Your Christmas Viewing Guide

I guess I have to call myself a true Californian if my Christmas doesn’t feel complete without a trip to Disneyland to see the fireworks.  When I was at Biola, my two best friends were my roommate Becca and my boyfriend (now my husband) Nate, and our favorite tradition was our first trip to see the Christmas fireworks on Main Street.  They used instrumental versions of hymns, the show was spectacular, and we just couldn’t help loving the “snow” that fell on Main Street to the strains of a soulful White Christmas.  Unfortunately, the whole thing was bookended by some pop star wailing an original song called “Remember the Magic.”  We used to laugh at the song’s vapidity, but there was always something sad about the empty sentimentality of what Disney clearly thought (and many people standing around us confirmed) could be a meaningful experience.

Upon further reflection, this empty sentiment is, in a small way, encouraging.  In a country that has taken the commercialization of Christmas to a level that would make even poor Linus despair, there’s still something about the holiday that affects people.  Beneath the toys, food, lights, and family gatherings, there’s something real about that day that we can’t drown out with shallow celebration.  Disney calls it magic, and that’s not too far off the mark.  C.S. Lewis called it Deep Magic in his Narnia chronicles, and there’s something mystical about the power of the hope the Incarnation can have, even on those who deny its existence.  In that sense, it was wrong of the three of us to laugh at Disney’s inadequate expression of that hope.  It’s easy to write it off as mere emotional manipulation, but there’s something of the groaning of Creation for her Savior in those hollow lyrics.  Our response should be to encourage a deeper pursuit of the Mystery, not to mock it.

To atone for years of failing to do that, Nate and I have compiled a list of classic and not-so-classic Christmas films for your viewing pleasure this season.  We hope that they lead you to a deeper contemplation of the Incarnation and its power to reach all those beings created in the Image of God.



THE CLASSICS

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

“Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?” – Clarence



What can we say about Frank Capra’s Christmas masterpiece?  This film endures despite its saccharine moments and cheesy narration, and for good reason.  Jimmy Stewart was born to play the everyman we all wish we could be.  As Thoreau wrote in Walden, “the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation,” and Stewart’s George Bailey could be Thoreau’s poster child.  The next time you watch this film, pay attention to its development of this theme, and especially the solution Capra presents.  There’s a great discussion about the Imago Dei and the divine importance of each individual hidden behind it all.

For discussion:

What is the film’s portrayal of and solution to “the life of quiet desperation?”

What does the film say about the true worth of a man?  What makes someone valuable?

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Miracle on 34^th Street (1947)

“Look Doris, someday you're going to find that your way of facing this realistic world just doesn't work. And when you do, don't overlook those lovely intangibles. You'll discover those are the only things that are worthwhile.” – Fred Gailey



Sure, it’s a silly movie about Santa Claus being put on trial, but like It’s a Wonderful Life, there are deeper things at work in this simple plot.  We can all choose whether we want to live with an epistemology of belief or an epistemology of doubt. In simple terms, under the former we approach the world with the willingness to trust and see extraordinary things, but with the latter we view the world through a lens of skepticism.

For discussion:

Are we more afraid of being fooled by a crazy old man who says he’s Santa Claus, or are we more afraid that we’ll miss the real thing because we’re afraid of being made fools?

Does it matter whether we tend to believe or tend to doubt?

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White Christmas (1954)

“We’ll follow the old man wherever he wants to go!” – Bob Wallace and Phil Davis



This film is a masterpiece of the age of the Hollywood musical, and it’s worthy of any family’s Christmas tradition for the song and dance numbers alone.  They’re so spectacular, and the love stories are so sweet, it’s easy for forget that the emotional core of this story is loyalty and friendship born from war.  One of the greatest legacies of World War II is the triumph of the human spirit in midst of death and destruction. Considering the backdrop of war, this movie is cheerful to a fault. Considering the backdrop of war, this movie is cheerful to a fault.  What did the characters go through during the war years?  How do people reconcile with traumatic pasts?  And why is Danny Kaye so very good in Choreography?  These questions deserve serious contemplation.

For discussion:

How do we find peace after a traumatic experience?

What is the source of persistent resilience? Persistent friendship? Persistent loyalty?

Are Bob and Phil resilient, or are they denying the tragedy they experienced?

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A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

“I never thought it was such a bad little tree.  It’s not bad at all, really.  Maybe it just needs a little love.” – Linus



The best half hour of Christmas programming has always been and will always be A Charlie Brown Christmas.  Both an indictment of the blossoming of a consumer culture that’s drowning us today and a reminder that it’s the divine mystery of Christmas, not the lights and songs, that make the season worth the hype, this tv classic should provide your friends and family with fodder for great conversation.

For discussion

Linus is the emotional core of the story, and therefore the character to watch.  Pay attention to his thoughtful questions, his encouragement, and the one moment when he drops his blanket.

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A Christmas Carol (1938)

“It’s me!  Your uncle Scrooge!  Smile makes a difference, doesn’t it?” – Ebeneezer Scrooge



This film isn’t as much about a greedy soul or the dangers of materialism that so many people make it out to be.  At its heart, this film is about learning how to love someone you don’t have any reason to love. Scrooge’s family and employees must learn to reach out to the hard-hearted old man whether he reciprocates or not.  Scrooge learns to love other people, yes, but he must also learn who he truly is to do it.  His transformation over the course of the film is what makes it so memorable, but a good Wheatstoner should ask how that transformation really happened.  We don’t all get visits from three ghosts on Christmas Eve, after all.

