Christmas Film Analysis

For many people, Christmas reminds them of the best time of the year; for others, it can be stressful and overwhelming, but in some cases the holiday season is one spent celebrating with loved ones and creating memories. This holiday spirit can be found in a variety genres of Christmas movies, representing both the positive and negative aspects of the holidays in a household, such as conflicts that lead to familial growth creating an overall cheery environment in the film. The movies used to represent this are Elf, Almost Christmas and Why him?.

Christmas movies can be sub-categorized into specific genres, but still represent the tone and overall environment of the holidays. Like any movie or film, genres represent the type of tone or setting

An example of a classic Christmas movie is Elf, whose main audience targets children and all ages. While the main character dreams of meeting his father and having a family, he also still acts in a childlike manner, which draws in the attention of children who watch it. The character interactions can also mimic certain familiar aspects of someone’s family as well. In the movie, the father often works long, hard hours, and the children feel as if he values work more than family, which many families and kids can relate too. Many Christmas movies place emphasis on giant family gatherings on Christmas, which can be seen in the movie Why Him? and Almost Christmas. As for an older audience, Why Him? is aimed towards the sophisticated more mature viewers. Even though the audience consists of older viewers, the general spirit of Christmas can be felt and perceived by anyone, no matter the age group. By having an older audience, the director can include more mature and complex concepts related to the holiday times, rather than just snow and Santa. These movies involve families getting together to celebrate the holiday times and reconnect as a family. A specific scene in the movie Almost Christmas, that depicts a family working together, is when the sisters come together to make their deceased mother’s famous Christmas recipes. The activity unites the family as they all stop everything else in their lives to come and eat Christmas dinner, overcoming any problems they all