The Hallmark Christmas movie formula is one so well-known that it has an almost mythical status in popular culture. A woman living in the city, with a high-powered career and an endless stream of meetings and espressos, goes back to her rural hometown, falls in love with a man in a plaid shirt, all while discovering the joys of Christmas, and ultimately, becoming a housewife. They’re undeniably cosy and sweet, and the formulaic approach means you can half-watch whilst wrapping presents and still follow the plot. But why does festivity have to come at a cost to life in the metropolis?
Hallmark, one of America’s largest TV channels, is disproportionately popular amongst conservatives, with the L.A. Times stating, “People in regions that backed Donald Trump are more likely to watch shows that express traditional family values and also to steer away from political themes and stories that denigrate religion”. It’s clear that Hallmark has a target audience that it wants to keep happy, and it succeeds; suburban middle America is fed with a never-ending stream of cutesy, family-driven Christmas movies. Despite the portrayal of big cities as vacuous and devoid of morals, the Hallmark Media studios are located in Los Angeles, suggesting they do not earnestly believe the message they portray. Ironically, perhaps this proves just the point their movies make; profit and capitalism come before any true values.
Yet, using Christmas as an opportunity to teach morals is nothing new. Charles Dickens’ classic novella A Christmas Carol has shown children and adults alike the consequences of selfishness and greed for nearly two centuries. The core values of Christmas are undeniably those of family, giving, selflessness, and community, and I doubt anyone disputes that these are sound morals to stick by. Yet, why are they considered mutually exclusive to life in big cities? Maybe community doesn’t look the same as in a suburb (very few Londoners speak to their neighbours unless they make a noise complaint) but acts of kindness can be seen all over the city, for example, clothes drives and soup kitchens. Not only that, but metropolitan areas are far more likely to vote for left-wing political parties, which prioritise the well-being of the community through free healthcare and housing benefits.
The overarching message of the formula, which has now been adopted by Netflix (for example, Lindsey Lohan’s comeback in Falling for Christmas), is that city-slickers are cynical, cold, and value careers over families. The transformation from ‘girlboss’ to housewife is shown to be simply the reinstating of ‘real’ values, reversing the effects of liberal feminist brainwashing. It can feel like turning back the clock; women fought for years to have financial freedom, and for movie studios to imply we’d all be better off with a wood-panelled house and a nice husband, is patronising to say the least. Despite this, sometimes it is nice to escape to a world without TfL, uni deadlines, or insane rent prices…
I’m not going to give up watching Christmas romances; although the ending is often my personal nightmare, I love watching something where I don’t need to think too hard. The truth is, not everyone wants to bake gingerbread in a cabin all day, and for a huge amount of people, life in the city is simply more fulfilling, and despite what Hallmark implies, this has absolutely no correlation to someone’s morals or worth. After all, without people in cities, who would make the movies?
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