The Definitive Holiday Eco-Viewing Guide
Nov 26, 2009
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Happy Thanksgiving! It's the start of a month of holiday merriment and madness, so enjoy! I offer no lecturing about that antibiotic ridden turkey, the BPA hiding in the lacquer that makes the gourds in your table centerpiece shimmer, nor the evils of excess packaging. Today I encourage you to watch the following classic holiday specials that also impart timeless messages about sustainability.
Where can I start? Here are some favorites:
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Absolutely Fabulous, "Cold Turkey," 2003: Our favorite wannabe celebrity, Edina Monsoon, finally decides to stay home for the first time at Christmas. Going overboard, she buys a Christmas tree about as tall as the Tower of London, justifying the tree because if she hadn't bought it and hired a crane to install it in her sitting room, "it would have just ended up as cheap furniture at Ikea."
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Keeping up Appearances, The Father Christmas Suit," 1991: Hyacinth Bucket, no, Bouquet, our "favorite lady of the house," spreads Christmas cheer by forcing her hapless and henpecked husband, Richard, to wear a Santa suit, and distribute gifts (hopefully recycled) to the elderly at Church. Hyacinth is carbon-neutral and emits zero emissions (full disclosure: it's because she forces Richard to drive everywhere). We also won't mention the fact that no trees exist in England because they all turned into Christmas cards . . . which Hyacinth mailed to herself.
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Clueless, 1995: While technically not a holiday movie, this is a fine example of Southern California activism. Cher, brilliantly played by Alicia Silverstone, turns Beverly Hills angst into something positive, when the Pismo Beach Disaster leads her to empty her closet and donate her prized items, including her skis.
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Ugly Betty, "Lose the Boss," 2006: While America Ferrera's character is saving Black Friday organizing a photo shoot of the latest celebrity baby (the "butt ugly" Baby Chutney), Vanessa Williams' fabulously evil character, Wilhelmina Slater, demonstrates the danger of not having effective public transportation to a major airport. Instead of rail access, Wilhelmina and her scheming assistant, Marc, take a cab to JFK. The trip goes awry, they get dropped off in the middle of Queens, and both end up nearly mauled by a couple of transvestites, furious that Wilhelmina intruded on their territory then dared to charge them some Benjis to touch her albino lynx coat.
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South Park, "Starvin' Marvin," 1999: This rancid yet hilarious episode showcases the children who did something I could never do: donate money to one of Sally Struther's charities. Unfortunately, they only acted out of generosity to obtain the free sports watch, and karma bites them back as a mob of genetically altered turkeys overtake this placid Colorado mountain town. Kenny, of course, gets killed when the townspeople rise up against the GMO turkeys. And if you don't remember, I won't mention where the turkeys ended up, nor will I mention who they took to the local buffet. The show's creators offer some recent commentary here.
And I'd be remiss if I did not mention the 1965 classic, A Charlie Brown Christmas.If you think you have a list better than me, I dare you to share it.
Happy Holidays!
