Family Scrooge Socialised Meaning of a Ritual Fiction

The seasonal rewriting and programming of Dickens’ Christmas Carol works like a cultural rite meant to reassure the audience on societal issues. Using Eco’s concept of fabula, we see that the variations upon topics is linked to the generational mindset evolution. Since Scrooged by Richard Donner (1988), the adaptations give a growing place to the character of Scrooge’s father. This kind of socialization of Dicken’s tale indicate a serious crisis of confidence in the father figure. Movies, comics and TV series draw the profile of a youth threatened at times with having to fulfill the dreams of its elders, at other times to see its own ignored. To the individualism of baby boomers, it responds with a need for individualization of behaviours and values.