What ho, my wee readers, I hope you had a very merry holiday season whatever holiday you celebrate at that time of year – I know this post is focused on Christmas , but that’s only because bad Christmas films are the most abundant and by far the most insufferable. Yes, I suppose I’ve let the cat out of the bag a bit, today we are going to be talking about Christmas stories, movies mostly, but also one really famous book.

I speak of course of A Christmas Carol, I could give you a whole lecture of who wrote it, when it was published and a short synopsis of the story. But that would be I think a bit of a waste of time. We all know who wrote it, we all know the story, and I’m betting that each of you is picturing your favourite Scrooch or adaption in your head as I speak. For me its Muppet Christmas Carol, and Michael Cain – I can’t help it, it’s the only one that doesn’t cut out the second Marley.

I recently finished the book during last year’s GoodReads Reading Challenge, not to mention rewatched the only proper adaption out there, which was a nice reprieve from all the rest of the Christmas trash they put on this time of year. I think that’s a good enough segway into my actual point. Onwards with the post!

Tell me what do you think is the message of A Christmas Carol, what is the thing that the three ghosts are trying so desperately to drill into old Scrooge’s head? The importance of Christmas, yes certainly, but that’s only the very surface level of the thing. Come on try again. The importance of Love and Family, of not pushing away people until you’re all alone with no one to even cry over your grave. That’s certainly present, certainly most of the purpose of the ghost of Christmas past, I will concede. But I wouldn’t actually call it the main theme of the book, though it’s certainly the one a lot of later writes of Christmas stories and media have latched onto. The importance of charity and goodwill towards men. Ah yes, we’re getting somewhere now. The importance of not valuing your own material wealth over the good of your fellow man? That in fact poor people are people too? That they have their own wants, desires, loves, lives that may have nothing to do with you but are equally as important in the eyes of your god?

Yes, we’ve struck gold. And it’s not a subtle theme either, the book practically beats you over the head with it. From the memory of Scrooge’s ex-Fiancés contempt at his money grubbing ways and her belief that he would not seek her hand as he is now, a poor girl as she is, from the Ghost of Christmas Past. To the deep sense of loss and love surrounding Tiny Tim’s death compared to Scrooge’s own, from the Ghost of Christmas yet to Come. And that’s not even mentioning the entire existence of Jacob Marley and his kind. However the greatest source of this theme comes from the Ghost of Christmas Present. For it is he more than even his fellow spirits who emphasises the grace and goodness of the humble man over the mighty. It is he who takes Scrooge to Bob’s household and introduces the reader to Tiny Tim. It is he who throws Scrooge’s words not once but twice back into the old man’s face.

“Are there no workhouses? Are there no prisons?”

The Spirit even has anger left over for other men, men of the church who presume to use his name to do their deeds, who shut their doors to the poor and the homeless on Christmas Day even though they are starving,

And yet I find it most interesting that this is the segment of the book that most adaptions- to be fair, most adaptations I’ve seen – will soften. Making the spirit far jollier than his book counterpart and far less angry. And yes, I even include my precious Muppets in this, they don’t even include the manifestations of human Want and Ignorance hiding under the Spirit’s Robe. And I’ve only ever seen one adaptation that included the condemnation for the Men of the Church who do wicked things in the spirit’s name. The Jim Carey One if you can believe it. Hmm, maybe should have watched more of them before starting starting this post…oh well, too late now.

So I hear you say, adaptations made by multibillion dollar media conglomerates mostly for children have softened the contempt of the treatment of the poor by the rich in Dickens’ original text, what else is new? And I entirely agree, this is neither particularly surprising or indeed newsworthy at all. But it is still worth mentioning regardless, the fact that though our love of Christmas has grown, and we are still up for watching a senior citizen be bullied into conforming with holiday society expectations by three cosmic entities – there is still something uncomfortable to us, about acknowledging a simple truth that the book makes abundantly clear.

That is, that the evil Scrooge unleashes upon the world is not his alone. It is not even remotely unique to him. Many times the spirits condemn the works of ‘men like Scrooge’ but they never put the blame solely on Scrooge’s shoulders. His words and his actions are his, and he must repent of them, or pay dearly. But he is only part of the problem, not the root cause of it. And though the Spirits can fix Scrooge in a single night, there is no magical or supernatural fix for society’s woes. For the woes of man’s Want and or Ignorance . Fear them both, the Spirit of Christmas Present warns, but most of all fear the boy (Ignorance). And often the only way to combat ignorance, particularly with subjects that we find uncomfortable, is by forcing ourselves to confront them, even if only in the form of fiction. And yet we must ask ourselves, what happens when we are so unnerved by an idea, or a concept that we cannot bare to even do that much?

Enter the modern Christmas Movie.

Follow this story, you might know it well. A young business person (usually a woman, but occasionally a man) must for some sometimes convoluted reason pick up and relocate to a small town during the Christmas season. During their stay, they will enviably learn that their investment in their big city life and career was either entirely wrong or misplaced, the warmth of family and community, and usually the magic of Christmas. Sometimes literally. There will be a final act confrontation with someone from their city life, usually an ex but sometimes just a jackass boss. And once that asshole has been beaten back and the town or tree lot saved, then the business person can now be accepted fully into the community. And usually start their new relationship with a man who appreciates Christmas.

Now why have I told you this story, what does this tale have anything to do with a Christmas Carol, or it’s numerous interweaving themes? Well, nothing at least on the surface. However such was the fame of that old Victorian story that I would argue you can read it’s influence in almost all of our Christmas themed entertainment. Swap out the three cosmic entities for a whimsical small town obsessed with Christmas or Santa Claus and you’ve got the plot of most Hallmark movies. Give or take a few grumpy old men. And yet what I find interesting is where the story deviates in its themes.

Both tales emphasis Christmas, Love, and Family over a life lived for prophet and ambition true, but where this story seems to deviate is the wider view of things. Namely all the strife and worries of this story can been wrapped up in less than two hours, because ultimately the responsibility for the woes lie with the individual. Either the main character before their turn around, or the half hearted attempt at a villain. There are rarely if ever crooked men of the church closing their doors on Christmas, or wicked men making the world a worse place on a wider scale than any one individual could ever reach – because ultimately that would be uncomfortable to think about. Now am I saying that because these stories lack the nuance of a Christmas Carol, they’re bad movies? No, a film doesn’t have to have that kind of message to be a good one. They often are bad, but not specifically for that reason. But I just find it interesting to ponder the parts of the story they left by the wayside, considering how much else they aped from it.

What do you think?

If you’ve enjoyed this bitter Christmas theme tirade about a collection of films that have done absolutely nothing to me but exist in my vicinity , why not follow the Wee Blog if you haven’t already. Also check me out on X, Instagram, Mastodon, Threads, Pinterest, Tumblr, Spotify, TikTok, YouTube, Goodreads, Kofi and Facebook. Also sign up to the Wee Mailing List by the end of the month if you want to see all new pictures never before published anywhere else. Until next time, keep safe and have a very bony day.