This is one of those episodes that makes me wonder how much TV from 50 years ago reflected reality and how much was a whitewashing — literally and figuratively — of the world.
It is 5 days until Camp Lakeside opens and the owner Mr. Stern is working his staff like a slavedriver except they are white, getting paid, not being beaten, and allowed to read and marry. When ceramics teacher Bernie Samuelson shows up, it is clear they are old friends.
Stern points out Lefty James down by the lake painting the diving platform. In a bizarre scene, Stern loudly yells to Lefty, “SAY HELLO TO TO BERNIE SAMUELSON . . . SAM–UEL–SON . . . CER–AM–ICS!” The freakishly buff Lefty is holding a can of paint in one hand and waves with the other still holding a paintbrush. Stern admiringly says Lefty was once in a Tarzan movie and they watch as he does a swan dive into the lake. Why the long-distance introduction? Why the over-enunciated yelling? Why the, frankly, homo-erotic shot of Lefty? Why the sudden dive when he was painting one second before? Did he seal the can? Did he wash the brushes? Did he eat in the last 30 minutes?
Stern says he knows Bernie’s background as a sculptor and “I think you will agree that ceramics have taken a large step forward here at Camp Lakeside.” Stern’s goal is for the kids to produce something to show the parents.
On Bernie’s first day with the kids — and WTF was he doing for the interim 5 days? — his bunch of young boys are not paying attention as he demonstrates a pottery wheel. In another sign of how times have changed, it seems a little creepy that 1) he is 10 years older than you expect in a camp counselor, 2) he puts hands on their shoulders as he steers each to his chair, and 3) he explains that camp policy is for the boys to call him Uncle Bernie. There is no hint of anything amiss. As I said, just a sad sign of our cynical times.
On the boys’ first day, they mold clay into such challenging shapes as a snake, a pancake, an ashtray, and a fabulous sculpture of a man, made by the titular Aaron Gold. Over the next few days, Aaron skips some of the other camp activities to seriously work on his sculpture. Bernie is impressed with Aaron’s attitude and skill, although the figure is still deficient in arms to the tune of one.
Stern is not seeing the value in Aaron’s sculpture. He says by Parent’s Day, Bernie and Aaron better have something to show and it better have an even number of arms. Aaron says his father will not care if he only has one sculpture as long as it is beautiful. And it will take as long as it takes.
That night, Stern comes by to inspect the ceramics projects. Half of them seem to be ashtrays. What did campers make when people stopped smoking? Maybe that’s why there aren’t many camps any more. Then maybe that lack of socialization, outdoor activities and discipline led to the disgraceful millennial generation. I might pick up a carton of Luckys tonight just to get the US back on track.
Stern is critical of Aaron. He has only an unfinished sculpture to show for Parent’s Day. He did not earn the Intermediate Dolphin Swimming Badge, the Woodcraft Badge or a Softball Stripe. Since Aaron’s father owns a chain of grocery stores, Stern wants to keep him happy. He orders Bernie to put an arm on Aaron’s sculpture.
The next morning, Aaron is crushed to see that Bernie has added an arm holding a sword to the figure. It is obvious why when his father shows up and HE IS AN MONSTER!!! At least, that’s how it feels. Mr. Gold arrives at the Ceramics Tent and the camera zooms in on the right sleeve of his jacket which is neatly folded, pinned to his shoulder and empty as a Bill & Hillary 2020 Speaking Tour. Not only does the camera zoom in, but the shot freezes, and the orchestra swells. Buster Bluth was treated with more respect.
Barry Gordon, who was so good in The Day of the Bullet, turns in another fantastic performance as Aaron. He carved out a too-brief, two-episode AHP niche as the bestest, most loving son a father could ever have. In his previous appearance, his father let him down and he was crushed. Even though this episode ended abruptly, it was clear that their beautiful father-son bond would survive this awkwardness. I could imagine his old man graciously accepting Bernie’s apology, loving the sculpture, grabbing a burger at the cookout, tossing some horseshoes, and rowing round and round in circles on the lake.
