We love to make fun of Holiday Romantic Comedy, just like we love to hate on Pumpkin Spice Lattes…but what if there is more to this trope than meets the eye?
Why is it that so many women love to watch these movies?
As a feminist, my algorithm is often loaded with well-meaning women warning young girls about the dangers of romanticizing these movies. Yet these individuals are missing a key aspect of why women are so drawn to these films as a guilty pleasure.
Women, are drawn to the Holiday Rom-Com trope not because we all want to live in small towns or be with the humble Christmas tree farmer…but because we are seeking a slower pace of life.
We have a desire to connect back to our roots, to our communities, to feel connected and a sense of belonging, and maybe we are secretly looking for permission through the archetype of a hot Mr. Claus (disguised as our Daemon function) to give that to us.
AI-Generated Image
These movies aren’t just about love and romance; they are about women’s desire to rest in a world that tells them to constantly perform.
Thus, they provide the perfect template for applying the Yonic Model of the Self, as I have done in this episode with the Netflix movie Falling for Christmas, which came out in 2022 and was directed by Janeen Damian and starred Lindsay Lohan in her “comeback” film.
Lohan as Sierra Belmont
In the film, we meet Sierra Belmont, the spoiled rich girl stuck in her Veil function, seeking outside approval, which she attempts to do by becoming an influencer with the help of her boyfriend Tad Fairchild, who represents her Ego function and the Prince Charming archetype.
George Young as Tad Fairchild
In the movie, Tad proposes to Sierra, only for them to be swept off the mountain in a freak snowstorm, where she hits her head and gets amnesia. Thus, she has to spend Christmas with the charming, down-to-earth widower, Jake Russell, and his adorable daughter and mother-in-law.
Chord Overstreet as Jake Russell
Jake represents Sierra’s Daemon function, the dark masculine aspect of her psyche, who initiates the integration of her Aura function, which she comes into contact with by developing her “alter ego” Sarah.
Jake (Overstreet) and Sierra as “Sarah” (Lohan)
Sarah represents Sierra’s more down-to-earth side, her authentic true self, which doesn’t feel the need to perform for external approval. It is also the part of her she needs to connect with to remember who she truly is (Anamnesis), which she does by becoming a mother figure to Jake’s daughter, Avy, and by connecting with her crone/fairy godmother archetype through Jake’s mother-in-law, Alejandra.
Olivia Perez as Avy an aspect of Sierra/Sarah’s younger self
Alejandra Flores as Alejandra, Jake’s mother-in-law and Sierra/Sarah’s fairy godmother.
Thus, by reconnecting herself to her own feminine wisdom and healing her own mother-daughter split, Sierra/Sarah learns how to integrate all aspects of her Self and discover who she truly is.
OX,
Your Dark Fairy Godmother
