Rudolph the Red nosed reindeer is a corporate shill and tool of THE MAN!!!

[underpants]

http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/rudolph.asp

Rudolph came to life in 1939 when the Chicago-based Montgomery Ward company (operators of a chain of department stores) asked one of their copywriters, 34-year-old Robert L. May, to come up with a Christmas story they could give away to shoppers as a promotional gimmick. (The Montgomery Ward stores had been buying and giving away coloring books for Christmas every year, and May's department head saw creating a giveaway booklet of their own as a way to save money.) May, who had a penchant for writing children's stories and limericks, was tapped to create the booklet.


It might be fitting to close this page by pointing out that, although the story of Rudolph is primarily known to us through the lyrics of Johnny Marks' song, the story May wrote is substantially different in a number of ways. Rudolph was not one of Santa's reindeer (or the offspring of one of Santa's reindeer), and he did not live at the North Pole. Rudolph dwelled in an "ordinary" reindeer village elsewhere, and although he was taunted and laughed at for having a shiny red nose, he was not regarded by his parents as a shameful embarrassment. Rudolph was brought up in a loving household and was a responsible reindeer with a good self-image and sense of worth. Moreover, Rudolph did not rise to fame when Santa picked him out from the reindeer herd because of his shiny nose. Santa discovered the red-nosed reindeer quite by accident, when he noticed the glow emanating from Rudolph's room while delivering presents to Rudolph's house. Worried that the thickening fog — already the cause of several accidents and delays — would keep him from completing his Christmas Eve rounds, Santa tapped Rudolph to lead his team, observing upon their return: "By YOU last night's journey was actually bossed. Without you, I'm certain we'd all have been lost!"

[Burma Jones]

1. I kind of see the Rankin Bass version as representing the following

Rudolph is African American
Hermey is Gay
Yukon Cornelius is the individualistic, cowboy type American
Santa is Corporate America
The Elves are non-unionized workers
The Misfit Toys are the third world
Clarisse is a Northeastern Liberal
The Abominable Snow Monster represents Soviet communism

[StopTheMorans]

3. whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, that's really deep

did you know that one of the elves hangs himself, and if you watch it really closely, you can see him swinging in the background? :P

[Burma Jones]

5. Gimme a Break, I'm on Painkillers today..............

Damn Puppets, they're all out to get me.........

[DS1]

2. I thought they were one in the same

:shrug:

[Nikepallas]

4. True but so is Santa. Does anyone remember the Yes, Virginia

letter? It was a TRUE letter written and The Sun Times did do an editorial that some believed cemented Santa into being a TRUE icon. Before then some people thought of Santa and their where different images of him as like a gnome-like creature but never truly had him deep into the American Psyche.

Also the Artist for Coke-cola gave him the modern look that we all know and love today.

[regularguy]

6. Rudolph the Red-nosed Running-dog!

:)