Die Hard 2 is also a Christmas Film.
My blog post last year about my love of Die Hard and the ‘Is it a Christmas Movie?’ debate generated enough interest for me to do it again. I know you’re thinking how can the same blog happen to the same guy twice. Believe me, I am looking at my office loft hatch as I write this (just in case).
Of course, our story starts in Washington Dulles Airport.
In common with many other airports around the world, it’s not the most exciting location. Airports are full of people who have been sold the idea that flying is glamorous and cool. However, scratch the surface and you’ll find it’s actually a generic space with a lot in common with other mass transport hubs. We’re talking about spaces designed for moving large numbers of people who have little ongoing interest in the building. So hard-wearing furniture, easy-to-clean floors and lots of chains in the shopping areas.
My visit to Dulles was only notable for being the first time I ate in a Wendy’s. The food was ok. However, flying from here gave me great joy. It was the setting for Die Hard 2. Hence my memories of the airport are overlaid with the kind of feeling you usually get in Disney parks. A sensation of make-believe and reality meeting head-on.
And despite it being summer when I chomped my pre-flight burger, I get a Christmassy feeling when I think of Dulles. This is because, like its prequel, Die Hard 2 is a Christmas movie. The director, Renny Harlin said he wanted Christmas themes to feature in the film and they do.
There’s snow, decorations, trees, presents and Santa. Whether using an icicle as a weapon makes it festive is unclear. It would fit right with other Christmas films such as Violent Night – maybe let’s say it’s an unconventional symbol of the season at the very least.
Harlin wants to signal to the Christmas crowd that they have found their place. However, I’ve found some interesting suggestions that Die Hard 2 could actually have been set at any time of year with only minor dialogue tweaks. That’s it’s an all-purpose action movie using a sprinkle of snow and a few decorations to make it seem festive. Now I’m not sure I agree but it did make me thing think about one of my favourite subjects, brand DNA.
It’s so easy for a business to think that they can attract a certain type of customer by making superficial changes. Yes, I’m looking at you, vendors of pink toolkits and those sticking a rainbow on it.
Imagine instead thinking about the why of your business and understanding how you could bring real value to your customers. How you could position your product or services to make them the hero?
If the idea of brand DNA and digging into it has caught your attention then now seems like a good time to mention the free webinar that I’m running in January on this very subject. You can register using this link: https://share-eu1.hsforms.com/
Coming back to Die Hard 2, let’s look at the real reason it’s a Christmas movie for me. I enjoy watching it at this time of year. We could go back and forth all day on whether the themes are suitably festivel (probably not) and if John McClane’s character has a growth arc (again probably not). It doesn’t matter. I enjoy it. Spending time watching it adds value to my life and isn’t that why we’re all in business?