Christmas with the Kranks as a Case Study in Cult Dynamics

[00:00:04]2004's Christmas with the Kranks is a masterpiece of contemporary filmmaking, one of the single greatest cultural exports to come out of the US, and an incredible work of social critique and political satire.

[00:00:16]It's an examination not only of our own modern-day consumerist culture, but of the human condition itself: the ways we find meaning both in ourselves and in the world around us.

[00:00:28]Hi, I'm Jack Saint. Merry Christmas.

[00:00:33][DISTORTED] And happy holidays.

[00:00:38]In the past on my channel, I've often alluded to one of my favorite holiday movies... Starship Troopers, a story of togetherness, spirit, hope, and community.

[00:00:51]Well, specifically, it's a political satire of fascist propaganda set in a brutal, war-torn future [MAN YELLING, MONSTER NOISES] But, part of the point of the movie is in the fact that this story is played out in this really bizarre, almost eerily celebratory way despite the horrific events being depicted.

[00:01:13]Kids fresh out of high school are hurried off to the military in the name of a pointless war leading to the tragic deaths of tens of thousands, but at times, it feels like a military recruitment video, all camaraderie, and hijinks, and becoming best buds, and... oh,, uh.... hshsh.. oh, eugh And then it transitions into this proud war movie about a badass soldier rising through the ranks.

[00:01:38]The tonal and aesthetic dissonance throughout the movie leads to this really unique movie-watching experience.

[00:01:45]In short, it's a film about state military propaganda written and directed as if it was made as state military propaganda.

[00:01:56]I bring this up because Christmas with the Kranks is basically that except a Christmas movie.

[00:02:01]"We skip Christmas.

[00:02:03]I will not be celebrating Christmas this year."

[00:02:06]'So you're, um... really skipping out?'

[00:02:10]"You got it."

[00:02:11][MELODRAMATIC MUSIC] "We've made the front page. We've made the front page!"

[00:02:20]"NORA! Please give us Frosty!"

[00:02:23][CHANTING] "Listen! Listen, hey-- --don't do anything you'll regret!"

[00:02:27][ROMANTIC SWELL] "Skipping Christmas... "Skipping Christmas... what a stupid idea."

[00:02:34][TRIUMPHANT CHORUS] [SINISTER INSTRUMENTATION] And hey!

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[00:03:38]Christmas with the Kranks tells the story of Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis.

[00:03:42]I do not know their characters names and I do not care to.

[00:03:46]The movie begins shortly before the holiday season, with the bittersweet departure of the couple's only daughter, Blair, who will be spending her first Christmas away from the family, working with the Peace Corpse in Peru.

[00:03:59]Corps? Corps.

[00:04:00]CORPSE?

[00:04:01]Core?

[00:04:02]It's after getting home from dropping her off that our story really kicks off and the thought runs through Daddy Tim's head that will shape the entire narrative of the film: if their daughter is away for Christmas, why not them too?

[00:04:15]He decides that he and his wife should take a break and spend the money they'd usually save up for the holiday season on a tropical cruise instead.

[00:04:24]Now, I know what you're thinking.

[00:04:26]"Wow!

[00:04:27]"Wow! That sounds "Wow! That sounds like a really "Wow! That sounds like a really normal, average thing for two people to do."

[00:04:35]"In fact, this is such a normal thing to do that it sounds like kind of a boring premise for a movie, because going away for the holidays when you have no familial obligations is a perfectly regular, not-weird-at-all thing for two middle-aged adults to decide to do."

[00:04:54]And yes, going away for the holidays, especially on a rare year where you don't need to make any family arrangements, is a very normal thing that, barring any financial difficulties, creates no obvious conflicts.......unless you're Christmas with the Kranks!

[00:05:13]"Because we don't want to, Mary!

[00:05:15]We're taking a break!

[00:05:16]One year off, no Christmas whatsoever!"

[00:05:19]"..." So, in the case of Christmas with the Kranks, Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis going away for Christmas is actually a massive deal.

[00:05:32]It's actually an extreme, radical choice that absolutely everybody in their personal lives is shocked and disturbed by.

[00:05:43]Friendships will be broken, the neighborhood brought into chaos, because these two people decide to spend their holidays......on a holiday.

[00:05:54]For the next hour of the film, a harassment campaign is organized against the couple in an effort to get them to call off their cruise and take part in the Christmas festivities.

[00:06:04]Abuse is hurled at the cranks by old friends, and even local children are gathered up to intimidate the family, led by so-called unelected ward-boss of the neighborhood, Victor Frohmeyer.

[00:06:16]heyyy it's dan aykroyd In a situation like this, it looks like even the police can't be trusted.

[00:06:24]so, with all this in mind, we could probably just conclude that this is a story about the hapless Krank family just trying to make it through to the day of their cruise, with the neighborhood being shown as this haunting, antagonistic force to be defeated.

