A West Coast-hating 'good guy with a gun' trying to get his nuclear family back - it's a conservative fantasy that liberals can't get enough of every holiday season
I think it’s easy to comprehend its popularity across the aisle if you simply leave politics at the door and just enjoy the movie for what it is: one of the greatest action movies of all time! If everything is viewed through the lens of politics I don’t see how anyone would enjoy anything!
Here’s how DH came into my life. Bruce Willis was a tv star on a weird adult show on ABC. Word was he was gonna be in some kinda Arnold like action flick. Then the film debuts. Unexpectedly it was a huge hit. I was 12. It was 88. It was summer.
We had to see this.
By this point in the decade we -all of my under 17 year old friends had saw all the rated R action flicks (and raunchy comedies).
Without our parents knowledge. Being the 80’s this was routine.
So we knew the drill. Go to a busy movie theater buy whatever kid appropriate ticket for some PG13 film.
Make sure it starts a half hour before DH (this was done well into the film’s run as to not be in a sold out theater) boom 15 minutes into the fake film we copped tickets, exit that theater and then just walk into Die Hards theater.
So here we are a bunch of kids from Brooklyn sneaking into theaters in the city in the summer.
That’s why the film has never been a Christmas movie.
None of my friends have ever made that point. We saw the film with shorts on and hoping to get home to see Doc and Darryl get busy for the Mets.
I’ve said for years it’s millennials who see it as a Christmas movie.
Those of us alive to be conscious of it saw it when it dropped.
Wasn’t any need to make it into something it wasn’t.
It was a classic summer blockbuster film.
Side note my junior high (IS 211) played the film the next year during graduation rehearsals. In New York school ends last week of June.
I associate DH with Christmas as much as I would the moon for my home.
It’s not to say you can’t or shouldn’t point political messaging out (as you see it) it just feels counter productive to follow-up with “how can liberals enjoy this movie too?” It almost comes across as a judgement on someone for enjoying something (which I know isn’t your intention but did have that wet blanket feel to it) either way - I enjoy your content and your viewpoint even if I don’t align 100% with it in this case
I think it’s easy to comprehend its popularity across the aisle if you simply leave politics at the door and just enjoy the movie for what it is: one of the greatest action movies of all time! If everything is viewed through the lens of politics I don’t see how anyone would enjoy anything!
Here’s how DH came into my life. Bruce Willis was a tv star on a weird adult show on ABC. Word was he was gonna be in some kinda Arnold like action flick. Then the film debuts. Unexpectedly it was a huge hit. I was 12. It was 88. It was summer.
We had to see this.
By this point in the decade we -all of my under 17 year old friends had saw all the rated R action flicks (and raunchy comedies).
Without our parents knowledge. Being the 80’s this was routine.
So we knew the drill. Go to a busy movie theater buy whatever kid appropriate ticket for some PG13 film.
Make sure it starts a half hour before DH (this was done well into the film’s run as to not be in a sold out theater) boom 15 minutes into the fake film we copped tickets, exit that theater and then just walk into Die Hards theater.
So here we are a bunch of kids from Brooklyn sneaking into theaters in the city in the summer.
That’s why the film has never been a Christmas movie.
None of my friends have ever made that point. We saw the film with shorts on and hoping to get home to see Doc and Darryl get busy for the Mets.
I’ve said for years it’s millennials who see it as a Christmas movie.
Those of us alive to be conscious of it saw it when it dropped.
Wasn’t any need to make it into something it wasn’t.
It was a classic summer blockbuster film.
Side note my junior high (IS 211) played the film the next year during graduation rehearsals. In New York school ends last week of June.
I associate DH with Christmas as much as I would the moon for my home.
It’s not to say you can’t or shouldn’t point political messaging out (as you see it) it just feels counter productive to follow-up with “how can liberals enjoy this movie too?” It almost comes across as a judgement on someone for enjoying something (which I know isn’t your intention but did have that wet blanket feel to it) either way - I enjoy your content and your viewpoint even if I don’t align 100% with it in this case