{"id":23459,"date":"2020-12-24T03:36:23","date_gmt":"2020-12-24T03:36:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=23459"},"modified":"2020-12-25T04:39:03","modified_gmt":"2020-12-25T04:39:03","slug":"heres-why-christmas-movies-are-so-appealing-this-holiday-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/heres-why-christmas-movies-are-so-appealing-this-holiday-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s why Christmas movies are so appealing this holiday season"},"content":{"rendered":"

S. Brent Rodriguez-Plate<\/a>, Hamilton College<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

With the pandemic limiting travel over the holiday season, many Americans will be settling in front of the television to watch their favorite holiday movies, along with their favorite drink \u2013 a cup of hot apple cider or a glass of wine \u2013 to add some cheer.<\/p>\n

Holiday movies have become an essential part of the American winter celebrations and are likely to be more so for those quarantining this year. The entertainment site Vulture reports 82 new holiday movie<\/a> releases in 2020. But, even before the lockdown, production of annual Christmas movies was reported to be up by at least 20%<\/a> since 2017 on a single cable network.<\/p>\n

Holiday movies are popular not simply because they are \u201cescapes,\u201d as my research<\/a> on the relation between religion and cinema argues. Rather, these films offer viewers a glimpse into the world as it could be.<\/p>\n

Christmas movies as reflection<\/h2>\n

This is particularly true with Christmas movies.<\/p>\n

In his 2016 book \u201cChristmas as Religion<\/a>,\u201d the religious studies scholar Christopher Deacy<\/a> states that Christmas movies act as a \u201cbarometer of how we might want to live and how we might see and measure ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

These movies offer a variety of portraits of everyday life while affirming ethical values and social mores along the way.<\/p>\n

The 1946 classic \u201cIt\u2019s a Wonderful Life<\/a>\u201d \u2013 a fantasy film about a man named George Bailey, who has touched the lives of many, despite all his problems \u2013 represents visions of a community in which every citizen is a vital component.<\/p>\n

Another movie commonly replayed this time of year is 2005\u2019s \u201cThe Family Stone<\/a>,\u201d which portrays the clashes of a mostly average family but shows viewers that quarrels can be worked through and harmony is possible.<\/p>\n

The 2003 British holiday film \u201cLove Actually<\/a>,\u201d which follows the lives of eight couples in London, brings to viewers the perennial theme of romance and the trials of relationships.<\/p>\n

\"A
Holiday films create alternate realities that provide us solace.<\/span>
\nDGLimages\/Shutterstock<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Movie-watching as ritual practice<\/h2>\n

As holiday movies bring viewers into a fictional world, people are able to work through their own fears and desires about self-worth and relationships. Such movies can provide solace, reaffirmation and sometimes even courage to continue working through difficult situations. The movies offer hope in believing it all might turn out all right in the end.<\/p>\n

When people see some part of their own lives unfold on screen, the act of viewing operates in a fashion that\u2019s strikingly similar to how a religious ritual works.<\/p>\n

As anthropologist Bobby Alexander<\/a> explains, rituals are actions that transform people\u2019s everyday lives. Rituals can open up \u201cordinary life to ultimate reality or some transcendent being or force,\u201d he writes in the collection \u201cAnthropology of Religion<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

For example, for Jews and Christians, ritually observing the Sabbath day by sharing meals with family and not working connects them with the creation of the world. Prayer rituals in the Muslim, Christian and Jewish traditions connect those praying with their God, as well as with their fellow believers.<\/p>\n

Holiday movies do something similar, except that the \u201ctranscendent force\u201d they make viewers feel is not about God or another supreme being. Instead, this force is more secular: It\u2019s the power of family, true love, the meaning of home or the reconciliation of relationships.<\/p>\n

Movies create an idealized world<\/h2>\n

Take the case of the 1942 musical \u201cHoliday Inn<\/a>.\u201d It was one of the first movies \u2013 after the silent era\u2019s various versions<\/a> of Charles Dickens\u2019 \u201cA Christmas Carol\u201d \u2013 where the plot used Christmas as a backdrop, telling the story of a group of entertainers who have gathered at a country inn.<\/p>\n

In reality, it was a deeply secular film about romantic interests, couched in a desire to sing and dance. When it was released, the United States had been fully involved in World War II for a year and national spirits were not high.<\/p>\n

\"The
A still from the film \u2018White Christmas\u2019.<\/span>
\nClassic Film\/Flickr<\/a>, CC BY-NC<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The movie hasn\u2019t endured as a classic. But Bing Crosby\u2019s song \u201cWhite Christmas,\u201d which appeared in it, quickly became etched in the holiday consciousness of many Americans, and a 1954 film called \u201cWhite Christmas<\/a>\u201d became better known.<\/p>\n

As historian Penne Restad<\/a> puts it in her 1995 book<\/a> \u201cChristmas in America,\u201d Crosby\u2019s crooning offers the \u201cquintessential expression\u201d of the holidays, a world which \u201chas no dark side\u201d \u2013 one in which \u201cwar is forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n

[Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.<\/em> Sign up for our weekly newsletter<\/a>.]<\/p>\n

In subsequent Christmas movies, the main plots have not been set in the context of war, yet there is nonetheless often a battle: that of overcoming a materialistic, gift-buying and gift-giving kind of holiday.<\/p>\n

Movies like \u201cJingle all the Way<\/a>,\u201d \u201cDeck the Halls<\/a>\u201d and \u201cHow the Grinch Stole Christmas!<\/a>\u201d center around the idea that the true meaning of Christmas is not in rampant consumerism but in goodwill and family love.<\/p>\n

Dr. Seuss\u2019 famously grouchy Grinch thinks he can ruin Christmas by taking all the gifts away. But as the people gather together, giftless, they join hands and sing while the narrator tells viewers, \u201cChristmas came anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n