By Philip Berkwit
With the holiday seasons right around the corner, many people are starting to watch classic holiday films to get into spirit. However, Ponte Vedra High School (PVHS) students have many disagreements on what a ‘holiday movie’ truly is.
Christmas and Halloween movies have become cultural phenomenons. From the beloved classics like “It’s a Wonderful Life” and the modern hits like “Goosebumps,” holiday movies have become a beloved tradition for many people. However, for years the public has argued about what makes a holiday movie a legitimate ‘holiday movie.’
In 1988, the classic action movie, “Die Hard” was released – and sparked a never-ending debate: is “Die Hard” really a Christmas movie. Bruce Willis – the movies lead actor, stated in 2018 that “Die Hard is not a Christmas movie.” However, the films writer, Steven E. de Souza firmly disagreed with Willis. In fact, he made a humorous chart comparing “White Christmas” to “Die Hard” and “Die Hard” seemed to beat “White Christmas” in many aspects like the amount of Christmas songs, and the movie taking place fully in Christmas.
“In this case, it’s a Christmas movie. He’s got to get home for Christmas and his kids,” stated Ryan Baidas, a PVHS junior. “Well when did “Die Hard” come out?” asked Cooper Pratt, a PVHS junior “Die Hard” came out on July 22, 1988. Almost 5 months before Christmas. This was during the summer season, instead of the holiday season. “it’s just not a Christmas movie,” stated Tyler Belmudez, a PVHS junior.
“In this case, it’s a Christmas movie. He’s got to get home for Christmas and his kids.”
Ryan Baidas (11)
Many students do not think a film being set at Christmas makes it a holiday film. “Iron Man 3” was set during Christmas but came out during May. Few people bring up “Iron Man 3” as a Christmas movie, yet at the same time, “Die Hard” is still considered a Christmas classic by many.
“[Iron Man 3] and “Die Hard” are Christmas movies because they both have one Christmas song in it and they are both set during Christmas, “stated Ryan Baidas
Another debate regarding a film’s festivity has been, “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” The film takes place during Christmas, but the film is also very creepy and overtly references Halloween. The main character, Jack Skeleton, is the leader of Halloween. “I’m going to put Christmas because it deals more with Christmas than Halloween,” Stated Pratt.
“The Nightmare before Christmas” was initially released just 2 days before Halloween, giving it little time to thrive over the Halloween season. However, it did have time to succeed during the Christmas season. The debate still continues because of the tone of the film. The film is accurately described as a ‘nightmare.’It has inherently creepy and unsettling imagery that is usually correlated with Halloween.
This brings up the hard definition of Halloween movies. Most Halloween classics like “Friday the 13th” and “a Nightmare of Elm Street” do not focus or even reference Halloween.
“I think just horror movies in general are Halloween movies…. I would say [the movie Alien] is a Halloween movie. I would say the entire horror genre is Halloween,” stated Rocco Ross, a PVHS junior.
Classifying movies will always be a town of discussion. At PVHS, every student has an interesting film that they will watch this holiday season.
Graphic by Ryder Navarra
