It’s an endless debate, sadly, and in the end, it’s subjective interpretation of art that makes this a moot question: people will think what they want to think, and that’s fine. But a definitive, objective answer to this question is simple, based on two primary factors: established literary theory and modern-day sociocultural realities. Accept it, please.
First, most standard textbooks that teach college undergraduates about fiction emphasis several elements of the genre—including theme, point of view, plot, characterization, setting, irony, and symbolism … among others. But there is a hierarchy to these elements, and thematic analysis is pretty much always at the top. Seriously, check your textbooks.
All of these individual pieces make up the total elements of fiction, so which ones have anything to do with Christmas when it comes to Die Hard? The themes do not (heist, family, masculinity); the point of view does not (omniscient); the plot does not (heist); characterization does not (cop buddies, family, thieves); irony does not (fish out of water); symbolism does not (greed).
The only primary element that is related partially to Christmas is the setting, which includes the corporate business world and Christmas Eve. That’s not enough to call this a “Christmas movie” by any stretch of the imagination. The traditional aspects of the “Christmas spirit” are not remotely discussed or explored, and there is no redemption arc.
Let’s look at the source material, too, a 1979 novel described by the Los Angeles Times as “a ferocious, bloody, raging book so single-mindedly brilliant in concept and execution it should be read at a single sitting” … yeah, that screams “Christmas” story, doesn’t it? Not even close, and while the film isn’t a direct adaptation, it’s still a very close derivation.
Again, it’s art, so people can think what they want to, but objectively speaking from an expert narrative analysis, this is nowhere near being a Christmas movie: it’s buddy cop/family reunion/heist movie with tons of blood, guns, and violence. Santa does not appear; his elves do not appear; compassion and generosity do not appear—not even close.
Second and most finite in terms of objective data in this debate? Die Hard was released on July 12, 1988, in the middle of the summer blockbuster season. Studios do not release Christmas movies in July; if 20th Century Fox did not consider this to be a Christmas movie, it means all those people who made the movie didn’t consider it a Christmas movie, either.
The studio, based on fan debates in the last handful of years, has tried to rebrand it, even though most people—including the film’s main star—don’t consider it a Christmas movie. Anything to make a buck, right? It’s why the 35th anniversary re-issue of the film is happening right now, a week before Christmas. It’s a cash grab, folks, so don’t fall for it.
No Christmas movie gets released in summertime, ever, and that fact, more than anything else, reveals Die Hard to not be a holiday film by any stretch of the imagination. Subjective exploration of art says we can’t tell anyone they’re wrong, but … the data here actually does mean we can tell the minority of people here that they are actually very wrong—period.
Daily McMedia 