Other Stuff:
- Based on a short story by Philip “yes, that Philip Roth” Roth. That stunned me even more than the famous John Cheever episode of Mama’s Family.
- Bernie was played by big-shot director Sydney Pollack who directed some great films, some good films, and Out of Africa.
- In an episode where the twist is a man with one arm, they have a 2-armed character named Lefty? That’s just cruel.
I liked the episode better than you did. It was from a very different time from today. As to whether camps were ever like the one depicted in the show I cannot say. I went to YMCA camp for years and it wasn’t at all like the camp in the show, but the one presented didn’t strike me as weird.
There were all kinds of camps for all kinds of kids back then,–I can’ speak for or about them all–and some were for Jewish kids, others for Catholic ones; and many if not most were non-denominational. Also, some camps were for so-called gifted kids; while in others one spoke only French; and then there were camps where the main focus was music and the arts. Also, “nature camps”, with a focus on the natural world, natural history, the great outdoors (most camps had some of that to begin with, which is why they were out in the country).
I think that something of the Fifties-Sixties zeitgeist was captured in The Contest For Aaron Gold, with its emphasis on suburban and middle class values, somewhat wealthier kids and, obviously, and Jewish-American life. That Aaron (of the title) was more sensitive and less outgoing than other kids might make him look, by today’s standards, nerdy. Back in the day, this would have been less of a problem. There were lots of kids like him back then.
That Aaron was presented as virtually friendless aside from counselor Bernie strikes me as a bit much. Boys like that tended to find one another, bond and stick together; they’d read Mad magazine and have a shared sense of humor, almost like miniature beatnicks. There was often an “agin’ the system” way about them (as in “non-conformist”), though most were not yet hostile to all forms of authority, like the hippies of a somewhat later period.
In any case, for its period, and for what it was, I find that the episode works fairly well. In its setting and in some of the attitudes expressed therein it wasn’t a million miles from the truth (a few hundred more likely). The counselors, Bernie aside, struck me as way more conservative in attitude than even the ones I remember from the YMCA. As this was a somewhat more upscale “special camp”, with its emphasis on the shared religious values of its staff and kids, the seemingly (to my eyes) fearful attitude of the head of the camp, passed on to his subordinates, came across to me as extreme, as I remember camps wanting their kids to be happy and have fun outdoors, not prove something to their parents.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment. I hope I didn’t sound like I disliked the episode. When I feel like I’m being undeservedly negative, I usually try to pull it back at the end. I don’t have any summer camp experience, so I questioned some of this. Maybe some of it had to do with how serious and professional everyone was. That seems to be something we’ve lost.
I was a Mad Magazine kid. Even now I will sometimes flip through an issue at the grocery store. It cracks (not Cracked) me up that I recognize them using the same gags they used when I was a kid. Pretty clever: The audience cycles out every few years, so why not reuse the proven material.
Always liked Barry Gordon. Years later he earned a law degree. I’ve always believed that smarter people make the best actors.
This whole episode struck true to me . The prejudice against Jews and Catholics was rampant during the 1960s. In the Presidential election Kennedy had to field questions as to whether his allegiance was to the U.S. or the Pope . So camps were often geared to a religious group to avoid being discriminated against and/ or refused admission . I always thought that discrimination had something to do with Bernie’s last name being stressed . Either that he as ” one of them ” or an outsider they let in . I also assumed his sculptures were not selling very well -hence the side job at camp and that need to be hired added to his identifying with Aaron being on the outside . The coat sleeve being pinned in such an unattractive , rough fashion is the only false note I see . People ironed their sheets and hose inthe 1960s — they would not have just pinned his jacket sleeve.
Oops ! …I guess the whole episode did not prove true if I found fault with the sleeve being pinned
Speaking of John Cheever, interesting how in Season 6, AHP tried drawing a few episodes from him and Philip Roth, since they wrote highbrow literary fiction instead of suspense.