The Hallmark character who is always never there.
A Valentine's Day bonus
Happy Valentine’s Day! A day to ponder the people, and all things, you love to death.
I am a Hallmark movie lover. They are simple, sweet, people are generally nice, or are nice by the time credits roll. I value genuine niceness.
See, don’t they look nice?
But have you noticed how most Hallmark movies involve a pivotal dead character? It’s usually a parent of an adult child, recently passed, or the parent of a school-age child, who died when the kid was a toddler. Typically it’s the mom who dies, and the plot is that the child sets up their dad with their teacher/piano instructor/nanny. The relation of the deceased and their engagement with the arc of the film differs, but somehow there is always the role of the deceased supporting character. Why?
Death is relatable.
Take “Christmas Cookies,” a classic Hallmark movie plot, one that lingers in my memory: Big City girl moves to Small Town and saves the cookie factory from closing, while falling in love with the owner, who happens to be a young widower. What’s most relatable about this movie?
A) The saving of the cookie factory
B) Moving from a big city to a small town on a dime
C) Losing someone you love
I’m going to guess your answer is C) Losing someone you love.
Hallmark movies may have redundant, laughable, far-fetched plots, but their consistent theme of death somehow never intimidates, never turns people off, triggering the pain of our own loss. How do they work this magic?
They talk about it.
Hallmark movie characters don’t speak in hushed tones about the deceased supporting character, they speak of them fondly and openly, making it known that this person was, and still is, an important piece of their life. They bring the presence of the person into the movie.
They grieve openly.
Hallmark plots may give off a Pollyanna aire, but they don’t sugarcoat death. They show children, parents, spouses, and grandchildren grieving, expressing sadness and how much they miss their deceased supporting character. By doing this, they also demonstrate how to honor and incorporate the one who has passed during holidays, birthday parties, anniversaries, and in cookie factory recoveries.
They support one another.
A Hallmark character is never grieving alone. Their friends, neighbors, and family acknowledge their loss and show up. They’re not scared of each other’s pain, they share each other’s pain. Deceased supporting character does the work of sustaining a bond amongst the living characters, once again demonstrating how life and death exist symbiotically.
If you too are a Hallmark movie lover, I hope you have a chance to enjoy the Loveuary lineup with someone you love, and also connect with your love for someone who’s passed. Happy Valentine’s Day.