Downsizing Charlie Brown’s Christmas

		<a href='http://ads.truthdig.com/banners/www/delivery/ck.php?n=a9cd87eb&cb=690338984' target='_blank'><img src='http://ads.truthdig.com/banners/www/delivery/avw.php?zoneid=1&cb=690338984&n=a9cd87eb' border='0' alt='' /></a>	February 20, 2012 Log in / Register
			Text Size

Past Events Upcoming Events

Acts of Love

Ideological Hypocrites

OWS Calls for May Day Strike

When Iran Talks Back

Krugman to Playboy: Economic Crisis 'Doesn't Have to Be Happening'

Acts of Love
By Chris Hedges

Ideological Hypocrites
By E.J. Dionne, Jr.

The Lowdown on Fracking
By Lena Groeger, ProPublica

The Best, Most Revealing Reporting on the Foreclosure Crisis
By Blair Hickman, ProPublica

Santorum Staffer Links Obama, Islam Via ‘Slip’

Early Astronauts Were Lucky to Survive the Unknown

Mmmm, Test-Tube Hamburgers

Pro-Romney Super PAC Burns Through $14M in January

Nominate Our Next Truthdigger of the Week

OWS Calls for May Day Strike

Bill Moyers: Attack Ads Inside and Out

Taking Citizens United Back to the Supreme Court

‘Left, Right & Center’: Cars, Contraception and China

Occupy Fashion Week

Julian Assange a Part of ‘Simpsons’ Milestone

Déjà Pooh
By Mr. Fish

This Gay Man Represented the President
By Mel White

Whither ‘Colbert Report’?

The Questions Education Reformers Aren’t Asking

Dig led by Mike Rose

Financial Meltdown 101

A Dig compiled by the editors of Truthdig

Downsizing Charlie Brown’s Christmas

Wikimedia Commons

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” first aired 44 years ago on CBS.

The cartoon “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is a classic that offers us an endearing and memorable message against yuletide commercialism. But ABC must not have been paying attention, as it cut several key scenes from the program to add even more space for—you guessed it—advertisements.

The Herald Bulletin

It was 44 years ago when “A Charlie Brown Christmas” debuted on CBS. One of the most beloved Christmas shows has Charlie worrying about not being excited as the holiday approaches, which leads Linus to question his friend’s sanity. But Charlie’s upset about the commercialization of Christmas. Even Snoopy decorates his dog house in a holiday-lights contest.

Lucy suggests that Charlie direct the school Christmas show after which chaos reigns (to the great music by Vince Guaraldi). Charlie Brown tosses down his megaphone and asks if anyone knows the meaning of Christmas. Linus takes center stage to recite the story of the holy night and the birth of Jesus, from Luke 2:8-14, ending with, “Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth peace, and good will toward men.”

Charlie Brown is happier, and so are we, though CBS was scared to death to air it in 1965 because of the overt references to the real reason for the season. If Christmas was overcommercialized in 1965, it is more so today. Look at the airing of the show itself, which was on ABC Tuesday night. Many scenes from the original were cut, including one of Charlie Brown writing a letter to Santa for his sister Sally, Lucy asking Schroeder if he can play any Christmas songs on his piano and the gang tossing snowballs and catching snowflakes on their tongues. Of course, these scenes don’t propel the plot but do capture what it’s like to be a kid at Christmastime.

In one of the great ironies, the show was edited so ABC could fit in four blocks of advertising, which did, in effect, overcommercialize a show whose theme was overcommercialization.

Read more

More Below the Ad

Advertisement

TAGS: abc advertisements capitalism christmas commercialism editing

Related Entries

February 17, 2012 Will We Choose a Chinese Future?
February 15, 2012 Apple’s China Comes Home to Haunt Us
February 15, 2012 ‘Losing’ the World: American Decline in Perspective, Part 1
January 26, 2012 The Economic Normalcy Bias
January 7, 2012 One Last Christmas Wish

Email to a friend

Get truth delivered to
your inbox every week.

Previous item: Springsteen Pipes Up for Gay Marriage in New Jersey

Next item: Richard Ellis on Dinosaurs

Comments

Are you a Truthdig member yet? Login now, or register with Truthdig.

By quigley, December 12, 2009 at 1:51 pm Link to this comment

It is important for people to tune out the major networks - their day is
over. The reason why I do not complain about paying my cable bill is
because of the freedom I have to reject the controlling and censorial
antics of ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, et al.
And - like most others - who watches network TV when you can get it
on DVD or HULU for pennies?

Report this

By Anarchist, December 12, 2009 at 1:35 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Stopped watching ABC a decade ago. So should everyone else.

Report this

By The Old Hooligan, December 12, 2009 at 10:07 am Link to this comment

If I want to watch the Charlie Brown Holiday Specials I have them here on Blu-ray, thanks very much.

Report this

By C. Reott, December 12, 2009 at 9:52 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

first time reader. Great article - “Our Murderer’s in the Sky”

Report this

By Samson, December 11, 2009 at 10:00 am Link to this comment

Why on earth are you watching ABC?

Surely there’s an uncensored, commercial-free version available on the internet? Or available on DVD?

But whatever you do , just turn off the danged corporate channels!

Report this

By frank1569, December 11, 2009 at 8:30 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

ABC has been doing that since the year they acquired the rights. This is nothing new at all.

However, thanks to Hulu, we can all enjoy the full CBXmas Special with only 1 minute and 30 secs worth of ads.

Report this

By Textynn, December 10, 2009 at 1:30 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

These networks have so many commercials that sometimes I’ll be sitting there so long I will actually forget what Im watching. Then later I’ll realized I just walked out in the middle of a movie and didn’t realize it.

Do your kids a favor and buy these old favorite vids at the second hand store for a buck. It’s worth it and no mind control or Blue Hippo scam commercials to ruin it.

Report this