Back to the Future of Postfeminist Film: Hallmark, Netflix, and the ‘New’ Woman’s Holiday Film

Abstract

Within the context of shifting dialogues around feminism and women’s roles at work and home, and an increasing recognition of racial and sexual diversity within these conversations, this chapter considers the resurgent popularity of the holiday rom-com genre, which, at its core, follows post-feminist narrative conventions. Examining the genre’s trademark emphasis on plotlines that follow the journey of women leaving urban spaces and high-paced careers in favor of simpler lives and small-town love, this chapter looks at The Holiday Sitter (Hallmark, 2022), Boyfriends of Christmas Past (Hallmark, 2021), Single All the Way (Netflix, 2021), and The Holiday Calendar (Netflix, 2018) to explore how the holiday film, as a genre, responds to a changed and changing landscape. To do so, it takes up the theory of the gimmick, asking: what persists and what is amended in these films in the wake of broader feminist activist awareness? How have narrative conventions shifted, if at all, to appeal to a newer generation of women and queer audiences? Overall, this chapter argues that the negotiating power of the audience, as they grapple with the contradictions and ambivalence of late capitalism and post-feminism, is one of the key appeals of the genre.