Opinion: Is it a Christmas movie?
Every Christmas season, we are graced with holiday films that make us laugh, gasp, and cry. Classics like “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “The Polar Express,” “A Christmas Story” and “A Christmas Carol” are beloved and rewatched every year. But there are movies that some are iffy on whether or not they deserve to be called Christmas movies.
Do movies that simply take place around Christmas count as Christmas movies?
“The Nightmare Before Christmas” is more of a fusion holiday movie, but it can still be considered a Christmas movie since the entire plot, conflict, and character development revolves around the holiday.
Some people even consider “Frozen” to be a Christmas movie. In an article published by Refinery29, writer Gina Vaynshteyn states, “There’s also a snowman and reindeer, which are traditionally Christmas-y characters. However, there’s literally nothing about “Frozen” that truly makes it a true Christmas movie.”
Other movies include “Gremlins,” “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” “Bad Santa,” “Batman Returns,” and even the Harry Potter movies, simply because they take place around Christmas.
“Black Christmas,” “Eyes Wide Shut” and “Krampus” are part of the subgenre of horror-Christmas movies, whom Jason Weise of Cinemablend described as, “Morbidly funny in its anti-holiday sarcasm and ridiculous demons…like a mashup of the Griswolds, the Grinch, and every mythical beast that has ever been rumored to devour children on the naughty list.”
Movies that take place around Christmas can certainly be considered Christmas movies, even if the movie has nothing to do with Christmas. The snowy, decorated, and carol-filled setting works well with horror movies because Christmas gives us a false sense of security to make the movie even more terrifying.
Many also believe that to be a Christmas movie, it has to include the themes of Christmas (love, family, consumerism, etc.) while also centering around the holiday itself. An interesting example is “It’s a Wonderful Life.” This movie shows the entire life of its main character, George Bailey, and the heart of the story is set on Christmas Eve.
Many popular Christmas movies, like “Elf,” revolve around family.
In “Home Alone,” a movie about a young boy who is left home alone when his entire family forgets to bring him on their family vacation, protagonist Kevin McCallister must learn about the value of family through his misadventures, and the setting of Christmas is the perfect place to tell it, with the cold air and ice that provides the perfect setting for pranks, heart-warming plot development, and contrasting themes that combine the holiday with violence and attempted murder.
Many people argue over the holiday validity of “Home Alone.” Kevin’s family leaves for the purpose of a Christmas vacation, but if they left for Thanksgiving or Summer Break, would it have worked?
In “Die Hard,” a New York City cop played by Bruce Willis, fights off a group of robbers at his ex-wife’s workplace holiday party. Besides the fact that it takes place on Christmas Eve (which is unnecessary and unrealistic), there is nothing, not even the theme of goodwill and peace on Earth, to justify it being in the Christmas Movie hall of fame. Right?
Not necessarily. The entire theme of “Die Hard” is learning about self-worth and realizing that one person can do so much in their life without realizing it. There’s an angel character, snow, and Christmas decorations, but the movie wouldn’t feel the same at any other time of year.
Christmas gives us a sense of community, charity, goodwill, and togetherness more than any other holiday or season. Of course, a Christmas movie doesn’t have to fit all the specific criteria to be a Christmas movie, but it helps to have some snow and Christmas decorations around to remind us.
Megan Cowdell is a freshman opinion columnist studying for a bachelor’s in Communications. She loves music, reading and wants to write books for a living.
megan.cowdell@usu.edu