White Christmas, Screencap via Paramount Pictures
A Culturess rundown of all your favorite holiday movies, picked apart based on how they treat women. Which Christmas movies are the most feminist? Which barely have any women in them at all? It’s all right here!
Everyone loves a good holiday movie, right? Even when they’re not good, they’re still kind of good. Anything that gives you the warm fuzzies about your fellow humans is just right for this time of year. But when you’re a woman, or you’re aware enough to care about women’s rights, everything you watch is seen in a new light. What was once a classic, fun, holiday film becomes tangibly threatening – or at least, very evidently un-woke.
Thus, it is I, your friendly neighborhood feminist killjoy! The Santa Claus of pop culture criticism, here to bestow upon you a plethora of thoughts and feelings about literally every single one of your favorite Christmas movies. Just Christmas movies because, sorry folks of other religious/spiritual persuasions, but there just aren’t that many movies about you all – an issue about which I could write an entire critical piece in itself. But one thing at a time!
Here you will find a wide range of films, from staples like It’s A Wonderful Life, to modern classics like Elf, to barely-passing-as-a-Christmas-movie movies like Die Hard. Each of these works hopes to make your season merry and bright, but they all involve at least a dash of misogyny. In some cases, it’s more like a cup. In a very few cases, common decency and respect toward women is more like the whipped cream that decorates the misogyny pie. In each case, you’ll get a rundown of the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of each movie.
I know, I know. I’m ruining your holiday movie experience. But don’t go just yet! I actually like most of these movies! I love some of them! Almost everything, everywhere, is problematic in some way. That’s just a fact. It’s okay to like problematic things! It’s just important to stay critical of our media. Calling out the stuff we love is the first step to making it better.
So come along with me as I take you on a journey through some of the most and least feminist Christmas movies ever made! Let’s start with one of my personal favorites…
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