(Photo by @CVDOP Limbicker at unsplash.com)
Growing up, I was entertained by Disney and Hallmark channels. The Hallmark movies are predictable and a joy to watch. Although romances are my least favorite genre, Hallmark makes them bearable. My favorite movie series is Signed, Sealed Delivered, The Good Witch, and the TV show When Comes the Heart. These movies show love in a family-friendly way, but the characters are mostly all white. The minority characters that do show up are the best friend, the police officer or the magical negro. Netflix saw this lack of diversity and did something about it.
This Holiday season Netflix released The Princess Switch and The Holiday Calendar. Both movies are great but their diversity is the best part. In The Princess Switch, the little girl, Olivia, is African-American. Not only is she adorable, but she is not in any way a stereotype. She loves ballet, her hair is natural, and is just a joyous. My friend told me that she wished that she was her child, and I agree. Olivia was a dream come true for my little kid self. Here on TV was a little girl that looked like me having fun adventures.
In The Holiday Calendar the main character, Abby, is biracial and has a magical Advent calendar that predicts events. This plot is really cool but Abby is just a normal 20-something-year-old woman who wants to be a photographer. She does not fight racism or is the best friend to someone. Even though I do not like the ending of the film, this movie was wonderful.
I like Hallmark but it is like the writers think everyone is Christmas. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a love story movie surrounding the High Holidays? Or Ramadan on a major network like Netflix? Since Netflix has released these more diverse holiday movies, I have been watching Hallmark less. I watch television to see myself and my friends who come from various backgrounds. Right now, Hallmark is failing at that. I hope in the future Hallmark sees that all people deserve a movie that represents them in various ways.