MovieChat Forums > How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966) Discussion > I wonder if people these days go 'wtf' w...

I wonder if people these days go 'wtf' when-


The Who's happily come out of their houses, and just start singing without a care that all their gifts and Christmas whatnot are gone.

I couldn't help but think that somewhere there's some kid going, 'Dad, why are they happy? They don't have any presents and all their stuff is gone! They're so stupid!'


Ron Howard's take on 'The Grinch' actually did have the Grinch's hope of them going 'boo-hoo' come to fruition before the Who's saw the light.

"I...Drink...YOUR...MILKSHAKE!!" -Daniel Plainview, "There Will Be Blood"

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I'd make a safe bet that they would. No offense to generation X as I'm a part of it myself, but most kids are dumb downed nowadays. Actually society as a whole pretty much is. There's no subtlety in movies anymore, "reading between the lines" no longer exists. Everything has to always be spelt out to the audience or they just don't get it.


Also, American society is very materialistic. In the past 20 years our culture has become really obsessed with celebrities and all the trappings that go with the fame that they have. We've put celebrities on a pedestal, practically worshipping people like Paris Hilton and trying to imitate their lavish lifestyles. And we're starting to put a higher value on all these luxury items than appreciating the simple pleasures of life. So in that respect as well getting across the message of the movie I think would be more difficult.


I know its natural for every generation to look back on their childhoods idyllically while frowning upon how kids grow up today. But since I was a kid in the 80's things really have changed dramatically. I mean kids today really have a lot of pressure in "keeping up with the Joneses". The video games today cost a fortune, along with all the other electronic gadgets they have out (mp3 players, psp, laptops for taking notes in class.) Not to mention almost every kid (I've seen them as young as 7) are packing cell phones. I mean when I was a kid classic Nintendo was just being introduced, there wasn't many expensive electronic toys to speak of except for Teddy Ruxbin or Gameboy which was just being introduced and a hell of a lot cheaper than psp, and we used a good old fashioned paper notebook to take notes in class and there were certainly no cell phones. Then you have parents throwing over the top birthday parties for kids these days, always trying to top the one before it. I think the message of the movie would most certainly be harder to convey.







In some ways I think the downturn of the economy is the best thing that could have happened to us. We're getting back to basics. I think its been the biggest wake up call since 9/11.


Last year was one of the best Christmases I've had in a long while, instead of keeping track of who was buying what for whom and how much one spent on the other, we agreed to buy each other just one gift each ($50 or less limit) and leave the focus on the traditions of Christmas (decorating the tree, preparing the feast, listening to Christmas cds)instead of the gift giving.




Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to.

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When I watch this now, I can't help but think of my experience sitting in a
classroom of second grade children a few years ago. One little boy was telling
the rest of the class about his CCD class, where he was practicing for his
upcoming first Holy Communion; he was really excited about it, asking the class,
"Do you know what's so great about it?" The teacher, thinking he was going to
say something about Jesus, spirituality, etc., smiled sweetly and asked, "Yes, what's special about it?" He replied, "That's the day all my relatives give me
cards with lots of money in them!" The teacher quickly moved on to the next kid for show-and-tell.
Yeah, I think the message of this classic becomes foggier and foggier as years
go by.



I'm not crying, you fool, I'm laughing!

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[deleted]

While I can see the point about the true meaning of Christmas, the Grinch didn't just take Christmas stuff. He took everything (food, logs for fires, etc.), leaving only hooks and some wires on the walls. And it wasn't just what he stole but the whole idea of somebody coming into your home uninvited like that and victimizing you. I know from experience what that's like.

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Maybe that's part of the point though. Anybody could just say 'oh sure, take the presents, I don't care', but here they seem to have truly lost everything, but it doesn't matter to them because they're all still together.

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Since we only see (and hear) this part of the film from the Grinch's POV we have no way of knowing how the Whos initially react. The may have cried or screamed against the fates for a moment before they went out to the tree. The
first thing the Grinch hears, however, is the Whos singing (which we learned earlier in the film is the thing the Grinch hated most of all)

And yet how often have we see people pull together and try to make a good holiday after a huge tragedy...and as the above poster states, they were all there and still had each other...

It is not our abilities that show who we truly are...it is our choices

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No. I think the Who's do what they did first because first and foremost, it's what the holiday is all about. The presents and the ensuing celebration is a celebration of the birth of Christ(or whatever deity the Who's worship). But even if the material stuff is gone, they don't lose sight of what the day is all about. It's then that the Grinch gets it.

And Fred, we are in total agreement.

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[deleted]

Extremely well said, FredGailey.

"A revolution is a fight to the death between the future and the past."
- Fidel Castro

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I wish we could downscale Christmas, as far as gift spending is concerned. It's not just out of control, it's in orbit. But people would be disappointed. We're trapped in a cycle of bigger and bigger Christmas spending. If it was just me, I'd be happy with a couple of reasonable gifts and lots of decorations, music, hanging out together, etc.

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I hear you loud and clear non that one. I distinctly remember when I was in my mid 20s where I noticed the amount we all started spending on each for Christmas jumped quite a bit. In the years since it has jumped even more .. Christmas these days is more about stress and spending a lot of money for young people that already have everything. My niece last year got a $1,000 phone from her parents for Christmas - she got many other gifts from everyone else . It is pretty absurd yet I see no stopping this .

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My 8-year old doesn't have that reaction...although that's probably because she has seen the movie so many times that she knows that the Grinch gives everything back. She would have a hard time if she didn't get presents.

If we woke up on Christmas(or any other day) and found out we had been robbed, I'd forget about the presents and be more creeped out that some freak was standing over my child while she was sleeping. Of course, the Grinch isn't like that at all. I was just saying if that happened in real life.

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I think if that happened in real life people would be concerned that someone was in their houses, but the overall message is more about that despite losing everything, not just the presents, they stick together and are grateful they have each other. Just like in communities with natural tragedies like tornadoes, which is pretty much how the Grinch flew through there.

Please paint something cool today...Don't paint the sun anymore!

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Late reply, but

Ron Howard's take on 'The Grinch' actually did have the Grinch's hope of them going 'boo-hoo' come to fruition before the Who's saw the light.


Which illustrated that he did not understand the moral of the story.

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They had each other. Sometimes that's all we have.

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They came out of their homes singing because the message of Christmas isn't about gifts.. Gifts are materialistic when compared to the Spirit of Christmas and that's what this classic cartoon's message is that appears to have gone over the new generations heads

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if the Who's had their belongings stolen in this day and age they would exit outside their homes and start rapping instead

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