[00:06:38]They are the bad guys, a malicious and obsessed sect, close-knit, always watching, always waiting... always waiting... to strike.

[00:06:49]So, remember when I did that video about Disney's Sky High?

[00:06:52]"Hey there, movie lovers!

[00:06:53]FUN FACT: did you know that in 2005 Disney inadvertently produced and released actual fascist eugenics propaganda?!"

[00:07:06]Specifically about how there's this moment halfway into the film where it feels like we're starting to get a grasp on the film's message that in this high school filled with superheroes, the decidedly average main character is gonna prove that you don't need genetic gifts to be a hero... and then, at exactly that moment, the main character inexplicably gets superpowers, and it turns out the movie isn't really about that at all.

[00:07:31]In fact, the entire film's conclusion winds up being predicated on the main character having not just genetic gifts, but the most genetic gifts of anyone ever!

[00:07:42]In establishing the story of a society upheld by a strict and unfair genetic hierarchy, the fact that the plot just kinda......drops the message that this is a bad or wrong thing winds up leaving the message of the film feeling almost completely contradictory to what it was originally leading to; a film about the pitfalls of a eugenicist society winds up just being a movie about eugenics.

[00:08:10]So, at the halfway point of Christmas with the Kranks, Tim and Jamie's daughter abruptly decides she's coming home for the holidays.

[00:08:16]They cancel their plans for a cruise, and then the story becomes about the whole neighborhood coming together to celebrate a magical Christmas season.

[00:08:26][TRIUMPHANT FANFARE] Yep!

[00:08:32]That's the movie!

[00:08:33]So, the film has spent a solid hour establishing the fact that the social group surrounding the Kranks is creepy, obsessive, and, ultimately, genuinely threatening.

[00:08:45]"NORA! Stop the car. STOP THE CAR."

[00:08:48]Let's make no bones about it. They're a cult, right?

[00:08:51]Look, here's a few symptoms of cults, as compiled by professors and cult specialist Jean Jela Leake and Michael Langone on the subject.

[00:09:25]"Shall I call the chief?"

[00:09:35](often this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.)

[00:09:39]"Stop the car. STOP THE CAR."

[00:09:47]And all of a sudden, this is thrown totally out of the window.

[00:09:52]The window the neighborhood's behavior no longer questioned, and even some of their most troubling aspects are abruptly turned into a benefit, Blair needs a ride back from the airport?

[00:10:02]Good thing the neighborhood has law enforcement under their command!

[00:10:07]Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis are successfully loved-bombed by their weird, creepy neighbors.

[00:10:12]After the film has spent so long highlighting the demented nature of the community surrounding the Kranks, insisting that they embrace the spirit of the holidays while being absolute monsters to them, it just reverts back from this knowing satire into another heartwarming Hallmark Christmas movie.

[00:10:33]Forget all the other stuff! I guess the movie was actually about the......power of friendship :/ I think it's mostly for this reason that both critics and audiences, generally speaking, absolutely despise this movie.

[00:10:49]As Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gieberman puts it, And it's at this point I'm gonna be a contrarian and call this movie a masterpiece.

[00:11:15]Because if Starship Troopers was a movie about state military propaganda as made by state military propagandists, Christmas with the Kranks is a movie about cults as made by cultists.

[00:11:29]"Maybe, have you started thinking about putting others first instead of yourself?"

[00:11:33][NORA, STOP THE CAR] [MUMBLING] [MUMBLING DEVOLVES INTO SCREAMING GRUNTS] In popular filmmaker Louis Theroux's 2015 documentary My Scientology Movie, Louis spends a significant amount of his time talking with ex-senior church official Marty Rathbun about the controversial church and its practices.

[00:11:52]From their conversations, a lot can be gleaned about not only the depths of depravity committed by the church– the emotional and physical abuse of members, the constant harassment of dissidents– but how such monstrous behaviors came to be made acceptable.

[00:12:08]Marty and other participants in the documentary would oftentimes stress how many of the people brought into the church were perfectly ordinary, even pleasant and well-meaning individuals.

[00:12:19]Yet, going by what we're shown and told, quite a different story emerges.

[00:12:25]"–foster care. Do you get paid enough for the foster care?"

[00:12:29]What we discover is a series of cleverly-devised social doctrines, designed to distance individuals from behaviors that might promote critical thought while incouraging them to remain within the "in group."

[00:12:42]KSW: Keep Scientology Working.

[00:12:46]"Keeping Scientology Working is basically, like, obliterating anything that doesn't have to do with Scientology, and keeping it working.

[00:12:54]Anytime somebody does something in Scientology that's not 100% Scientology, you crush that person so that they do not ever do that again."

[00:13:03]Avoid SPs: Avoid SPs: Suppressive People.

