Millennials recently bashed ABC'S annual airing of 'A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving,' calling it out on racist grounds. As part of my research, I have used the now-semi-forgotten Journal of Cartoon Overanalyzations. In that research, I have learned that these allegations are NOT new, and have been around the past ten years, since at least Thanksgiving 2008.
Look at this picture.
Seated at the head of the table, Linus Van Pelt. One of the more knowledgeable characters in the Peanuts series and Charlie Brown's best friend. He plays the role here of unofficial officiant of the dinner party. Seated to his left, Sally Brown, Charlie's sister who crushes on Linus. Next to her is seated her brother and main Peanuts character, Charlie Brown. I'm not an expert on fanciful dinner seating schemes, but I find it a natural choice for these first three choices from the character's perspective. Sally would want to be close to either Linus or Charlie. Charlie is in the role of safety net and Linus is goal.
Next to Charlie's left is seated Patricia 'Peppermint Patty' Reichardt. She has a similar crush on Chuck. Seated next to Patty on her left is Snoopy, Charlie's loyal dog. He has a rich and vibrant imagination for a dog. I think he gets it from interacting with Charlie, the rest of the Brown's, and their friends. As man's best friend he protects these children from non-family and any non-friend dangers. Seated to Snoopy's left, at the end of the table, is Marcie. Marcie is credited with no surname. JCartAnal had more to say about relationships between some of the characters, especially Patty and Marcie. Knowing of the article, I believe in the protective nature of Snoopy's placement at the table. All are welcome at this table of thanks, even if they do us harm in the future. Come peaceably, truthfully, and faithfully to this table and you WILL NOT be turned away. This Thanksgiving special is about knowing your characters and knowing your audience. The characters are mostly placed before us. The audience comes after.
Ultimately, we have Franklin. Again, an uncredited surname. Who is Franklin? I don't believe he is a foe. I do believe Franklin is clearly a friend of the same level as the other children at the table. He has a unique advantage to view the seating and the relationships they bring to the table. Much the same as we the viewers have perspective of the WHOLE TABLE. What would Franklin's view be like from his perspective as an onlooker? I think it would be close to that of The Last Supper. Except, nobody is going to be crucified here. None of the viewers are expected to be crucifiers or to be crucified. It is Thanksgiving. A time to give thanks to our LORD and His FATHER in Heaven for what we have been given in our lives.
Thanks to 'Social Justice Warriors', again unnamed, we are now supposed to believe that Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving, his first with friends and people who are mostly not family, is a racist spectacle. We view this Thanksgiving program not only from our own perspectives, but also from Franklin's perspective. Instead of The Last Supper, what we view is The First Supper. The first truly shared experience between the friends and potential significant others, if one has creative mind. Franklin was not forcibly added to the table. No law was needed to be passed to ensure his safety at the table. He came as a friend, reciprocating back the same peace, truth, and faithfulness. This special was produced in 1973, a time when America was coming off of horrific racial violence just a few years prior. The worst was over, but hardships remained, as they do today. Here we are, arguing whether or not Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang are racists.
Were Charles Schulz, Bill Melendez, or Phil Roman racists? Charles 'Charlie Brown' Schulz ranges from definitely not, but would probably acknowledge SJW feels while maintaining the televised specials were different from the comic strip. I do believe he'd be more inclusive, adding more African-American characters, Native Americans, LGBT, etc. There is neither any evidence of racism from Melendez or Roman. Certainly they would have produced any 'modern-day'-type script from Schulz if the script was good and the characters workable. Know your characters, know your audience. We ALL have a table. Come peaceably, truthfully, and faithfully you WILL sit at this table. You WILL acquire the RIGHT SUSTENANCE and be FOREVER THANKFUL. Schulz believed in the goodness of people and Social justice Warrior Millennials can't believe he was trying to pull the covering from their eyes.
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