December 3, 2006

Taking the fest out of Festivus.

This was Governor Doyle last year, when Festivus meant something...



But now... now!... Michael Richards has taken away all the joy of the season. But was Festivus a season of joy in the first place?
GEORGE: ... It's a card from my dad.

ELAINE: What is it? (Grabs the card from George, he tries to stop her, but fails. She reads it out loud.) "Dear son, Happy Festivus." What is Festivus?

GEORGE: It's nothing, stop it..

JERRY: When George was growing up..

GEORGE: (Interrupting) Jerry, No!

JERRY: His father..

GEORGE: No!

JERRY: Hated all the commercial and religious aspects of Christmas, so he made up his own holiday.

ELAINE: Ohhhh.. and another piece of the puzzle falls into place.

GEORGE: (pleading) Alright..

JERRY: And instead of a tree, didn't your father put up an aluminum pole?

(Elaine starts laughing uncontrollably - and continues to do so)

GEORGE: Jerry! Stop it!

JERRY: And weren't there a feats of strength that always ended up with you crying?
No! It was for cranks and cynics. Was Kramer even involved? Yes, he was. As George's father (Frank) explains the holiday, Kramer is the one who gets into it:
FRANK: And at the Festivus dinner, you gather your family around, and you tell them all the ways they have disappointed you over the past year.

KRAMER: Is there a tree?

FRANK: No. Instead, there's a pole. It requires not decoration. I find tinsel distracting.

KRAMER: Frank, this new holiday of yours is scratching me right where I itch.

FRANK: Let's do it then! Festivus is back! I'll get the pole out of the crawl space. (Turns to leave, meets up with Elaine)
So, really, it is important for Governor Doyle to make it clear that he doesn't itch there.

5 comments:

Simon said...

Tangent: MKH has a new vlog skit called "leftivus." Not her best, but seemed apt...

Fitz said...

My favorite part of Festivus is the "airing of grievances"

We don’t celebrate festivus in our family, Yet the "airing of grievances" has always been a part of my families annual Christmas tradition.

Anonymous said...

I don't think Michael Richards' comments will ruin Festivus in my social circle. I suspect someone at the annual party will bring up Richards' use of racial epithets during the airing of grievances.

In my culture, we lump all the holidays into one celebration. This year the host has dubbed it St. Kwanhanafestmasyuldan.

By the way, the Rev. Jesse "Shakedown" Jackson and Al Sharpton announced on SNL last night that Kramer is the new N-word. As in, "Jesse, you my Kramer!" or "Kramer, please!"

Anonymous said...

Nothing indicates the decline of popular culture more than the popularity of "Seinfeld".

Peter Patau said...

The origin of Festivus has nothing to do with Kramer, predates that "Seinfeld" episode by more than three decades, and the holiday will outlive a certain politically posturing governor. Go ahead, Governor, boycott Kramer/Michael Richards. But leave Festivus alone.