What makes a classic holiday movie?
Holiday tidings come with holiday movies, but what makes a holiday movie a classic?
“I think that film is a really immersive experience, and usually when we see a film, we are looking for an emotional reaction or response to it,” said Kimberly Miller, chair and professor of communication arts at Grove City College.
Miller teaches various writing and film-related courses, with topics including screenwriting, film history and theory, Christian faith and cinema, novel writing and developing characters.
“Any film, whether it is a Christmas film or a generally classic film, usually we are looking to return to those feelings, I think some of it is a sense of nostalgia,” Miller said. “Maybe we watched a movie as a child and that brings up those memories. We like to have that feeling of being with family, that feeling of togetherness.”
Along with holiday-based nostalgic memories, Miller believes that the feelings a film can evoke make it a seasonal classic; such films “are honest and have universal themes.”
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