Hallmark Movies–Conservative Romances Or Conservative Propaganda?

CPC has always one of the truest sources of joy and fun I have as a writer, so after taking a couple years off I have decided to crank it up again. I will be publishing it once a week or more, depending on what I’ve come across. If you like it, please feel free to forward it to anyone you feel might be interested.

There are currently more than 20 Hallmark Christmas movies sitting on our PVR. My wife watches them downstairs in her studio while she is doing whatever craft she is engaged with.

She doesn’t really care about them all that much. In fact, if pressed she would probably admit that they are all harmless junk. In point of fact she does a lot of close-up needlework, and uses what is on TV to shift her focus from close to far away, thus keeping her eyes healthy.

I have made an earnest effort to watch some of these movies, and I have found them completely and utterly insipid. There’s a good deal of bad acting in them, and the stories have a reputation for being totally formulaic and pretty much all the same.

Not withstanding that my critique is most likely a ‘guy thing’, the sheer number of these movies (on both Hallmark and Lifetime) that have appeared this year, something close to 70, inevitably makes me wonder if there isn’t some more nefarious purpose at work here.

Hallmark + Christian Religion

Hallmark’s vision statement, on their web site, states: “We will be the company that creates a more emotionally connected world by making a genuine difference in every life, every day.”

That sounds pretty much as you would expect from a company that’s based smack in the middle of the US heartland. And if you were to do a Google search of Hallmark Movies + Religion you would see that the ties there are very strong.

In fact, the number of religious organizations who re-sell Hallmark moves is quite significant. Therefore you can feel free to assume that the influence of these groups on the Hallmark brand is, likewise, quite significant.

What I wonder is if these movies are, in fact, not just painting a picture of the kind of uber-white middle class that is an endangered species in America, and maybe, in their own soft sell way, are a supporting mechanism some kind of right wing political agenda that keeps people in a conservative, white bread, apple pie state of mind, when the reality around them is quite the different.

And because the medium of TV itself is so powerful, it actually, through these insipid, middle class values movies do a pretty good job of reshaping and or reinforcing conservative values in many of those who would be considered 'fanatical' fans.

Everything Is Political These Days

The law and order and cop shows on TV all showcase the strength of right over wrong. The military shows all showcase America’s power in the world, and for that reason get a lot of cooperation from the powers that be.

So it’s not a reach that a company like Hallmark would, as part of their corporate and marketing agenda, have no problem promoting the idea of a white, middle class America as some sort of ideal conservative world, reinforcing Cristian values at the most Christian time of year.

Bowing To Progressive Pressure

Recently the Hallmark network got into a bit of trouble for pulling a commercial that featured two women kissing.

https://celebrityinsider.org/hallmark-under-fire-for-pulling-lgbtq-zola-commerical-that-shows-two-lesbian-brides-kissing-boycott-under-way-351104/

This was obviously in response to conservative Christian groups sending in their cards and letter and exerting influence.

But since then, LGBTQ activists have been twisting Hallmark’s heterosexual arm and have gotten a commitment from them to start producing more ‘diverse’ movies in the future.

What this will do to Hallmark’s brand among conservatives is yet to be seen. But like most of the political stuff going on in America these days, it’s it’s bound to be a real poopfest.

Diversity is one thing. But the bottom line here is that no matter what Hallmark does, it will inevitably find a way to turn it all into some sort of pablum that most people will simply classify as a guilty pleasure.

At least that’s the hope, because if the people who see Hallmark Christmas movies as anything close to genuinely aspirational…well that’s just sad.

Here’s an interesting piece I found on this subject, bouncing around the Interweb.

https://www.thelily.com/i-watched-the-top-10-hallmark-christmas-movies-so-you-dont-have-to-heres-what-i-learned/

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