Another quote from one of the greats for Halloween
Note: This entry was actually submitted by p.d.diablo and runs about two pages. The views expressed do not necessarily represent the opinions of the management of this blog or its affiliates.
"We're obviously separated by denominational differences."
-Charlie Brown (that's right. Charlie Brown)
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
And we were supposed to understand this stuff when we were kids?
This quote from the movie is from a scene where Charlie Brown asks Linus when he's going to stop believing in the Great Pumpkin, some apparent spectre (or so it seemed) that would rise out one chosen pumpkin patch somewhere in the world. Linus responds that he'll stop believing in the Great Pumpkin when Charlie Brown stops believing in some fat, jolly guy who squeezes down chimneys every year with presents (or some wording to that effect). Charlie Brown then fires off the aforementioned one-liner.
Think about that for a moment.... Could it be a masked discussion of the differences between Pagans and Christians?
But I'm not going that deep today. We were just kids, for hell's sake. I always liked this Charlie Brown cartoon as a child. It was a little spooky at parts, right? Kinda like the one where they all go to France, and the Chateau where Charlie Brown (I think... maybe Linus ) is staying catches on fire. Meanwhile, of course, Snoopy is off drinking in the pub dressed as a fighter pilot. Hey, if he's got the money... But I always remembered the tension in that one (was it Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and don't come back)?).
One thing we all understood from these cartoons was that we didn't want to be Charlie Brown. In case any of you had forgotten (or never seen in the first place), in Great Pumpkin, while trick-or-treating with the gang, after each stop the children compare their loot. Candy bars, caramel apples, a quarter, etc... First off, I never got money when I trick-or-treated, but even more than this, apparently it was customary in 1966 (date of release) to give the children infortunado a rock in their bags. Charlie Brown must've got five. Every house dropped a stone the size of my fist instead of a treat into his sack. Can you imagine how heavy his bag would start getting? And you know that the Charlie Brown we never saw was throwing those rocks through the windows of the houses at two a.m. And why not? He didn't have any real parental supervision. "I'll show you a trick," he'd be grumbling. Probably cursing, as well.
Another quickie.
"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."
-C.S. Lewis, and to stick with the movie motif, also heard in The Usual Suspects.
The other thing we learn from this one is that, right up until the end, we want to be Linus seducing the little blonde into the pumpkin patch on Halloween. And he's good, man. He's the sensitive, honest guy, right? "It's the most sincere pumpkin patch anywhere...not a sign of hypocrisy," he says. And Sally starts off playing it coy, tells him if he tries to hold her hand, she'd slug 'em. Ahh, a challenge. Did we really care if the Great Pumpkin showed up or not?
But here's the cincher. His romantic ideals were enough to reel her in, but in the end they weren't enough to keep her around. When Linus couldn't produce the great pumpkin, Sally walked out on him. Did this disprove the existence of the Great Pumpkin? Of course not. Only that his efforts had been insufficient. Somewhere lay a more sincere pumpkin patch. He had tried his best, and they called him a liar. Even worse... a blockhead.
I bet next year Linus figures out how to rig up a mechanical Great Pumpkin rising out of that patch, which, during his efforts to develop the illusion, will have since wilted, once great green leaves crisped in the sun, pumpkins brown and rotting. But they would believe him next year, dammit! And he'd get the girl. And maybe, just maybe, he'd jimmy a flamethrower in his Great Pumpkin that, at the moment they admitted that they were wrong...
You can almost see him working in the dusty shed late at night under a bare light bulb, fastening the device's giant pumpkin head together. "Call me a liar, will you? I'll show you a liar," he'd be grumbling. Probably cursing, as well.
Happy Halloween.
"We're obviously separated by denominational differences."
-Charlie Brown (that's right. Charlie Brown)
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
And we were supposed to understand this stuff when we were kids?
This quote from the movie is from a scene where Charlie Brown asks Linus when he's going to stop believing in the Great Pumpkin, some apparent spectre (or so it seemed) that would rise out one chosen pumpkin patch somewhere in the world. Linus responds that he'll stop believing in the Great Pumpkin when Charlie Brown stops believing in some fat, jolly guy who squeezes down chimneys every year with presents (or some wording to that effect). Charlie Brown then fires off the aforementioned one-liner.
Think about that for a moment.... Could it be a masked discussion of the differences between Pagans and Christians?
But I'm not going that deep today. We were just kids, for hell's sake. I always liked this Charlie Brown cartoon as a child. It was a little spooky at parts, right? Kinda like the one where they all go to France, and the Chateau where Charlie Brown (I think... maybe Linus ) is staying catches on fire. Meanwhile, of course, Snoopy is off drinking in the pub dressed as a fighter pilot. Hey, if he's got the money... But I always remembered the tension in that one (was it Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and don't come back)?).
One thing we all understood from these cartoons was that we didn't want to be Charlie Brown. In case any of you had forgotten (or never seen in the first place), in Great Pumpkin, while trick-or-treating with the gang, after each stop the children compare their loot. Candy bars, caramel apples, a quarter, etc... First off, I never got money when I trick-or-treated, but even more than this, apparently it was customary in 1966 (date of release) to give the children infortunado a rock in their bags. Charlie Brown must've got five. Every house dropped a stone the size of my fist instead of a treat into his sack. Can you imagine how heavy his bag would start getting? And you know that the Charlie Brown we never saw was throwing those rocks through the windows of the houses at two a.m. And why not? He didn't have any real parental supervision. "I'll show you a trick," he'd be grumbling. Probably cursing, as well.
Another quickie.
"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."
-C.S. Lewis, and to stick with the movie motif, also heard in The Usual Suspects.
The other thing we learn from this one is that, right up until the end, we want to be Linus seducing the little blonde into the pumpkin patch on Halloween. And he's good, man. He's the sensitive, honest guy, right? "It's the most sincere pumpkin patch anywhere...not a sign of hypocrisy," he says. And Sally starts off playing it coy, tells him if he tries to hold her hand, she'd slug 'em. Ahh, a challenge. Did we really care if the Great Pumpkin showed up or not?
But here's the cincher. His romantic ideals were enough to reel her in, but in the end they weren't enough to keep her around. When Linus couldn't produce the great pumpkin, Sally walked out on him. Did this disprove the existence of the Great Pumpkin? Of course not. Only that his efforts had been insufficient. Somewhere lay a more sincere pumpkin patch. He had tried his best, and they called him a liar. Even worse... a blockhead.
I bet next year Linus figures out how to rig up a mechanical Great Pumpkin rising out of that patch, which, during his efforts to develop the illusion, will have since wilted, once great green leaves crisped in the sun, pumpkins brown and rotting. But they would believe him next year, dammit! And he'd get the girl. And maybe, just maybe, he'd jimmy a flamethrower in his Great Pumpkin that, at the moment they admitted that they were wrong...
You can almost see him working in the dusty shed late at night under a bare light bulb, fastening the device's giant pumpkin head together. "Call me a liar, will you? I'll show you a liar," he'd be grumbling. Probably cursing, as well.
Happy Halloween.
posted by A Man without a Band at 10:47 AM
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