'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' might be a beloved holiday classic, but recently the television special has been the source of intense scrutiny. Viewers across the globe have been using #RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer and #Rudolph to share their accusations of glorifying bigotry, bullying and abuse on social media.
If you're not familiar, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer is a TV special that premiered in 1964 based off of the famous poem from Robert L. May. The story follows a young reindeer named Rudolph that is ostracized by his community for having a glowing red nose, different than the black one had by everyone else. He suffers name calling and bullying at the hands of his contemporaries until he flies at the front of Santa Clause's sleigh and lights the way during a foggy Christmas night, saving the day.
In the video produced by Huffington Post below, they've outlined very specific examples of the above claims.
Rudolph endures insults such as 'fire snout,' 'rainbow puss,' and 'red schnoz' from classmates and even suffers verbal abuse from his father, school coach and Santa Claus! In the end, his detractors come to accept his differences but only because they're able to exploit them - another feature of the film that's garnered criticism.
Do you think the film is problematic or people are getting worked up over nothing? See what people are saying online below: