No, Diehard isn’t a Christmas Movie
I don’t want to fight. Hear me out.
There are a small handful of conversations that I find tedious and boring beyond bear:
- How much you love bacon.
- Star Wars
- Whether Diehard is a Christmas movie.
Yes, it’s a conversation I hate, but, against my better judgment, I’ve decided to wade into it for a bit. Just know, I hate it.
Diehard isn’t a Christmas movie. The reason most people say it is is because it takes place on Christmas.
If that’s all it takes to be a Christmas movie, then Gremlins is a Christmas movie (and, yes, I know some folks think it is), Trading Places is a Christmas movie, and Eyes Wide Shut is A Christmas movie. In spite of the story taking place on Christmas, you rarely see fights on Facebook about how this time of year makes them long for bird-faced sex masquerades.
Whether or not Diehard is a Christmas movie, should be decided on theme.
And, thematically, I don’t think it’s a Christmas movie.
I think it’s a Winter Solstice movie.
Winter Solstice is the pagan observance and celebration of the fact that the sun is closer to us than it ever will be and the nights are, as a result, the longest they’ll ever be. The Pagans used this time of year, a time of no crop growth, cold weather, and short days, to hold each other close, and say, “We’ll get through this.”
That, to my mind, is what Diehard is about. Vacationing cop, John McClain, finds himself and the wife he’s separated from, trapped in a highrise with terrorist. McClain says to his wife with his actions and his words, “We’ll get through this together,” meaning the terrorist situation and the separation.
During the solstice, the sun was a big deal. It was as close to us as it was ever gonna be. The sun represents illumination — a light shining on the dark parts of lives. The hostage situation, for McClain, is a light shining on that matters most to him. He climbs the inner guts of the Nakatomi tower towards the sun, towards illumination, and ends up finding a place where light was needed.
The biggest, most important theme of the Christmas story is the virgin birth. Virgin births are ripe in mythology, especially, American Indian stories. They represent awakening spirituality. For Diehard to be a Christmas movie, we would have to see John McClain awaken spiritually.
Wait.
I… I guess he kind of does. And he flees a rich, megalomaniac who wants him dead, Just like Jesus fled Herod.
Hmmmm.
Maybe Diehard is a Christmas movie.
Or maybe…
Like art, stories are subjective. Maybe they mean what we say they mean.
I say, “maybe,” but, actually, I know this is true. I’ve spent my adult life learning about and teaching story structure, and that’s one of the first things you learn — their power is in how you choose to apply them to your life, whether it’s the story of Jesus being born, Parzival finding the grail, or Bruce Willis walking across glass.
Story is selecting. You select meaning.
And not just the stories you watch or listen to. But, also, the stories you tell. What is your life about? What’s the general thrust of your marriage? What are you trying to accomplish with your friendships?
Or business. I help folks figure out business stories for a living. You better figure out what you’re doing with eight hours of your day and why. If you don’t, somebody else will decide it for you.
And then argue about it on Facebook…
For more on Story and how it effects our lives, subscribe to my weekly newsletter: http://eepurl.com/ci82l5
