Lilly Zaks and Caroline Lovett
Online Editor and Feature Editor
As the holiday season rolls around, many remain focused on the big two holidays of Halloween and Christmas. However, the “middle child” of holidays, Thanksgiving, is one of the best. Like many holidays, one way to get into the spirit of the festivities is through movies. While there are plenty of spooky and jolly movies to choose from, the selection for Thanksgiving is slightly limited. However, this doesn’t diminish the content of these works.
A classic way to get into the thankful spirit is by sitting down and turning on the Thanksgiving Peanuts Special. The film is in two parts, the first being A Mayflower Voyage and the second, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. A Mayflower Voyage follows your iconic peanuts characters cast as pilgrims on the long journey to the Americas. After landing at Plymouth Rock, the tale follows the characters as they build a life for themselves and meet the local Native Americans. The film then depicts the story of the first Thanksgiving, during which the pilgrims and Native Americans sit together for a meal, enjoying the food and each other’s company.
The second part of the special showcases the Peanuts character in a modern setting. Charlie Brown is preparing to go to his grandmother’s house to celebrate the holiday with his family when one of his friends, Peppermint Patty, invites herself and other friends over to Charlie Brown’s house for Thanksgiving. A plan is forged that Charlie Brown will simply attend two Thanksgivings, one with his friends and one with his family. The film then has scenes displaying Snoopy, Charlie Brown’s dog, preparing the table, chairs, plates, and food for their makeshift, non-traditional Thanksgiving. After some unhappy guests and turmoil, the film ends with Charlie and his friends visiting his grandmother’s house. This film is the perfect way to celebrate Thanksgiving, and it is ideal for both kids and adults. This movie resonates with a feeling of tradition, family, and happiness. It is a classic to enjoy the fall season further.
Jumping over to the TV category, Thanksgiving is featured in many American classic hit series, such as the quintessential drama-filled 2000s TV show Gossip Girl. With the familiar greeting “Hey, Upper East Siders,” Gossip Girl has plenty to serve on the Thanksgiving table.
Starting strong in season one, the episode“Blair Waldorf Must Pie!” compares the story of last year’s Thanksgiving to this year’s Thanksgiving, featuring the main characters Blair Waldorf, played by Leighton Meester, and Serena van der Woodson, played by Blake Lively. The drama is amped up when Serena’s boyfriend, Dan Humphrey, unaware of their parents’ past, invites the van der Woodson family to join them for dinner. It is revealed that Rufus Humphrey, Dan’s dad, used to date Lily van der Woodson, Serena’s mom, back in the day, creating a plot line filled with twists and turns that continues throughout the story. Nothing says Thanksgiving like an unexpected surprise!
Fast forward a year to season two, “The Magnificent Archibalds,” and the stakes are even higher and the plot even thicker. Blair despises her mom’s new boyfriend, Cyrus Rose, whose son, Arron Rose, is dating Serena. Wow—just when you thought it couldn’t get weirder! Jenny, Dan’s sister, is trying to file for emancipation to follow her dreams of fashion, leading to tension with her dad. Dan tries to write an exposé on Bart Bass, the real estate billionaire, but his son Chuck finds out. Last but not least, Nate Archibald is dealing with his fugitive dad fleeing the country. Legal papers, cops, exposés, and, of course, pie!
If there was a gold medal for a drama-filled Thanksgiving dinner, season three’s episode, “The Treasure of Serena Madre,” would certainly win convincingly. Lily van der Woodson-Humphrey and her now-husband Rufus, yes, Dan’s dad, agreed to host their very first Thanksgiving dinner as a family. Lily decides to invite Nate’s cousin Tripp and his wife Maureen to dinner, but she doesn’t know that Serena is having an affair with Tripp. Vanessa, Dan’s friend, and her mom make an appearance as do Blair and her mother and Lily’s mother, Cece. In a series of events timed to Jason Derulo’s “Whatcha Say,” Nate teams up with Maureen to expose Serena and Tripp’s affair, Jenna confronts Serena’s brother, Eric, Dan acts weird around Vanessa, and Blair wrongly accuses her mother of being pregnant. Everyone abruptly leaves the table in this iconic scene.
In season four’s episode, “Gaslit,” Serena has taken a turn for the worse as she wakes up in a motel room unaware of what happened to her. She is checked into a hospital, and her family comes to visit her, spending Thanksgiving around a hospital bed, not a dinner table. While this episode is heavier as it focuses on substance abuse, there is still plenty of drama as it’s revealed that Vanessa, Jenny, and Serena’s new frenemy, Juliet, were scheming to take her down. Not the usual Gossip Girl Thanksgiving, but not without its fair share of scandal.
After skipping over Thanksgiving in season five, in season six, “It’s Really Complicated” certainly lives up to its title. Dan and Serena host Thanksgiving together- yes, they are back together, and their parents got divorced. Serena invites her ex, Steven, and his daughter, Sage, to dinner, but there is an underlying motive: Sage wants to get Nate back, and Blair wants to break Dan and Serena up. Dan ends up publishing a story on Serena, which catalyzes their break up. Just like the leaves, friends, relationships, and family change, but in Gossip Girl, one thing can be certain: a drama-filled Thanksgiving. In the words of Gossip Girl herself, “Another Thanksgiving has come and gone. And what am I most thankful for? The truth.”