This past weekend, the Hallmark channel officially made history by including a gay couple in one of their infamous Christmas movies. This comes after years of backlash by dedicated viewers who have criticized the channel for failing to include diversity in terms of race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. In this movie, The Christmas House, they show two sons who are going back home for the holidays to make this elaborate Christmas village at their parent’s house for one final time of family bonding and reconnection.
One of the sons is married to his husband and both are excited to participate in building the Christmas House. The other son is an actor who is focused on whether or not his show will be renewed and he prioritizes his career. This son eventually finds his future love interest when he goes back home for the holidays and the relationship ends up blossoming along with the other relationships already established in the film.
Another way this film sets itself apart from other films that have portrayed a gay couple is that they do not make the characters’ whole personality revolve around their homosexuality. There is no need to hide their sexuality or make the whole point of the movie the gay characters coming out to their family. It is refreshing to see accepting parents and an open-minded family as a whole. Unfortunately, this type of family dynamic is a rare reality for many people part of the LGBTQIA+ community, but these Hallmark Christmas movies are meant to be an escape from reality. The wholesome storylines and minimum conflict is what makes these movies so beloved and watched on repeat during the holiday season; the movies make people feel happy and peaceful.
The Hallmark channel has also included more diversity in terms of race and are even showing interracial relationships as well. Although in the year 2020 these seem like such small moments to celebrate, any type of diversity is important to acknowledge because representation matters, and it is important to see people of all different backgrounds, whether it is an Academy Award winning movie or a fun, cheesy holiday rom-com.
I hope that Hallmark sees the significance of this film and how important representation really is. This trend is already continuing as more trailers are releasing for their future holiday films that will be released in December. There is great change currently occurring that was long overdue! Soon non-diverse Hallmark Christmas movies will be a thing of the past and everyone will be able to see themselves represented in these feel-good holiday films!
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