The Businessman is Never Mr. Right

 

               Marxist ideology can be found in almost all forms of pop culture text including Hallmark and Hallmark-esque movies. They have become almost formulaic in their portrayal of the uncaring businessman boyfriend who later becomes the ex-boyfriend when the highly successful but down to earth girl meets a working-class man who can offer happiness and love despite his lack of status or material possessions.  Story lines include depictions of evil corporations trying to take over mom and pop family businesses and put in materialistic entities that will promote sales, but not the down-home family atmosphere of the small town they reside in. Despite the formula that would appear to push against the notion that success is based on possessions and status, many of these movies employ an inflected oppositional reading.

            Just this last week I watched one such movie on Prime Video while I was cooking dinner.  It was called Mistletoe Mixup and portrayed a successful “workaholic,” but not overly materialistic girl named Holly who wished to find romance that would lead to marriage and eventually a family.  She encounters two very different men who she later finds out are brothers and must decide between the two. The first, Tom is a driven man who works in finance and saved the family business. The second, Austin is a guy who wears a baseball cap and flannel shirt, knows how to tie a proper knot but does not know to wear a dinner jacket to a fancy restaurant and does not own a cell phone. Although, both men have their good points it is obvious who we are to believe the girl should choose.

            Even though there is a clear message that Austin is the model we should aspire to there are distinct depictions that blur the message of rejecting materialism and high status. For instance, Holly herself is a successful businesswoman with a higher status. When she goes to spend Christmas with Tom and his family, she stays in a beautiful private cabin that is fully furnished with amenities, expensive Christmas decorations, and an extravagant gift basket from her boss.  Tom and Austin’s family spend Christmas in a large cabin home near a ski resort that would rival in size and opulence any middle-class single-family home.

            At the conclusion of the movie Tom admits he admires Austin and even finds a girl that will help him slow down and become less of a driven businessman. Holly of course chooses Austin to round out the “happy ever after.”

            The question is, does using a romantic comedy where settings and people are both beautiful and sometimes extravagant accomplish the message of anti-materialism? What other unsuspected texts have you noticed that send a mixed message of materialism and anti-materialism?