What Christmas movies are the most (and least) Creighton?

By Micah Mertes

The best Christmas movies are a generally agreed-upon canon at this point, but a more relevant question for our purposes is what Christmas movies are the most Creighton? Which films embody themes and values and content that reflect our own spirit? Which do not?

We explore these questions and more in the quadrant analysis graph below, which charts dozens of Christmas movies based on both their cinematic quality and their friendliness to Creighton values. 

● Note 1: Click the blue dots to see more about each movie. ●

Note 2: Content alone doesn't determine a film's friendliness to Creighton values. For instance, classic movies like Bad Santa or Trading Places feature bad behavior, foul language, adult content and pervasive moral turpitude. But in both cases, the movies' hearts are very much in the right place, espousing values of friendship, kindness and community. However vulgar and inappropriate their content may be, beneath the surface, they capture the essence of Creighton.

Note: 3: This chart and the associated moral analysis of each film are, of course, scientifically objective and 100% serious and NOT an attempt at lighthearted humor. But if you would like to protest the subsequent moral condemnation of Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping or share your picks for the best and most Creighton Christmas movies, please email micahmertes@creighton.edu, and we might run a follow-up addendum spotlighting alumni picks.

Note 4: Merry Christmas!