Love Actually & the Healing Power of Christmas Films

What makes a Christmas movie a Christmas movie? How do Christmas movies react to – and help us heal from – collective trauma? How can a British Christmas movie feel quintessentially American? We discuss all that and more this week at the 20th Anniversary of Love Actually, with G. Vaughn Joy , a film historian, writer, podcast host, and PhD candidate at University College London. Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag , composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The first mid-episode musical selection is “ The First Noel ,” from Christmas Songs and Carols (1912) by Trinity Choir; in the public domain and available via the Library of Congress National Jukebox. The second mid-episode musical selection is “ Jingle Bells ,” from Favorite Colleges Songs (1916) by Victor Male Chorus; in the public domain and available via the Library of Congress National Jukebox. The episode image is from a publicity poster for Love Actually. Films Discussed: It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) The Bishop’s Wife (1947) A Christmas Story (1983) Die Hard (1988) Love Actually (2003) The Holiday (2016) Red Nose Day Actually (2017) Klaus (2019) Additional Sources: “ From Fictio…