It's a Kind-of-Christmas Christmas here on Reaction Shots! Discussion topic! (Patreon)

Hello everyone!  This month we're going to discuss movies that HAPPEN around Christmas but don't necessarily read as Christmas movies.  Think Die Hard, Batman Returns, Trading Places, Edward Scissorhands, Brazil, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Eyes Wide Shut, Mean Girls, Lethal Weapon, Gremlins, You've Got Mail, 12 Monkeys, L.A. Confidential, In Bruges, DIE HARD.  Die Hard.

Anyhoo, that's a pretty big list.  Holiday movies can tend toward the sentimental, whereas movies set DURING the holidays get to mine a little of that cheer and morality while still being about whatever they want.  Do you like non-holiday movies or straight up holiday movies to get in the spirit of the season?

Juxtaposition is an extremely useful tool in filmmaking, setting a massacre to classical music, etc., and many of these films are no different.  Pairing the wholesomeness of the holidays with blood, or dirty jokes.  What works so well about Christmas and violence?

Do you miss out on any of the feelings in these films if you were raised in a setting that didn't place importance on Christmas, or do the films translate the feelings to everyone?

We've seen many examples of Christmas based movies of this nature, what about other "Holidays" holidays?  Are there any Hanukkah movies like this, or Kwanza?

Why is Die Hard so great?

How does the Christmas setting strengthen Die Hard?

How does the Christmas setting detract from Die Hard?

How often is Christmas portrayed negatively in films like these?  The societal pressures of the holiday adding the the pot boiling over...

Anything else you'd like to discuss, or think we should tackle in the episode?

Thanks for reading!

<3

Ian