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Dec. 24, 2024 - The David Knight Show
07:43
“Charlie Brown Christmas" - The Early Stage of Censorship 60 yrs Ago
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When we look at our culture, when we think about how anti-Christian it has become, how much censorship there is involved in it, it's interesting to go back and look at a Charlie Brown Christmas, because even at that time, and we're talking 59 years ago, December 1965, Studio executives and heads did not want to have it.
They said it was too Christian.
You can't have Linus reading from the book of Luke in it.
Charlie Brown is exasperated.
He says, isn't there anybody who knows what Christmas is all about?
He turns, he's exasperated when he says it.
And they were exasperated when they saw this in the script.
The people who were the producers, the network, the CBS executives, and all the rest of them.
The sighting of scripture didn't easily pass the cynicism and the cowardly cultural gatekeepers of American network TV even 60 years ago.
But Charles Schultz, who wrote Peanuts and his production team, offered the first of what became many peanut specials to CBS executives in December of 1965.
In fact, even before the suits tried to remove mentioning Christ from the Christmas show, Schultz's two partners in the venture, Lillian and Lillian, Lee Mendelsohn and Bill Melendez, both advised him to take the gospel passage out of Linus' mouth.
One of those executives put it this way, He said, the Bible thing scares us.
That's what he said, quote unquote.
He said, the Peanuts creator responded and spoke volumes.
He said, well, if we don't do it, who will?
You know, I think it's kind of interesting that the Rudolph Red-Nosed Reindeer production, the Rankin Bass thing, you know, with Burl Ives and Yukon Cornelius, all that stuff, that was done the year before.
So that's 60 years old this year.
That was done in December of 1964. No problem with that.
It's just Santa Claus and Rudolph and Yukon Cornelius and all the rest of this stuff all made up.
That's not a problem.
But you can't have one of these cartoon characters reading from the Bible.
The fact that any mention of Jesus over the public airwaves was controversial or ill-advised in the 1960s may come as a shock to us In the 2020s, somehow I'd imagined an earlier America as being more tolerant and less paranoid of potential offense, or in a word, timid.
But this is simply not the case.
And an interesting aside, only a year later, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, when he penned the classic God Only Knows, was told that his song was too religious and too square.
This is exactly what Lucy tells Charlie after he has the audacity to buy a wooden Christmas tree for their play.
We all know, she says, the psychologist of the group, we all know Christmas is a big commercial racket.
Among the aluminum trees and the Christmas queens, as Lucy refers to herself, what room is there for the light of the world?
Fortunately, we have Linus to put Charlie, the whole gang, and us right.
Despite skepticism of the cultural tastemakers at CBS, A Charlie Brown Christmas was a gigantic hit on first broadcast December 9th, 1965. One New York ad man said, all heaven broke loose.
He said, this is a special that really is special.
He went on to win a Peabody Award and become a Christmas icon.
Because that is what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.
I guess you were right, Linus.
I shouldn't have picked this little tree.
Everything I do turns into a disaster.
I guess I really don't know what Christmas is all about.
Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?
Sure, Charlie Brown.
I can tell you what Christmas is all about.
Lights, please.
And there were in the same country shepherds, abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them.
And they were sore afraid, and the angel said unto them, Fear not!
For behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you.
Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.
That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.
Thank you.
Oh Bye.
Thank you.
Thank you.
You're listening to The David Knight Show.
That's right, boys and girls.
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