Thanksgiving folklore — Rockwell Parodies

An axiom in folkloristics is that variations prove the power of traditions. In popular culture, Thanksgiving is a time for a constructed memory of an idyllic (and gendered) past: celebrations of fealty and piety live alongside celebrations of excess and violence. Perhaps no image in popular culture so succinctly represents this juxtaposition as the 1942 Rockwell painting “Freedom from Want.” It’s an iconic image that exists for us both in and out of its original context, and means a variety of things to different audiences. And it’s become one of the most parodied images in popular culture. For a holiday steeped in traditions — both organic and artificial — the catalog of Rockwell parodies helps fight the conventional wisdom that tells us Thanksgiving is a relic of a whitewashed past, but is in fact an ever-evolving celebration that moves forward with culture.

The original:

Some parodies: