photo by Tylar Sutton
Could you still love the classic movie “A Christmas Story” after the 12th time of watching Santa rebuke Ralphie with, “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid!”? Cuyahoga Falls native and authority on Christmas entertainment Joanna Wilson tests that theory in her book “The Triple Dog Dare: Watching—& Surviving—The 24-Hour Marathon of ‘A Christmas Story’” (1701 Press, $19.99). The fifth book in her series exploring the cultural and philosophical underpinnings of how we consume Christmas entertainment details Wilson’s endurance of that entire marathon, straight through. “We connect to Christmas entertainment in a different way than we do to other kinds of entertainment,” she says.
Wilson’s degrees in film history and philosophy merged with her love of pop culture when she received a book about Rankin/Bass Productions — the company most well-known for the 1964 TV special, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” — as a gift in 2000. That gift evolved into the research for her first book, “Tis the Season TV,” an encyclopedia of television Christmas shows. Her book on Archie the Talking Snowman from Chapel Hill Mall’s heyday is a local favorite.
As for her newest book, Wilson has advice for anyone else looking to undertake that movie marathon: “Stay hydrated and wear comfy pants.”
What was Christmas Day like at your house growing up?
JW: It was a magical time filled with happiness. I remember piling in the car with my family to look at people’s houses displayed with lights. I loved going to Chapel Hill Mall and seeing Archie the Snowman, even if I was afraid of him and too shy to greet him.
But didn’t you write a book about Archie the Snowman?
JW: We’ve become good friends since I was a kid. I’ve made my peace. The new Archie has blue eyes instead of the flashing red eyes from my youth. That’s better.
What was your personal version of Ralphie’s Red Ryder BB Gun?
JW: For many years, I had my heart set on a unicycle. I’m a TV junkie, and there’s a unicycle rider in the closing credits of “Welcome Back, Kotter.” I wanted to be cool like that person.
Did your parents eventually get you one?
JW: My mother was very practical and pragmatic. She said she didn’t want to buy me a unicycle until I knew how to ride one. And I didn’t know how to learn to ride one without having one. That felt like the “You’ll shoot your eye out” comment. I never got [one] in my childhood.
That’s too bad!
JW: There’s a happy ending. In my 30s, my boyfriend ended up surprising me with a unicycle. It fulfilled my childhood dream.
Do you ever tire of writing about Christmas entertainment?
JW: I am nowhere near bored or exhausted. Christmas entertainment ranges from horror to children’s entertainment, animation, feature-length films, classic black-and-white movies, made-for-TV movies. And just when I think I’ve seen every interpretation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” they make something new.
What is the one holiday movie or special you must watch for it to feel like the holidays?
JW: “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”
What’s your second favorite holiday?
JW: I love Halloween.
Who would win in a hand-to-hand fight between the Heat Miser and the Snow Miser?
JW: Heat Miser.
What are your three favorite things in The 330?
JW: I love Akron Main Library, Akron Art Museum, Square Records.
What’s your hidden talent?
JW: I can play the trumpet.
What’s your favorite music to clean house to?
JW: Madonna.
Do you watch “A Christmas Story” movie marathon every year?
JW: It’s just on in the background now. I rest my TV on [it] as we go about wrapping gifts, visiting, eating.
