Hallmark Movies From a Generational Point of View!

Posted by on Feb 11, 2020 in Baby Boomers, Millennials, Silent Generation | 0 comments

The popularity of Hallmark Christmas movies, a franchise beloved by both women and men, is worthy of a deeper look from a generational point of view.

The first time HCM came to my attention was in a post on my favorite Facebook page — Pickle Queens. Pickle Queens is a sort of modern-day lifestyle version of “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu. Here’s the post:

Does Hallmark use the same actors for their Christmas movies?  Yes. 

Do all the movies have the same story?  Yes.

Am I going to continue watching them till I can’t hold my eyes open?  Yes.

And when I have watched them all, am I going to watch them again?  Yes.

My second brush with Hallmark Christmas movies happened when a hometown friend (a member of the Silent Generation) visited me in New York. She went to museums, saw Tina – The Tina Turner Musical  – on Broadway, and reveled in the lights, the giant Christmas tree, and the skaters at Rockefeller Center.

But, after very long days doing the tourist thing, she wanted to relax in front of the television to watch the Hallmark Christmas movies. She told me: “It’s a sort of meditation. I know the beginning, the middle, and the end. I don’t have to think.”

After her visit, I mentioned our adventures to a mutual friend who is a Baby Boomer … and a Renaissance man – banker, lawyer, accountant, civic activist, and retired military man who served in Afghanistan. He told me his wife religiously watches Hallmark Christmas movies with a friend. She even has socks that say “Hallmark” on them. He must also watch the movies at times, too, because he described the plot perfectly: “A person leaves town with a dream … the person returns home for an event to discover the man/woman they left behind is their true love … and the movie ends with a kiss.”

The third thing I noticed was the popularity of Hallmark Christmas movies with Millennials, a generation I have studied since its beginning in 1982. Sixty-six percent of Millennials, according to YPulse, watch holiday movies, many owning sweaters, t-shirts, wine glasses, pillows, and popcorn tubs bearing the Hallmark logo.

So, why do Hallmark Christmas (aka Winterfest, Valentine, Spring Fever, June Wedding, and Fall Harvest) movies have such a spirited following?

In a nutshell, we live in disruptive times. The Deep State is being attacked. The President has been impeached. Gender identification has so many categories, one can’t keep  up. An employee was reported to HR for saying “Merry Christmas” to another employee. People wonder why Meghan Markle is so unhappy. There’s a debate over whether the movie Die Hard should be called a Christmas movie. Conventions in San Francisco are being cancelled, in part, due to rampant homelessness. The Academy Awards have become high political drama. The pace and complexity of daily news bewilders and amazes us.

Millennials (born 1982 to 2000) are, to a limited extent, a modern-day version of the G.I. Generation (born 1901 to 1924). During the Great Depression, the G.I. Generation watched movies for relief. And so do Millennials. Once again, people are turning to movies for comfort.

We’re living in a world painted Fifty Shades of Grey at a time when people need simplicity like the lyrics of a popular G.I. Generation-era song. “As Time Goes By”.

You must remember this.

A kiss is still a kiss.

A sigh is just a sigh. 

The fundamental things apply,

As time goes by.

So, the media reports on Coronavirus in China, attacks on police in NYC, the rise of socialism in America, and the Iowa caucus chaos. Net-net: It’s always a good time to watch a Hallmark movie where no matter what the future brings … a kiss is still a kiss.