In general, I enjoy the Christmas specials that work their way into TV schedules between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. Even though some of them display attitudes that are a bit outdated, for the most part their charm shines through. There is, however, one very odious exception - Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer.
Some would have you believe that Rudolph is a story of outsiders triumphing over adversity. They would be missing the point. The heroes of Rudolph, both the titular character and his orthodontia-obsessed friend, don't triumph so much as they find themselves grudgingly accepted once the majority realizes that they can benefit from them in some way.
Most of the characters in the program are disparaging of Rudolph and his nose, but the majority of my contempt is reserved for Santa. Rather than being accepting of Rudolph's difference, Saint Nick is so focused on notions of conformity and racial purity that he more or less encourages others to make fun of Rudolph driving him away into the harsh wilderness. Despite all that the young reindeer goes through, Santa only accepts him into his inner circle when he realizes that Rudolph's mutation can be exploited to his advantage. For this reason, not to mention a generally weak repertoire of songs, Rudolph is the one Christmas special for which I make no effort to hide my disgust for the way it emphasizes all the wrong values.
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