Written by: Gretchen Sims

As the holiday season rolls around, many students cannot wait to rip into their boxes of Christmas decorations, pull out their stockings and sit next to a dimly lit tree while drinking a warm drink of their choice. Some prefer to begin this festive frenzy after celebrating Thanksgiving, but for many, the Christmas crazies begin long before that fateful meal. 

One of the most popular holiday activities is the ritualistic worshiping of the Hallmark franchise. Despite these movies being labeled as cheesy, stupid or even cringeworthy, these films have dug themselves into the very fabric of the holidays. 

Regardless of their popularity, these movies are just harmless, are they not? How could such sweet, happy movies full of true love and touching moments be damaging to society, backtracking the hard work of centuries? Is Hallmark spreading a message that is contrary to the success our generation has made toward inclusion and acceptance of those who were once considered outside the social norm?

It is common knowledge that the plot to every Hallmark movie is essentially the same: a girl meets a boy in some strange extenuating circumstance, the boy falls in love with the girl, something comes between them, but eventually love prevails and they live happily ever after. The end.

Is that it? Is that really the end? Or is there some dark beast lurking behind every happy ending? 

Hallmark promotes a straight, white, heteronormative love story that is actually very harmful if taken at surface value. Think about how many people know the classic Hallmark narrative — it’s a classic story. All of these people are being reached with a similar message; one regarding what makes for a happy ending. 

Hallmark is essentially presenting its audience with a recipe for success — what a relationship should look like if one wants to have an ideal partner to bring home for the holidays. However, no matter how “timeless” this may seem, it is the timelessness in itself that presents the issue with Hallmark movies. 

Hopefully, as society progresses, Hallmark will also progress in being more inclusive with its love stories. Inclusion of characters with genders outside of the typical gender binary, relationships that fall outside the traditional values or even inclusion of non-romantic relationships that can be just as satisfying. 

Truly fulfilling holiday adventures will not be complete until all voices are equally represented, especially in Hallmark movies. 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu