âI like to listen to 104.1 this time of year. Not because I like Christmas music,â junior Ben Nadler said. âBut because I love irony.â Ben, like many students of Ames High School, does not celebrate Christmas. He chooses not to celebrate Christmas because he is a Jewish-American. âIf we [Jewish-Americans] control the media, you would think that we could put some more Hanukkah specials on T.V.â Nadler said. âI just get sick of seeing Charlie Brown and C-list actors like Steve Gutenberg in movies.â The lack of Hanukkah or any non-Christmas religious special is cause for concern. The most recent mainstream non-Christmas holiday special, or NCHS for short, was The Rugratsâ specials âA Rugratsâ Hanukkah,â âA Rugratsâ Passover,â and âA Rugratsâ Kwanzaaâ. The show Rugrats and its producers won the Outstanding Achievement award as part of the 2001 Jewish Image Awards. However, it has been over ten years since the Rugratsâ Hanukkah Special first aired and there have been few attempts of other shows to step in and make another special. âJews [Jewish-Americans] just need a holiday special to call our own.â Nadler said. âThe Rugrats gave a shout out to the Jews, but who is going to trust little kids telling stories about virtue and religion?â âThe Charlie Brown Christmas specials really speak out to my Anglo-American roots.â junior Daniel Lanning said. âWhenever my mom sees them on we gather around the television set and bond over a Charles Schultz classic.â The wisdom of little kids in holiday specials is documented throughout the history of television, with shows on television as early as the television itself. The height of Christmas specials occurred during the early 90âs when classic cartoon shows such as the Angry Beavers and Ren and Stimpy produced shows for audiences of all ages. âAt least I could watch those shows, because the Angry Beavers were hilarious.â Nadler said. âThe quality of Christmas shows really depends on its ability to appeal to more people than just the standard Christian audience. I bet Jews [Jewish-Americans] could make a show about Hanukkah that entertains and informs, something that Charlie Brown could never do.â Hanukkah is not the only underrepresented Holiday in the media today. Shows regarding Kwanzaa, Ramadan, Labor Day, Flag Day and El Dia De Los Muertos are all holidays without recognition. âIt just gets a little annoying when all I see on T.V. are shows directed at Christian audiences. There are just so many good opportunities for a good special about the Festival of Lights, or any other holiday for that matter.â Nadler said. âI, like many other Americans, am in the minority and until I get the same representation on a holiday special as my fellow citizens, I just canât help but feel discriminated against.â
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Take a seat, Christmas: Christmas Steals Holiday Special Spotlight
JESS NELSON
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December 18, 2007
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