The Cold War on Christmas

LACM on Fire posting will be infrequent through the New Year. Holiday greetings from the Soviet space dogs!

The Wende Museum's "Cold War Spaces" includes excerpts from Günter Rätz's stop-action animation, Sharp Left Behind the Moon (East German, 1959). It predates the Rankin-Bass Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) and Art Clokey's Davey and Goliath (1961–). God sends Santa Claus to Earth to investigate a puzzling trend: all the kids want Sputniks. Not until South Park did mainstream American TV show a cartoon Judeo-Christian God. In Ratz's film, cutting-edge science beats old-time religion. It was created for the Young Pioneers, a Communist youth organization for children 6 to 14.