For discussion

What changed Scrooge?

Can we ever ask “why” we should love someone? Something?



THE SHOULD-BE CLASSICS

Elf (2003)

“The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!” – Buddy the Elf



This silly comedy deserves its place among the classics, not just for entertainment value, but for being one of the few modern Christmas films that forwent cheap schmaltz in favor of a story that touches the true magic of Christmas.  Buddy’s eternal optimism plays well for laughs, but he embodies the epistemology of belief like no other character, and that outlook changes everyone around him.  Cheesy?  Of course.  Worth thinking about it the power of an indomitable spirit to change the world around him or her?  Definitely.

For discussion

How did Buddy change his world? Should/can we be like him?

Is it worth it to be happy and wrong?

Is Buddy an idiot, or is he a “bringer of jollity” (and what does that mean)?

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The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

“And I, Jack, the Pumpkin King, have grown so tired of the same old thing.” – Jack Skellington



Tim Burton’s twisted take on holiday films was a breath of fresh air in the era of The Santa Clause and far too many Home Alone sequels.  Rather than follow the same old tropes for Christmas movies, Burton invented a new genre of holiday film and made an artistically beautiful and philosophically complex film about purpose.  Jack loses his way as the spirit of Halloween and becomes entranced by the beauty of Christmas, but he doesn’t understand it.  In grasping for it, he nearly destroys the thing he loves, and that’s where a beautiful dramatic soul-searching takes place in stopmotion.

For discussion

When we love something, where is the line between enjoying it and possessing it, and what happens to our souls when we stumble into the latter?

If Wheatstone taught us anything, it must be that we cannot fully understand Christ.  Do we love Christ, or, like Jack, do we try to possess Him?

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Joyeux Noël (2005)

“Tonight, these men were drawn to that altar like it was a fire in the middle of winter.  Even those who aren’t devout came to warm themselves.” – Palmer



Based on one of the most baffling true stories in history, Joyeux Noël tells the tale of regiments of Allied and Central Powers troops facing off across No-Man’s Land on Christmas Eve.  If you don’t know the story of what happens, we’re not going to spoil it.  You’d never believe it if we told you, anyway.  This film, though hard to watch due to its heart-breaking and realistic portrayal of World War I, is a plea for us to remember what Lincoln called the better angels of our nature, and shows the power of the Incarnation in the midst of what was then the world’s worst conflict.

For discussion

What just happened?  Move past the narrative and examine the incident. What really went on there?

What lessons does it bear for us, still embroiled in a very different war, today?

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We’re No Angels (1955)

“If crime showed on a man’s face, there wouldn’t be any mirrors.” – Albert



This was Lindsay’s family’s favorite Christmas film of all time, but no one seems to have heard of it.  It’s an odd little film, starring Humphrey Bogart among an all-star cast, about three violent criminals who escape from Devil’s Island on Christmas Eve and, intending to rob a family living in a tiny French coastal town, end up spending the holiday trying to fix what’s wrong in their lives instead.  It’s a silly film with serious undertones, and questions our most basic assumptions about what makes a man good, and what makes him bad.

For discussion

What does make a man good or bad?



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The Doctor Who Christmas Specials (2005 – present)

“Ladies and gentlemen, I know that man!  That Doctor on high!  And I know that he has done this deed a thousand times.  But not once, no, sir, not once, not ever has he ever been thanked.  But no more, for I say to you on this Christmas Morn, bravo, sir!” – Jackson Lake



England’s new patron saint, the Doctor, makes an annual appearance on Christmas Day in a one-hour special.  It’s ironic, because he’s written by agnostic if not atheistic writers, but the Doctor is the closest thing to Jesus on television, across the Pond or over here.  It’s well worth diving in to the Doctor Who universe to see a character personify grace and mercy, and the Christmas specials are a fun place to start: The Christmas Invasion, The Runaway Bride, The Voyage of the Damned, and The Next Doctor.  This year, the BBC will broadcast the annual Christmas special on Christmas Day in America (usually we Yanks must wait at least a few days to see it).  Watch for Michael Gambon in A Christmas Carol.  If years’ past are any standard by which to judge it, it will be a delightful romp that breaks through the cathartic violence that our American action films have so conditioned us to crave.

For discussion

The Doctor is often called “the lonely god.”  Is God lonely?  Could it be our fault?

What is it about the Doctor that defies our expectations?  What does that say about our expections?

As Craig Ferguson asked, what is the importance of overcoming cynicism and brute force with intelligence and romance?

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Die Hard (1988)

“Come out to the coast, we’ll get together, have a few laughs…” – John McLain



Speaking of cathartic violence, one of our silliest recommendations, and the one we’ll end this list with, is the quintessential “guy” Christmas movie, Die Hard.  Alan Rickman tries to blow up a building.  Bruce Willis takes off his shoes.  There’s some irony in the musical choices, but really, Die Hard is a nice palate cleanser – a Christmas movie without carols, reindeer, or watered-down morals to its story.  You can use it to start a conversation about international politics and the impact of US political decisions on the rise of terrorism, and you should.  But you should also enjoy it.

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