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News Services
Kansas State University
128 Dole Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506
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Source: Richard Harris, professor of psychology

1 Wrap
1 Actuality

You have selected a report about the appeal of holiday films. This report contains one wrap and one sound bite.

WRAP 1: An expert at K-State tells us what makes a classic holiday film

TIME: 56 Seconds

SUGGESTED INTRO: ASK ANYBODY WHAT HIS OR HER FAVORITE HOLIDAY FILM IS AND YOU'LL PROBABLY GET ANSWERS THAT RANGE ANYWHERE FROM THE CLASSIC "MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET" TO THE RELATIVELY NEW FILM "ELF." AN EXPERT AT K-STATE TELLS US WHY WE ENJOY WATCHING THOSE MOVIES YEAR AFTER YEAR. LANICE THOMSON REPORTS.

WHEN WE THINK ABOUT HOLIDAY MOVIES, THE LIST IS ENDLESS – JIMMY STEWART'S "IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE". . . "HOLIDAY INN" STARRING BING CROSBY. . . OR THE 80S CLASSIC "A CHRISTMAS STORY." K-STATE PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR RICHARD HARRIS TELLS US THAT TRADITIONAL HOLIDAY FILMS TEND TO BE VERY CONSERVATIVE IN THE SENSE THEY REMIND US OF PAST HOLIDAY TRADITIONS. . .

(Harris :33 "Reminds us of movies we watch in our childhood, reminds us of idealized forms of holiday gatherings - even though that's not necessary reality. Particularly Christmas holidays are times that people tend to be their most traditional, and part of that I think is the films that people like to watch. For many people, watching "It's A Wonderful Life," is just a part of a Christmas family celebration along with eating the turkey and opening the presents and going to Christmas Eve church and seeing family and all the other things.")

LANICE THOMSON, KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY.

ACTUALITY 1: Although holiday films have changed through the years, their basic message is the same.

TIME: 27 Seconds

Although holiday films have changed throughout the years, a K-State psychology professor says true classic holiday movies are those that appeal to all generations. Dr. Richard Harris says although a film may do well in a particular demographic, movies that only appeal to adults are not going to be considered a classic any more than would a film be that is aimed strictly at teens or children. Harris says we often talk about how movies have changed and how values have changed throughout the years. However, he points out that if we look carefully at the classic holiday hits, the core messages we see in both older and newer holiday films are very similar. This sound bite is 27 seconds and the outcue is "fifty years ago."

(Harris : "Particularly in sort of classic holiday films, even a film with a lot rougher language with a much more irreverent tone, most typically comes around affirming the importance of family, the importance of other people. It's usually a secular kind of message as opposed to religious kind of message of the holiday, but it's still really very conservative and traditional pro-family and in some ways not so different from films 50 years ago."

Harris lists "It's A Wonderful Life," "Miracle on 34th Street" and variations of Charles Dickens' story "A Christmas Carol" as strong holiday classics that have endured throughout the years.