What Christmas Movies Do We Watch in BIFU?

Oh, Christmas—a time when everyone is cheerful! It seems as if the whole world is secretly celebrating it far before it arrives; the air is nice and chilly, but regardless, the atmosphere creates a strange sense of warmth. Some flock to warmer states to escape the cold, while others stay at home and celebrate more traditionally through a Christmas dinner complete with candy canes and mistletoe. Regardless of how differently people celebrate it, most people can say with confidence that they’ve watched at least one Christmas movie in their lifetime. More specifically, in our community, several movies are celebrated as classics.

When polled, most BIF students came to a consensus on what they liked the most from a list of Christmas movies. The list included Home Alone (any movie from the franchise accepted), How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Elf, A Christmas Story, and It’s a Wonderful Life. Outside of these options, no one gave their own preference for a Christmas movie. Home Alone was a common answer in all responses. When polled and asked to elaborate on her preference, Helena H. (10) said,

“I think [the movie] really built up a powerful image in my head of kids defending the home. There’s also the lady in the forest and the birds and everything was so Christmas and magical—I loved it.”

Her response was echoed by other students, with Gail T. (7) saying,

“[Home Alone] because it's the only one I've watched on that list."

The second most popular response was The Grinch, but support for The Grinch paled in comparison to that of Home Alone. Only two out of the five interviewees mentioned it at all, both saying that Home Alone was better. The remaining movies on the list received no responses at all.

Overall, my polling revealed that perhaps we are not as different as we all think we are. We can still come together and agree on some things such as what the best holiday is and what the best way to celebrate Christmas is, as well as how good “Home Alone” really is. At the end of the day, humans love the same things in a movie - comedy and relatability. Kevin’s mischief in Home Alone unites us into laughter, while his relationship with his family makes us all sit back and think deeper about what it means to be a family. Just as Helena H. (10) mentioned,

“It’s the fact that [Home Alone] resonates with childhood-like dreams and fears. There’s the joys that we liked, like unlimited junk food, and the fears as well, like being home and going on the wrong flight.”

Every one of us at BIFU was once a young child with the same hopes and dislikes Kevin has - the same desire to scarf down unholy amounts of junk food, the same fear of getting lost.

Even if you prefer vacationing in Miami for Christmas break over the traditional Christmas dinner or vice versa, our shared experience of watching and liking the same movies reveals our solidarity with each other and is one of a plethora uniting us as a strong community. This is what Christmas is all about: celebrating as a community.