Hallmark has stopped production of a controversial movie after studio executives realized they were going to offend the majority of minorities, should the movie be released on public television.
For many years, Hallmark Channel Original Movies have attracted the ire of critics and viewers alike for featuring the same plot with just enough changes of characters’ names and locations to prevent the company from suing themselves for copyright infringement. These movies have also been widely criticized for having very little racial diversity, with entire casts and crews being entirely white. Even most dogs featured in Hallmark movies are white, leading PETA to launch an unsuccessful protest of Hallmark “fostering racism among animals.”
The canceled movie, titled “A Gay Black Jewish Christmas” was to stray from this typical demographic. Featuring cast members from sixty-nine countries and twenty-six religions, numerous problems plagued the excessively diverse production from the beginning. From a poorly furnished dinner sequence (eating ham despite the central family being Jewish) to costly set destruction (a lit menorah hung on the Christmas tree burned down the tree), the production seemed doomed to fail from the start. Other cast members were disheartened by the fact that, despite the diverse casting, the story was exactly the same as any other Hallmark film.
Despite the nearly universal disdain for Hallmark Channel Original Movies, there are a few deviants who find enjoyment in these terribly bland movies. Martha Barr, a resident of Cleveland, said, “Hallmark Christmas movies are masterpieces, greater than Gone with the Wind, greater than The Godfather! A happy ending is way better than waking up with a horse’s head in your bed!” before being hauled back into the asylum.
-John Gudz, Contributor