Posted on 11/22/2018 4:30:29 PM PST by Simon Green
Tonight, ABC aired the classic animated Peanuts special A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and while many fans tuned in for the warmth of nostalgia to kick off their holiday season, many came away with a less than fuzzy feeling when it came to how one specific character was treated.
The special centers around a somewhat impromptu holiday meal that happens when Peppermint Patty invites herself and several others over to Charlie Brown and Sally's house for Thanksgiving despite the fact that they're preparing to go to their grandmother's for the feast. After a little help from Linus, who convinces Charlie they can have two Thanksgivings, as well as Woodstock and Snoopy who do the cooking, a friends' Thanksgiving is on.
The meal -- buttered toast, pretzel sticks, popcorn, jelly beans, and an ice cream sundae -- is served at a table in the backyard, and while all's well that ends well with everyone ending up invited to Charlie and Sally's grandmother's meal, it's the seating arrangements at this unusual dinner that has some fans on social media heated. Franklin, the one and only black friend in the group, is seated by himself on one side of the table while the other is crowded with the rest of the friends. On top of that, he's sitting in a lawn chair as opposed to everyone else's proper furniture.
It's... not a good look, which viewers were quick to point out. Many felt the scene was in bad taste at a minimum and racist at worse, with most settling into the idea that the special simply hasn't aged well. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving first aired on November 20, 1973 on CBS where it aired every year until 2000. In 2001, it moved to ABC with the rest of the Peanuts specials and has continued to air annually.
There’s a remedy for that, and it’s called war.
They are mostly on one side of the table for the same reason that the people in the last supper are all on the same side of the table... so you can see them... if you put them evenly on both sides, then you have one head on the left and one head on the right and some noses sticking out, or you have to distort the table.
People who have programmed themselves to do so, can see racism in any scenario. It’s a miserable way to live. Which is why they are always outraged.
So what? Who cares if it ‘upset’ some viewers?
I assumed the app was made from the original video. It matches the original so closely in so many respects that it made no sense to have done otherwise. I was wrong.
The sure way to never be offended by what you see or hear...blind yourself and stick a skewer in your ears. An at-home solution. Sick of this s**t.
If it had been made in the 60’s I would have said they had concerns about getting the show cleared on Southern stations.
That’s actually Charlie Brown’s sister, not Lucy.
This reminds me of the bulk of hate crime reports that turn out to be fabricated.
It’s not the racism that shocked me, it was the cannibalism. Woodstock was eating turkey with Snoopy at the end and enjoying it! It sent chills up my spine. I’ll be traumatized for life. (/sarc)
The right side of the table already has a girl, boy, lesbian and dog.
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