2023 and still going
Does anyone know what year the tradition of WPIX in New York playing this on Thanksgiving began?
shareThe station first aired it in 1952, but it didn't become a Thanksgiving tradition until later:
https://www.northjersey.com/story/entertainment/2021/11/25/thanksgiving-2021-babes-toyland-returns-wpix/8624454002/
According to the WPIX site, the tradition began in 1963:
https://pix11.com/news/local-news/march-of-the-wooden-soldiers-to-air-on-pix11-this-thanksgiving-2023/
These are the sort of communal behavior and memories that will cease to exist now that streaming is the norm. Whole generations of people grew up watching the exact same films at the exact same time, year after year. That creates a communal bond. Now everyone watches whatever whenever, which leads to a lot of lonely individuals without roots.
shareIt began with the introduction of the VCR. Before this, Christmas specials and The Wizard of Oz could be seen only once a year, and when these were broadcast, it was truly an event. Once these became available on VHS, then DVD/BluRay and now streaming services, they lost their "magic."
shareWe didn't realize it at the time, but that was the beginning of the end. It seemed like a good thing, but so do many eventually destructive phenomena.
shareSaturday morning cartoons are another lost experience. Any time something is available on demand, there is no longer anything special about it. It becomes routine.
Anticipation was what made the Christmas season, Saturday mornings and The Wizard of Oz so exciting. Having to wait for it made the actual event, once it finally arrived, so much more satisfying.
I really don't understand this idea. I don't know any movie that I could watch EVERY year. And when I watch something like The Wizard of Oz, it seems special to me, because, I have chosen to watch it... whenever.
And, I understand the nostalgia for Saturday morning cartoons, but, it really is just nostalgia. We appreciated them as kids because there was little to compare them to. The shared experience of a lot of people watching the same thing at the same time had value, but it is the only element I can see as a significant loss.