![]() But in the actual work of Jean Shepherd, the radio raconteur and author who first wrote these stories for radio, magazines, and novels, a darker message is at play that resonates uncannily well today.Īmong other things, Shepherd’s tales are about the role of mass communications and consumerism in American life. ![]() ![]() ![]() To most people, fans and detractors alike, the movie is about nothing more than nostalgia, an idealized look at the pains and pleasures of childhood. The film follows Ralphie Parker and his family - mom, dad (“The Old Man”), and brother Randy - through a holiday season at the tail end of the Great Depression, with the primary plot revolving around Ralphie’s crazy desire for a BB gun, or as he puts it, an “official Red Ryder, carbine action, 200-shot, range model air rifle, with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time.” His longing meets frustration after frustration as adults, including his mother, his teacher, and a department store Santa Claus, tell him, “You’ll shoot your eye out.” Some people love it others hate it and still others see it as part of the anodyne backdrop to the march toward Christmas. ![]() Cable channels TBS and TNT feature the TV marathon “24 Hours of A Christmas Story.” It is a polarizing bit of popular culture. OVER THE WINTER HOLIDAYS, the film A Christmas Story ritualistically plays on television in the United States. ![]()
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