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White Christmas and Altruism

White Christmas and Altruism

Last updated on: December 20, 2022 at 4:30 pm by Zachary Miller

White Christmas and Altruism 2022-12-20T16:30:53-06:00 Zachary Miller

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Paramount Pictures via “Pinterest”

I try to avoid controversial matters when I can on this site, including the question of when it is appropriate to start listening to Christmas music. But I will say that on my calendar, Christmas starts whenever I finally give Michael Curtiz’ 1954 musical, White Christmas, its seasonal viewing.

I classify this as my favorite Christmas movie (I refuse to peg It’s a Wonderful Life down as such) and as one of my favorite classical musicals. The drama is rich without feeling too sensationalized, and when the musical numbers get to spread their wings, the results are soaring. I bring up the movie here and now because of the way it examines the nature of that most Christmas-y of all values: that of altruism, and whether there is any such thing as a genuinely selfless act in a world where everyone always has something to gain, some way to put themselves ahead of everyone else.

Paramount Pictures via “Fanpop”

There are a decent handful of dramatic threads running through this film. There’s obviously the blossoming romance between Bob and Betty, as well as Phil and Judy. But the film’s most central storyline is between soldiers-turned-performers, Bob and Phil, and their efforts to help their former commanding officer, Major Tom Waverly, keep his struggling inn afloat. With the help of a charming pair of performing sisters, Betty and Judy, Bob and Phil come up with the idea to host a Christmas concert at the inn to attract more tourism.

The film constantly creates opportunities for our characters to perform service for one another, and moments for them to reflect on how they feel about such opportunities. Betty is the film’s biggest proponent of altruism in its purest form. This itself is linked to a certain childlike innocence that she chooses to hold onto, a belief in fairy-tales and white knights. This initially sets her against Bob, who makes no such claim, but as Bob’s own unique brand of loyalty and decency naturally reveals itself, she starts to wonder if he might be her white knight after all.

Paramount Pictures via “Fan Pop”

It sometimes feels like Bob was onto something with his thesis, that everyone is playing some kind of “angle.” This is just the mindset Bob has grown accustomed to in the world of showbusiness. Even Phil and Judy’s campaign to get his friend and her sister together is partly a selfish effort to get their respective companion off their backs.

But our cast learns that playing angles can’t discount the human element. After all, Phil and Judy’s efforts to manipulate Bob and Betty together fail because they don’t actually understand what’s keeping those two apart. They don’t know, for example, that a misunderstanding causes Betty to believe that Bob is Tom under the bus in order to boost his own PR image, and that’s what turns her against Bob. This dissonance is something Bob and Betty have to face themselves, and they can only do this if they are willing to be perfectly vulnerable with one another. No angles.

Paramount Pictures via “Literally Anything Movies”

One of the things that makes this film work is how it reveals the unexpected ways in which true selflessness can manifest. Even the ever-pragmatic Bob is capable of unabashed goodness. He’s invested not just in his friend’s financial standing, but in his sense of dignity. He wants his former commanding officer to feel pride and accomplishment. It’s a very holistic view on kindness that characterizes this film, and this is one of the reasons why this film feels more in line with the Christmas spirit than films with more obvious Christmas iconography (e.g. Disney’s The Santa Clause movies).

Anyways, merry Christmas, folks.

Paramount Pictures via “DVDizzy”

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