The Grinch: a heartwarming story about terrorist de-radicalization.
My family has very few Christmas traditions. We don’t sing carols or drink eggnog. Hell, some years we even forget to buy a tree. But there is one tradition we stick to firmly: watching Christmas movies. My mother and sister love the classics; White Christmas, the Santa Clause, and the confusingly racist Holiday Inn, in which Bing Crosby plays Abraham Lincoln… in blackface?
My favourite Christmas film tells the story of an angry, hairy, man, fighting a solitary battle against the authorities. That’s right, I’m talking about How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the same description also fits Die Hard). Over the years, I’ve come to realise that the Grinch is more than a Christmas movie. It’s a manual for battling extremism.
The plot of the Grinch is pretty simple. Jim Carrey plays himself, an insane, hairy outsider with disdain for society. I believe that he hasn’t realised the film is over, and is the greatest method actor of all time.
The Grinch hates Christmas, and decides to steal the town of Whoville’s gifts in order to ruin the holiday. However, thanks to the intervention of young Cindy Lou Who, the Grinch realises that Christmas isn’t about presents; it’s about community. Having learned his lesson, the Grinch returns the town’s presents and is welcomed with open arms, despite having committed multiple felony crimes.
The Grinch: radical extremist?
Let’s look at the origin story of the Grinch. In the film, a baby Grinch is adopted by two doting Whos — not to be confused with Whovians — that decide to raise him as their own child. Although it’s evident that the young Grinch dislikes Christmas, he decides to celebrate the holiday after falling in love with his classmate, Martha. Around the same time, the Grinch also shaves his face after being teased about his beard by future Jeffrey Tambor/Mayor, Augustus May Who.
When the Grinch’s botched attempt at shaving is revealed to the class, he is humiliated in front of Martha, and he trashes the classroom. The young Grinch is last pictured climbing Mount Crumpit, before settling into a cave to live. When we encounter him as an adult, he has discarded his clothes and begun living as a schizophrenic nudist.
The radicalisation process
According to Lazar Stankov from the Australian Catholic University, there are three steps to radicalisation: having violent tendencies, holding a grudge against society, and having an ideology.
Let’s apply these three traits to the Grinch. Is he violent? I’d say so. Take a look at this clip, for instance. Look at how gleefully the Grinch decapitates Santa. From the get-go, it’s established that he is not well adjusted, and obviously harbours some deep seated anger issues.
Was he wronged by society? Definitely. The Grinch was bullied mercilessly at school for no other reason than he was different. And considering the fact that his old flame, Martha, is now engaged to the extremely creepy Mayor Jeffrey Tambor, it makes sense that the Grinch is always angry. He’s basically a low budget, hairy Hulk.
Lastly, there’s ideology. I think the Grinch has one. It’s established early on that the Grinch lives on Mount Crumpit, AKA the Whoville dump. As he explains in one of the film’s pivotal scenes, much of his home is built from the Christmas presents that were discarded by the town. Put simply, the Grinch is disgusted by the capitalism of the Whos. When a guy who lives in a literal garbage dump finds you disgusting, you know the system is broken. Admittedly, the scene is on the (massive) nose, but we should give credit where it’s due; the Grinch never finished school, and here he is developing Marxist theory.
Rehabilitating the Grinch
As Clarke Jones points out, extremism is attractive because it offers people a sense of identity. Committing extremist acts makes you a somebody. You’re not just “the Grinch”, you’re “the Grinch who stole Christmas”. If you want to avoid extremism, you have to offer people a sense of identity. That’s exactly how Cindy Lou rehabilitates the Grinch. By welcoming him into Who society, she gives him a meaningful identity and saves her town from radical Grinch-based extremism.
So, there you have it. A detailed illustration of the rise and fall of radicalism, told through the prism of a B-grade Christmas movie. Who said propaganda couldn’t be fun?
Ultimately, the Grinch illustrates an important point: I have too much time on my hands.
David Rose is a stand-up comedian. Like him on Facebook.
