Back in the day… yes, I know, old people start this way when they’re about to tell you how things were during their childhood. I’m not old, however I am closer to 100 than birth, and the gap is closing in at an alarming rate, so bear with me.
If you were alive during the 70’s you might remember the Hallmark Hall of Fame movies. They didn’t air often, maybe every quarter or so, and the quality of their productions were amazing. We’d gather as a family to watch original stories that inspired those of us who were impressionable to rise above or to strive for excellence. Another stellar feature of these productions were the commercials. Yes, commercials! Of course, they were advertisements for Hallmark cards, but they struck at the heart and brought me to tears more often than not.
Anyone remember their motto? Hallmark, when you care to send the very best. I used this a time or two when my husband and I were dating. He actually gave me a sympathy card for the first birthday he celebrated with me. Dug out of the bottom of a drawer, it was one of those he saved from a free packet he received along with some advertising mail. Now, he’s become kind of a Hallmark snob. I might have overdone it a little.
Okay, back on track here. The movies, the advertisements and the motto were a combination of what we could expect from Hallmark. Sadly, it seems to be a thing of the past. I tried to watch a couple Hallmark Christmas movies a few years back, yearning for the days of yore. What I got was formula. Watch one, and you’ve basically seen them all.
Sean Dietrich, author and blogger, said it best in his blog post The Holiday Channel.
It’s obvious Hallmark has a fan-base, because they continually air these movies. They even have a Christmas in July series! So, if you’re one of those loyal watchers, I apologize if I’ve offended you. My point is that the quality of television has taken a turn for the worse since I was a kid.
Last April, I attended the Mount Hermon Writer’s Conference. Bob Saenz, screenwriter, was teaching a track on turning your book into a screenplay. He wrote movies for Hallmark for years. I didn’t take that track, but, out of curiosity, I met with him. After a few minutes of chitchat, he admitted to me, “I will no longer be writing for Hallmark. They aren’t interested in good movies, they just want to crank out as many as possible. I can’t work in that environment.” He reiterated that which I’d discovered for myself. And with the discouragement of quality screenwriters, it doesn’t look as if things will make an upward turn.
To top it off, Hallmark has recently caved to the LGBT community and will be running wedding ads that show two lesbians kissing. Initially, they pulled the ads when there was a complaint from OneMillionMoms, a division of American Family Association. Now they say they want to offer inclusion and are not concerned that it changes the tenor of what was previously a family-safe network. It breaks my heart to see how far the culture in which we now live has fallen. You can read the full article here.
I, personally, have struggled with the increase of homosexual content in almost every television show that now airs. What makes it worse, Hollywood is targeting young children depicting this lifestyle (This is Us and A Million Little Things to name a couple.) Add to that, Netflix has recently released a movie wherein Jesus is a homosexual and His mother, Mary, an adulteress. It’s a clear attack of Christian beliefs. You can read that article here.
Nothing is sacred.
I want to end this post by sharing something that is inspirational—old fashioned Christmas songs offered in a new way. I hope you will be as blessed by this as I was, and may God shine His light on you and yours this Christmas season.
