Have you noticed?
Continuing the theme of Christmas television, have you noticed any difference this year? I may just be noticing it because it’s the first Christmas season around which we’ve had television (hockey season + basketball season + winter olympics made it a worth-while deal), but it seems like the general flavor of Christmas television has changed somewhat.
Christmas?
For example: featuring prominently on ABC Family’s “25 days of Christmas” line up, along with several lame Christmas movies and one or two good ones: Mary Poppins, three Harry Potter movies, Happy Feet (there’s some snow in that one, I’ll give them that), Cars, Ratatouille, and the Incredibles.
Now, I don’t have anything against any of those movies, but it’s a theme that continues across many channels. American Movie Classics? Three nights ago, White Christmas and Holiday Inn. Last night? The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions. Now, there are some religious leanings in the Matrix, but the story of the coming of what the Wachowski brothers call “The One” is not the same as the story of the coming of God’s son.
All that to say, I observe a general trend downward of actual “Christmas” content, and while I don’t find it at all surprising, I do find it a little bit depressing. I know that Holiday Inn isn’t more “Christian” than The Matrix Reloaded, but I do feel like the “good cheer” aspect of many Christmas movies is likely an outflow of the true good news that undergirded the cultural understanding that was the environment in earlier days of the great “settlement of North America” experiment. I mourn that loss, even while realizing that it was the exception, not the rule — and Jesus made that clear.
As I wrote today on yesterday’s post; It’s A Wonderful Life is number one to me. Holiday Inn is super too. In my sort of humble opinion Miracle on 34th Street is right up there. None are truly serious films (meaning they don’y really illustrate the advent season), but are emotionally on the good side of things.
I even like the older version of A Christmas Carol- and theologically it ain’t gettin’ it done. So in short, best Christmas movies should at least promote good “feeling” and certainly ought to have snow- Ernest Saves Christmas got that (and the bumper sticker) right. Feiz Navidad y’all.
The Nativity Story was on last night, but I don’t like all the extra stuff they add, so I just flipped to it during commercials–of Fringe.
The three wise guys on camels arriving at the stable was the last straw for me. Many of those older movies have faith as an assumed basis, and I enjoy that.
“I do feel like the ‘good cheer’ aspect of many Christmas movies is likely an outflow of the true good news that undergirded the cultural understanding that was the environment in earlier days of the great ‘settlement of North America’ experiment.”
You’re talking about exactly what I’m talking about. Too bad I didn’t catch it on the first read-through!
obviously Die Hard is the best Christmas movie(s).