The aroma of freshly baked cookies and the shimmery fairy lights hanging on the tree are emblematic of our love for the Christmas season, alongside the inevitable low-quality films released every single year. When December begins, I find myself binge-watching all these Christmas Netflix movies. Just from their front picture, we can already predict how they will undoubtedly end! So, why do we keep watching them?
For starters, the predictability of these movies brings comfort to our hearts. The man/boy and the woman/girl have never encountered each other, but destiny arranges for their paths to meet. A challenge they will have to overcome intensifies the plot, but against all odds, the two of them live happily ever after as the snow begins to fall. It happens again and again.
Watching these Hallmark-style movies has now become a tradition for many of us each year (if not, Netflix wouldn’t air them!). Could it be because they open a window for an idealized world we all would genuinely love to live in and feel like we do, at least for an hour and a half? By all means, they may be clichéd, unrealistic, and full of terrible acting, but we surrender to them gladly because they provide the comfort and security that we may be lacking, especially in 2020.
During our last Advisory with my fellow 9th graders, we discussed this topic and everyone had something to say. Some loved them, others watched them because they were bored, but ultimately, we all agreed they somehow managed to bring the Christmas spirit a little closer. So, this Christmas season, take a break from reality and watch a few of them. You’ll see what I mean.
Hallmark-style Christmas movies you can watch. Notice how they are all so similar.