I love these movies, I think part of it is that holiday movies are some of the only light-hearted movies around that aren’t for kids. I don’t care that they suck in real terms or are all the same (something about xmas brings enhances my tolerance for terrible music and movies), I do wish they Hallmark knew about POC and LGBTQIA.
My husband absolutely adored these because they were wholesome with no gratuitous sex or violence. He was a conservative Christian and these were some of the few shows he could really enjoy unreservedly. (I doubt he would have been pleased to see a gay story, though. He’s not around to ask, unfortunately.)
I find them predictable and banal. But to each his own. He would watch a Hallmark movie in one room and I’d be in the other room watching Criminal Minds or something LOL
I don’t watch these, but they make a lot of sense. I’ve watched movies sometimes and been disappointed that there are no similar movies for me to watch. If you like a generic Hallmark movie you’ll have infinite content.
I assume this was the same for the Harlequin Romance Novels too? I knew a few women over the years that had a bunch of these books. They seemed to digest them like monthly magazines.
In some ways it’s sort of a business dream to be able to keep repacking the same nuts and bolts to make something slightly different for consumers who will keep paying. It’s pretty efficient.
Still I’ve not read a Harlequin Romance nor have I seen a Hallmark movie. This doesn’t mean I’ve not seen all of the Star Wars movies or a good majority of the Marvel ones.
“In some ways it’s sort of a business dream to be able to keep repacking the same nuts and bolts to make something slightly different for consumers who will keep paying. It’s pretty efficient.”
Friend of mine’s dad used to write some Mills and Boon ones, which is the UK equivalent I suppose. We all found it hilarious. Had to sign up for one the ‘8 pre-approved plots’ in advance, and then got paid about a penny a word. You need to be properly cranking out text to even reach minimum wage - it would be easier to work stocking the shelves at a supermarket, quite frankly. But yeah, not an environment that fosters innovation.
They look a lot like the identikit romance books my mum would read. Even she didn’t know which one’s she’d read before. Be like three quarters of the way in and then go “oh, I’ve read this”.
Pretty sure ChatGPT could create those things by now, such is the limitless array of imagination on offer within.
I know some people like him but Dean Koontz might as well be filling out Mad Libs for all the originality in his stories. They're enjoyable enough for brain-mush but barely even qualify as "books."
I’ve never heard someone say they wanted to listen to pop or stadium country music because it’s innovative. In fact, a hasty and anecdotal surveying of friends and neighbors says that they listen to the music because it’s easy to listen to (ie unchallenging).
Yeah they want a familiar sound they are accustomed to. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Sometimes I’ll go to a fast food chain because I know exactly what to expect and I don’t have to think about it too much.
I was thinking the other day about how “pop” is an artifact of market economics and has nothing to do with art. Pop music for example is simply an attempt at maximizing ROI by appealing to the greatest common factor. I suppose this is obvious, I’m going to stop talking now.
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