Word: symbolic
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Journey," the weekend festival on the Mall. The exhibit boasted a number of entertainers and scholars, but as I read down the list, one caught my eye: appearing in the Millennium Schoolhouse tent would be a variety of childhood favorites, "From 'Sesame Street' to Elmo." Yes, the furry red symbol of this past holiday season had, in the mind of the festival's copy writers, come beyond his "Sesame Street" roots to the point where he was something to contrast with his colleagues, like (as the description continues) "a jazz orchestra to a gospel choir...
...must admit that America is no worse off for the Tickle Me Elmo dolls; they are just this year's leading symbol of the unabashed capitalism that plagues every American December. One company is surely much richer for producing the toy that turned parents into larger, more insistent versions of the whining children for whom they were buying the dolls. I can even dismiss my curmudgeonly opinion that dolls shouldn't talk, giggle or move on their own--that human imagination should be more important than technical ingenuity--in the face of the techno-addicted, video-game-actuated children that...
...vest is worn featuring fake pecs and six-packs that would make Batman jealous. Later, Branagh's vest is removed to uncover a skin-tight tank top, revealing, of course, Branagh's chest hair. Not only does Branagh seem to wish desperately that he be immediately lauded as sex symbol of the decade, but he also employs some heavy-handed Christ imagery when he is carried out after Fortinbras' coronation. Branagh seems to be going for much more than an Oscar here...
...Christmas tree is a secular (i.e., non-religious) symbol, then why is it called a Christmas tree? Over the years, I've heard many people claim that Christmas trees, Santa Claus, and other "symbols of the season" have nothing to do with Christmas. At my public (i.e., state-run) high school, school officials were thrilled to display five Christmas trees prominently throughout the building--this despite the "separation of Church and State" which this country supposedly promises. The librarian even claimed that the evergreen in the library--decorated with tinsel, lights, and ornaments, which appeared in early December...
...everyone (at Harvard, anyway) needs a bit of a boost because of exams. But if someone puts up Christmas decorations, I think it is imperative that those decorations be recognized as such: Christmas decorations, in celebration of Christmas. A Christmas tree--by virtue of the name itself, and the symbol it has become in today's society--is unquestionably and undeniably a symbol of Christmas. --Marnie Alexis Friedman...