The Deleted Scenes - Christmas Song Urbanism
A couple of years ago I wrote an article called “The Christmas Song Guide to Urban Design.” I’ve quoted it here at the newsletter before, but I really like it, and most of you have not seen it, so I’m going to draw on it again. The gist of that piece was that while America in the middle of the 20th century was rapidly suburbanizing, the Christmas songs from that era still described the older America of cities, towns, and villages. Nate Hood in Strong Towns observed that nobody takes wedding photos in the suburbs (except him):
Nobody really writes Christmas songs about the suburbs either. Or makes Christmas movies about them. Even today, when so much of the country is thoroughly suburban, portrayals of suburbia are often ironic or humorous in some way (think, for example, of Jingle All the Way). If you watch the Hallmark channel or listen to the radio at Christmastime, you’d think the United States was still a country of real towns and cities on the one hand, and rural places on the other. If we love our suburban lifestyle so much, why does that old, nostalgic portrayal of urban and small-town America still have so much power? Fewer and fewer people alive today have ever even seen a 5-and-10, yet there it is year after year in “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas.” The little town described in that song has a “grand hotel,” most of which have now been replaced by chain hotels out by the Interstate exit. Most of “Frosty the Snowman” takes place not in the backyards, but in the village, complete with a square. You see the point. Here’s some of what I wrote in that original piece:
However, there was also suburban aspiration woven in. Take “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas”:
While the portrayals of homes may have hinted at detached houses and homeownership, the overall picture of land use is an urban one:
And:
Finally, the canon of popular Christmas songs reveals
Then I wrote that they may be. Now I would say they almost certainly are. However, at long last, we are discovering some of this again. On Monday, I’ll be sharing Christmassy photos from the Reston Town Center, a credible attempt to build a “downtown” way out in the suburbs. Related Reading: Why Can’t Every Day Feel Like a Christmas Market? The Christmas Song Cultural Barometer Thank you for reading! Please consider upgrading to a paid subscription to help support this newsletter. You’ll get a weekly subscribers-only post, plus full access to the archive: over 500 posts and growing. And you’ll help ensure more material like this! You're currently a free subscriber to The Deleted Scenes. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. |
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