa was lucky there were no ACLU agents around, or he would’ve paid dearly for those remarks.

So, the first solution to stop the glowing was to cover it up with mud, then when that didn’t work, Rudolph was forced to wear a rubber nose. “Have some self-respect, the father told him.”

Talk about putting someone in danger of suffocation. The poor little guy had to learn to breathe through his mouth in order to survive. Where was DCYF? This is a clear example of child endangerment!!

 

So, rubber nose intact, Rudolph goes to play with the other reindeer.

He makes a friend, then when the rubber nose pops off, everyone, even the coach and his friend turn on him and condemn him from the activities.

To me, that’s teaching kids to be disloyal and turn their backs on their friends that don’t conform to being “normal”. The only one that didn’t laugh was his little doe friend, but her parents also forbid her for hanging with Rudolph right in front of him.

Talk about instilling trauma into a youngster and making them feel even more conscious about being different.

In real life this kind of abuse and isolation is the sure way to raise a serial killer or encourage some other psychopathic behavior.

 

Not good lessons here.

Poor leadership prevails all throughout the North Pole.

The next scene takes place in the workshop with the elves.

The lead elf is yelling at Herbie because he isn’t mass producing toys fast enough. “I want to be a dentist; I don’t like to make toys” replied Herbie. “Shame on you for not wanting to make toys”, scoffs the lead elf, and the other elves laugh at him for wanting to be a dentist.

Talk about lack of support and squashing someone’s dreams. Where’s the encouragement and motivation?

Then he dismisses the others for a 10-minute break BUT pulls Herbie’s break time. A HUGH labor law violation.

So, Santa runs a sweat shop, the other elves are haters because one wants to better himself, and the lead elf is an asshole that yells at his team all day long and keeps them from their breaks.

NOT a great work environment and not a lot of great leadership being displayed there.

So, Herbie and Rudolph leave all depressed until they end up in the land of misfit toys.

Now, I used to sell real estate, and I know that it is illegal to steer certain demographics of people to certain areas, so the land of “misfits” is certainly a case of redlining or blockbusting (I forgot the appropriate term, but you get what I mean).

It’s a land of sadness with all the toys singing depressing songs and feeling bad because nobody wants them, and they don’t fit in with everyone else. (Nobody wants a spotted elephant or a train with square wheels)

So, after some time, Rudolph returns all jacked up with a full rack of antlers on his head and is ready to face the music.

Santa, being so stupid and un-resourceful decides to cancel Christmas because of a storm, until he finally realizes that Rudolph has something he needs.

So NOW he turns over a new leaf and makes Rudolph the Team leader.

Duh, you would think that with past experience, and living in the North Pole that Santa would have figured this out in the beginning, before making Rudolph run away.

In conclusion, I need you to understand that I am a believer in tough love. I think kids should learn to fight and protect themselves, and not get participation trophies. We all got black eyes, got into scuffles in school, and came home with cuts and bruises. That’s what being a kid is all about.

I grew up on the streets, had to fight bullies, and at times was the bully. These are things that teach us toughness and resiliency, and how to survive the world we live in.

What I don’t like is bullying from groups and making fun of people for differences they can’t control. Even if a kid tries to be different by wearing unique clothes, and wearing some weird hair do, they don’t deserve to be pushed around or embarrassed.

Although Rudolph prevailed as the hero on the end, I hope that kids watching don’t think it’s ok to make fun, bully, and exclude another from their network just because they are different.

Kudos to Rudolph for NOT playing the victim card and letting his childhood trauma dictate his life. We can all learn from him that by being strong, and fighting back instead of crying poor me, we can all prevail and move to the next level in life.

 

Committed to your success,

Matt

Editor's note - this is an annual column at the holidays, enjoy.

 

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