Is “Die Hard” a Christmas movie? It is a question that the internet has been asking lately, usually with respect to “Love Actually”. I won’t get into the arguments for or against, but I have been thinking about my opinion on it.
I usually say it is one. I even watched it on the day of Christmas Eve, and I don’t think I’ve seen it since it first came out thirty years ago. After watching it again, it is clearly not. It is an action movie set during Christmas, nothing more. But why do I think of it as a Christmas movie?
Let’s examine it; I do not have a high opinion of Christmas. I enjoy family and the ceremonies that go along with the holiday, but I dislike the way it has been changed into a shopping ritual with crass commercialism. Carols have been ruined for me, because they are overplayed during advertisements.
So I can theorize that I call “Die Hard” a Christmas movie because I want to sabotage what others think of Christmas. “Love Actually” is a better Christmas movie, but I would rather watch “Die Hard”.
Now what does that say about me? That I am distrustful of an institution that does improve my life and want to break it? That sounds distressingly similar to what happened in the last presidential election in America. I can no longer assume I am better than the average republican voter. I am subject to the same pettiness as they are.
2019-12-30 20:33