Kermit Hovey

The 1964 stop-motion animation portrayal of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" from the perspective of 55 years later might profitably be viewed as a historically grounded socio-cultural commentary. In 2019 as you scan social-media critiques of the program from recent years people decry the bullying, emotional abuse, sexism, able-ism, exclusionism, racism, and more. These issues were then, and all too often are still now, part of society and of real lives. Yet, this portrayal of a sadly dysfunctional social reality does not condone it, but subjects it to challenge. The hero of the story and his band resist the pressures of conformity and oppression. They form a community of support, resistance, and transformation. The over-arching cultural matrix of work/family/peer relationships within which the story unfolds is often un-enlightened and cruel. However, Rudolph and his accepting cohort develop and exercise agency to transform the nature of those relationships within themselves, their band, and, to some extent, the world around them. This strategy of first coping with injustice and then transforming the larger systems and patterns inflicting that injustice represents an all but universal archetype. Find a group of support and shared understanding, then work together. Together you can "be the change", and "...change the world." (Grounded in exhortations attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, "Be the change you wish to see" and to Margaret Mead,“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”) IS it perfect as drama, animation, or social commentary? Of course not. But for an entertaining children's story and a challenging morality play willing to portray & critique problematic norms this "Rudolph" guides us surprisingly ahead of its time.