Working on the latest Books & Shit I made a decision that I’m not entirely thrilled with. You see there’s another reason why Hollywood might feel shy around Thanksgiving themed films. The holiday doesn’t have the best image in the United States anymore.
For the last several decades there’s been a growing sensitivity to the mistreatment of Native Americans. This is a good thing because it acknowledges a significant historical tragedy caused by a variety of abuses. Thanksgiving, in that new perspective, has come to represent a lot of that mistreatment. I would say that’s mainly because Thanksgiving 1621 often portrays colonists and Native Americans as breaking bread together. There’s an implication of a rosier relationship than will quickly be the case.
Even if there is any historical truth to a congenial first Thanksgiving the rest of United States history grimly diminishes it. As such, the holiday has become a focal point for those trying to raise awareness of Native Americans’ historical suffering. I should have mentioned all this in the podcast, however, I self-censored due to a concern about referencing it in passing since the topic deserves more attention than a few sentences before carrying on to a comedy about goofball suburbanites. Though that said, I also made the mistake of only realizing after this episode was complete that, although the focus is on Home for the Holidays, I was mainly talking about the holiday itself. Consequently, information about Native Americans, their relation to Thanksgiving, and the growing public acknowledgement of their tragic connection to U.S. history should’ve been included.
For the last several decades there’s been a growing sensitivity to the mistreatment of Native Americans. This is a good thing because it acknowledges a significant historical tragedy caused by a variety of abuses. Thanksgiving, in that new perspective, has come to represent a lot of that mistreatment. I would say that’s mainly because Thanksgiving 1621 often portrays colonists and Native Americans as breaking bread together. There’s an implication of a rosier relationship than will quickly be the case.
Even if there is any historical truth to a congenial first Thanksgiving the rest of United States history grimly diminishes it. As such, the holiday has become a focal point for those trying to raise awareness of Native Americans’ historical suffering. I should have mentioned all this in the podcast, however, I self-censored due to a concern about referencing it in passing since the topic deserves more attention than a few sentences before carrying on to a comedy about goofball suburbanites. Though that said, I also made the mistake of only realizing after this episode was complete that, although the focus is on Home for the Holidays, I was mainly talking about the holiday itself. Consequently, information about Native Americans, their relation to Thanksgiving, and the growing public acknowledgement of their tragic connection to U.S. history should’ve been included.
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