hallmark

Netflix’s “Falling for Christmas” follows in the celebrated snow-dusted footprints of the “A Christmas Prince” trilogy and “The Princess Switch” duology. Each film attempts to answer one of Zeno’s lesser-known paradoxes: how can Netflix, an Academy-Award-winning film studio, distribute a hate-bait Hallmark-style Christmas classic?

Sure, there are some background characters, such as the Guatemalan coffee shop barista that served a role in the quirky white woman’s meet-cute with the white man who strictly drinks black coffee, but there is never a prominent person of color in most Hallmark movies. 

When the story falls flat — and it often does, following the tradition of highly saturated, confectionary holiday films — it covers itself in the warm winter coat of Christmas cheer.

Despite my grievances, I do want to embrace the mainstream as a more accessible base to connect with the people around me, to recognize that moments of shared emotion are just as valuable a part in experiencing art.

Parton’s angel beams atop silvery tufts of cloud, encouraging Regina’s frozen heart to thaw and advising a secret angel-in-training.

Ultimately, we should all spend this holiday season not wishing for the perfect relationship, but working on the ones we already have and working on ourselves through those relationships.

For Bay Area residents and coffee lovers abound, one corporation’s negligence is particularly disheartening: Peet’s Coffee.