Is Die Hard A Christmas Movie?

Weekly Topic: Christmas Movies: Classics and New Favorites

Matthew Irwin

We are here to think. We are here to learn. We are also here to consider Die Hard. There isn't anything "Christmasy" about it. Yet, half of Americans consider it a Christmas movie. I will not back up that statistic. The movie opened in the summer of 1988 and was intended as a summer blockbuster. Yet the plot does revolve around Christmas and the movie was filmed around Christmas. If Thanksgiving can be about the Packers and Lions, then Christmas can be about Die Hard and Bruce Willis. Yippie kay-yai-yay and Merry Christmas says Santa. This gets us into the realm of literary criticism. Your reading of the text is valid. The author can't tell you that you're wrong. It's your subjective experienceYippie kay-yay!! You could also watch Charlie Brown's Christmas Special and listen to the CD.

Vocabulary

yippie kay (yai) yay: This is associated with the Wild West. It's like of like yelling "woo-hoo!" when you're excited. I'm not sure about specific etymology.

blockbuster: A large-scale Hollywood production that's great for eating popcorn. It was also a video store. There is 1 left.

literary criticism: The study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. This is at the core of an English major's studies. It's related to analysis and interpretation more than being critical. This is where the terms book/film/restaurant/art critic come from. The film Ratatouille was about a food critic's change of heart when he tried ratatouille.

This column was published by the author in their personal capacity.
The opinions expressed in this column are the author's own and do not reflect the view of Cafetalk.

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