When watching the Colbert Report this past week, I came across a segment where Colbert joked about the existence of Santa Claus. He discusses a story on the news in Canada, concerning a man who claimed to everyone that Santa didn't exist while he participated in a parade . Colbert proceeds to claim that "Santa doesn't exist...in Canada," and that he "only has time for America." Colbert also jokes about people immigrating to America not for our health care, but rather the fact that we are the only country with the "real" Santa Claus.
As I watched this clip, I immediately thought of the idea of American Exceptionalism, or the idea that America is superior to every other country. In this case, Santa is described as only being able to travel to one country for Christmas, as traveling to all the other countries in the world isn't possible under his time constraints. Of course, America is the only country the big man has time for, as it is the only country worth visiting and delivering presents to all the girls and boys. Even in the eyes of Santa, America is seen as a great country, and ranked much higher in priority than the rest of the world.
Although the segment is purely meant to be a joke, Colbert shows effectively how Americans believe that they are better than everyone else, and how the country is far superior to the rest of the countries in the world, even during the holidays.
Here is the link for the clip for anyone interested in watching:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/429306
I agree and think it does show the idea of American Exceptionalism. I also think it ties into how Americans associate fictional narratives with many Holidays, For example Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, Leprechauns on St. Patricks, Cupid on Valentines Day, etc. Another thing this made me think of is how America celebrates holidays from other countries, like cinco de mayo. America celebrates these because of ancestral links to those countries. This ties in the melting pot ideology.
ReplyDeleteI think it is also worthwhile to mention that Santa was originally a European tradition, starting with St. Nick. This, along with leprechauns on St. Patrick's day and Irving Berlin writing "America the Beautiful" is an example of when the Melting Pot fuses with American Exceptionalism, in that mainstream/white America is willing to adopt immigrant cultural aspects if they fit our myth of ourselves.
ReplyDelete