Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
As of this writing, there are just a few days left before Christmas. Hopefully, most of us have done all of our Christmas shopping — I have not — and are preparing to settle into the quiet before the Christmas morning storm (in many of our homes). The quiet before the storm is usually when families are gathered doing Christmas-y things either with music (shouts out to Donny Hathaway’s original and definitive version of “This Christmas,” written with Nadine McKinnor) or movies. I know in my house, we all sit around and fire up some streaming service and scroll through to whatever movie tickles our fancy.
And that’s where the issue lies (such that there is one, more on this later): There are just way too many options nowadays. I hear you looking at me: “Panama, isn’t that a good problem? There are so many Black Christmas movies! Isn’t that what we’ve been fighting for?”
I suppose, but not really. But I hear you. And I agree that it’s inherently a good thing to have many Christmas movies to pull from nowadays. There are even Christmas movie franchises — Kelly Rowland has a trio of Lifetime Christmas movies: “Merry Liddle Christmas,” “Merry Liddle Christmas Wedding,” and “Merry Liddle Christmas Baby.” That is progress. You can literally go an entire Christmas season and only watch holiday movies that center Black stories.
Right now, as I fire up Prime Video, here’s what pops up instantly on the BET+ featured movie row: “So Fly Christmas,” “Never Alone for Christmas,” “Christmas Angel,” and “A Wesley Christmas Wedding.” If I keep scrolling, the Christmas films keep on keepin’ on. BET+ must have spent a fortune (okay, they dropped a bag or two) making Christmas movies. I even watched a BET+ Original movie called “The Christmas Ringer,” which is…
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