Welcome to Screen Gems, our weekend dive into queer and queer-adjacent titles of the past that deserve a watch or a re-watch.
The Feast-ive: A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
Before Trey Parker & Matt Stone created the empire of kiddie satire, political commentary, and scatological jokes that is South Park, another great artist built a career on send-ups of American childhood: Charles Schultz, creator of Peanuts.
There’s a reason that the Peanuts gang and all the Charlie Brown animated TV specials still capture an audience after more than 70 years: the characters capture humor with heart. Take, for example, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving the 1973 animated special that followed the titular, long-suffering kid trying to wrangle his social circle through Thanksgiving at his grandmother’s house. In short order, Charlie Brown must play host for his pals Lucy, Linus, Franklin, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, his sister Sally, and of course, his dog Snoopy and feathered friend Woodstock. The gang revisits the story of the original Thanksgiving when Pilgrims and Native Americans shared a meal (too bad that friendship didn’t last), and renew their bonds of camaraderie.
It might sound trite, but damn it, it warms our hearts every time. Of course, Peanuts and its subsequent animated specials also proved far ahead of their time in terms of including coded queer characters: Marcie and Peppermint Patty. Charles Schultz created and modeled Marcie on lesbian tennis player Billie Jean King, and even as early as the 1970s, the overt slave/master relationship of Marcie & Patty raised more than a few eyebrows. Of course, for we queers, we always knew what was really going on.
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In the run-up to this Turkey Day, we suggest giving this underrated classic a new viewing. Besides the coded gayness, and as with all Peanuts tales, the story testifies to the beauty and importance of a chosen family, of enduring friendship and the need to reflect on gratitude. Revisit it, laugh, and enjoy the queer & fuzzy feeling.
Streams on Amazon, YouTube & AppleTV+.
Heywood Jablowme
PBS stations are showing this for free tonight (Sunday).
ingyaom
Thanks for the tip – I watched it with my nephew.
When I looked up the voice actors, I saw that Peppermint Patty & Marcie were both played by boys, while the other girl characters were voiced by girls.
ROTHERS
Please have regular hearing tests.
check with your health provider about amplification normal in various environments happy beats
what benefit levels to reach a specific goal. (=)
BoylesqueBubble
David, Marcie wasn’t based on Billie Jean King, and nothing in media can confirm that. Schultz based Patty on his friendship with King, as: a girl who came from a single parent home, wasn’t a good student, excelled at sports, and in doing so, opened the doors for how other female identified comic strip characters could be portrayed as forging their own path in life (that CAN be confirmed) Peppermint Patty was always the best athlete of the “Peanuts” strip, and once answered a teacher’s question by saying the four seasons of the year are “baseball, football, basketball and hockey.” Through the character, Schulz sparked an important dialogue about women in sports and gender equality on the field. He served on the board of directors of King’s Women’s Sports Foundation and incorporated a multiday “Peanuts” storyline in 1979 about Title IX, which prevented gender discrimination in schools. Schultz just thought it would be funny, that Marcie called Patty “Sir”, even though Patty had a very obvious crush on Charlie Brown. It’s absolutely amazing how week after week, you and other editors can vomit out articles with clear information that refutes everything you’re trying to project on pop culture. Sure! A sporty, sandal wearing, raspy voiced tomboy and her intelligent, over achieving sidekick (Marcie) gave our community some comfort, but that doesn’t equal that they’re truly Queer. Your personal projections are opinions, and not facts. It’s absolutely amazing what a little research can accomplish and would take you mere seconds to clarify.
Kenny C
It’s a cartoon….Is it really that serious?
charette8596
And for that matter, Lucy wasn’t at the dinner. Her only appearance was her pulling away the football before Charlie Brown could kick it.
CityguyUSA
Peppermint Patty was created after a favorite cousin of Schultz’s, Patricia Swanson. Peppermint Patty to me seemed to be a cheap advertising ploy for York Peppermint Patties. She would have been referred to as a tom boy in the era and ultimately attracted a lesbian following.
Rob
Screw this cartoon. Isn’t it curious that Franklin sits on one side of the table while 4 others sit on the opposite side? WTF is that all about? Yeah, it’s nice to include diverse characters, but having him isolated on one side of the table is BS. Is there anyone who would NOT have put 2 chairs on one side and 3 on the other? This makes no damn sense.
hotshot70
Ever notice:
Franklin gets the bad chair
Franklin sits opposite of everyone
Snoopy fixes toast and popcorn for kids
Snoopy then fixes a full turkey in seconds
Woodstock eats turkey, which would be cannibalism in a way.
Just always was bothered by these things