The Snowman

I watched The Snowman on YouTube recently, I sometimes surprise myself with how bored I can get at work. I'm not usually one to stick my neck out, but it really is very good. Say what you will about David Bowie's acting but he really nails that opening monologue. If only it could have kept the pace up like that throughout perhaps it wouldn't have been sidelined onto a minority commercial channel for all these years.

However, the bit that stood out for me was the fact that having seen a snowman come to life, developed the power of flight, visited the North Pole, seen the Northern Lights and met Father Christmas, the main character seems delighted to then take part in a Morris dance.

I'll square with you, I'm not a fan of the Morris Dance. It would take something pretty special for me to get amongst it, and even the above scenario probably wouldn't be enough for me to dosie do it (yes, a pun, I hate myself for it). What was Briggs trying to say by introducing the Morris at this point in the story? It is quite the leftfield choice, all things considered. Presuming he didn't just feel it was the logical next step for a plot about a snowman coming to life it seems there are only two remaining options. 1. Presuming the snowmen involved in the dance as native to the North Pole, Briggs is making a sly comment about globalisation and the proliferation of British culture abroad. 2. Presuming the snowmen as British natives who have emigrated to the North Pole (presumably, for the climate and low taxation), Briggs is satirising the tendancy of ex-pats to fail to embrace new cultures and turn everywhere into a little part of the UK. Either way, right on Raymond.

As for Bowie's monologue, I felt the knowledge that he had spent his adulthood lost in addiction to class a drugs really put a darker edge on the story. Am I the only person thinks that watching his only childhood friend melting to death in his garden might have had a long-term psychological impact on the poor lad?