Unpopular Geek Media Opinions

[payn]

'Tis The Season: No matter how many memes proclaim it, Die Hard is not, in fact, a Christmas movie. To be a Christmas movie, the central narrative of the film must hinge on Christmas or Christmasness. Die Hard does not. It could have taken place at any time of year and turned out exactly the same way.

 

[Deset Gled]

To be a Christmas movie, the central narrative of the film must hinge on Christmas or Christmasness.

Hard disagree.

To be an Xmas movie requires nothing other than the fact that the viewers associate watching the movie with the holiday. Many, many other Xmas classics do not have plots based around Xmas; it's merely the backdrop for many, and in some cases it's only an implicit reference.

Examples:

It's A Wonderful Life only mentions the holiday in passing; it's not part of the plot other than setting the background.

Frosty The Snowman likewise has only tertiary references the Xmas, and the plot could happen any time in winter completely unchanged.

The classic silent The Snowman has no explicit references to the holiday.

The entire plot of Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer involving his running away, making friends with Cornelius and Herbie, escaping the Bumble, and finding the island of misfit toys takes place an indeterminate number of months before Xmas. The part where he leads Santa's sleigh at the end is a coda unrelated to the central narrative.

If any of those count as "Xmas movies", then Die Hard meets the same minimum prerequisites.

 

[Reynard]

The entire plot of Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer involving his running away, making friends with Cornelius and Herbie, escaping the Bumble, and finding the island of misfit toys takes place an indeterminate number of months before Xmas. The part where he leads Santa's sleigh at the end is a coda unrelated to the central narrative.

It is impossible to take anything you wrote seriously when you try and suggest Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer is a Christmas movie but it isn't about Christmasness. I can only assume your whole post was parody.

 

[Velderan]

'Tis The Season: No matter how many memes proclaim it, Die Hard is not, in fact, a Christmas movie. To be a Christmas movie, the central narrative of the film must hinge on Christmas or Christmasness. Die Hard does not. It could have taken place at any time of year and turned out exactly the same way.

Batman Returns confirmed as a Christmas movie.

 

[Deset Gled]

I can only assume your whole post was parody.

Your claim was that a Xmas movie "To be a Christmas movie, the central narrative of the film must hinge on Christmas or Christmasness." What's the central narrative of Rudolf? It's a story of prejudice that takes in the spring/summer. For all that it relates to the central narrative, Donner and Hermey could have been employed at Nakatomi Plaza instead of the North Pole.

Also even if you choose to ignore this one I've still got three solid examples to fall back on. And I haven't even started watching Xmas specials this season.

 

[Nightfly]

It's Rudolph, you Scrooges.

 

[Xamnam]

'Tis The Season: No matter how many memes proclaim it, Die Hard is not, in fact, a Christmas movie. To be a Christmas movie, the central narrative of the film must hinge on Christmas or Christmasness. Die Hard does not. It could have taken place at any time of year and turned out exactly the same way.

The central theme of Christmas is family / found family / loved ones, and so, the core plot of Die Hard, and even some of the side narratives, all are quite reflective of the season, and why I argue the temporal placement is neither incidental nor fungible.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

'Tis The Season: No matter how many memes proclaim it, Die Hard is not, in fact, a Christmas movie. To be a Christmas movie, the central narrative of the film must hinge on Christmas or Christmasness. Die Hard does not. It could have taken place at any time of year and turned out exactly the same way.

It follows the exact structure of every Hallmark Christmas movie: Romantic travels great distance to visit/reunite with prospective partner during the holiday season. Seemingly insurmountable obstacles pile up before love triumphs in the end. Credits roll as "Let it Snow" plays.

If Die Hard isn't a Christmas movie, Hallmark movies aren't either.

 

[trappedslider]

It follows the exact structure of every Hallmark Christmas movie: Romantic travels great distance to visit/reunite with prospective partner during the holiday season. Seemingly insurmountable obstacles pile up before love triumphs in the end. Credits roll as "Let it Snow" plays.

If Die Hard isn't a Christmas movie, Hallmark movies aren't either.

It's also a harry potter movie: main Character sneaks around tower hoping to avoid Snape

 

[MGibster]

Your claim was that a Xmas movie "To be a Christmas movie, the central narrative of the film must hinge on Christmas or Christmasness." What's the central narrative of Rudolf? It's a story of prejudice that takes in the spring/summer.

Then one foggy Christmas Eve/
Santa came to say/
Rudolph with your nose so bight/
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight/

Rudolph never would have been accepted by the other reindeer had he not had the opportunity for his affliction to be useful when the fate of Christmas was imperiled. Or as my Marxist friend puts it: "Marginalized deer gains Capitalist acceptance when they figure out how to exploit his labor."