[00:13:08]Through these systems, everything outside of Scientology, even the seemingly innocuous, is to be rejected, mocked, and denounced; those who do not indicate a proper level of enthusiasm for the movement, doubly so.

[00:13:23]There is a system of hierarchy that rewards members for continued support of the church, and bizarre rituals meant to reaffirm conformity.

[00:13:32]"Acknowledge it as loudly as you can."

[00:13:33]"THANK YOOOOOUUU" Augh, you know.

[00:13:37]That's what the documentary says!

[00:13:39]I'd never say that personally, haha.

[00:13:41]Sign me up!

[00:13:42][ORCHESTRAL TONES] So my point is, there's one specific part of the documentary that always jumps out to me.

[00:13:51]One in which Louis and Marty are using actors to recreate Scientology practices.

[00:13:56]At one point, Marty points out how these drills will usually end with the practice of standing up and applauding a picture of Elrond Hubbard, founder of the Church.

[00:14:07]And Louis suggests, in the name of recreation, to have the actors do so.

[00:14:12]Marty takes immediate offense to this suggestion, heavily advising Louis not to do so before storming off the set.

[00:14:21]At this point, Louis, not quite understanding the issue, indicates to the actors to stand and applaud.

[00:14:28]And, as they do, Marty declares the entire project a failure.

[00:14:33]That after so much time drilling down the danger of the cult manipulation of the Church of Scientology, all it took was that little bit of social pressure, that little bit of expectation of performance, for every actor to, without hesitation, follow the commands of a man they were implored not to follow.

[00:14:57]For most of my time watching Christmas with the Kranks, there was this constantly repeating thought going through my head: How can anyone How can anyone POSSIBLY care How can anyone POSSIBLY care about ANY of this?

[00:15:11]All of it was the most absolutely bizarre, middle class WASPy suburban bullshit concerns that I could not imagine real, actual human beings being that concerned about.

[00:15:26]The boss is going on vacation with his wife on Christmas, and this's something that's upsetting to his employees!

[00:15:35]They're not putting a giant snowman ornament on the roof!

[00:15:38]Jamie Lee Curtis might not get a giant tin of ham in time for the Christmas Eve party!

[00:15:43]Their Christmas tree isn't... Their Christmas tree isn't... big enough.

[00:15:47][SAD MUSIC] They use tanning beds!

[00:15:53]"Oh! Father Zebriski!"

[00:15:54]In a weird way, I was reminded of the practices I've read and heard about the Church of Scientology: the abject mockery of anything that seemed even nominally subversive of the in-group, and the celebration of even the most mundane indication of conformity.

[00:16:13]Like... hell yeah, Tim Allen, you put the snowman ornament on the roof!

[00:16:19]You ARE, in fact, one of us!

[00:16:21]Now, I don't think Christmas with the Kranks is necessarily saying anything that interesting about Christmas specifically, and it certainly isn't commenting on examples of cult behavior so well-established as Scientology, you know, if Scientology was like that,,,, I do like the fact that it's a film about Christmas that is, at the very least, honest about the reality of the holiday for the majority of people.

[00:16:46]It's an aesthetic cast over a series of arbitrary purchasing decisions made in the name of tradition.

[00:16:54]Tradition in the name of..... what?

[00:16:57]Certainly not Christianity, if Christmas with the Kranks has anything to say about it!

[00:17:01]Aside from one cursory mention of a donation to the church, the film makes no reference to religion throughout its entire run.

[00:17:09]WAIT NO There's also a really uncomfortably long scene of the local pastor just staring at Jamie Lee Curtis in a bikini.

[00:17:26]"Can I have another towel please?!"

[00:17:28]"I'm looking for a bandaid!"

[00:17:35]And any illusion of the film being about the warmth, love, and community of the holiday is thoroughly undercut by its first half depicting the neighborhood as cruel and abusive control freaks.

[00:17:50]Even any idea of the holidays being about giving and helping the needy gets dismissed, with the only needy character depicted in the film being a seedy crook whom helping winds up being a terrible mistake.

[00:18:05]Then Santa beats him unconscious.

[00:18:07][THUD] If you go by A Christmas Carol, the holiday season is about empathy and generosity.

[00:18:14]If you go by Home Alone, it's about family and togetherness.

[00:18:18]If you go by A Christmas Story, it's about sexy leg lamps.

[00:18:23]And if you go by Christmas with the Kranks, it's about the sinister underlying nature of tradition and conformity, a reminder that all it really takes is one step away from the utterly arbitrary set of customs associated with the holiday to become the subject of disdain, ridicule, and abuse by those closest to you.

[00:18:48]And isn't that what the holiday season's really all about?

[00:18:51]What I think Christmas with the Kranks is commenting on is something more broad than just the specific weird customs of our yearly consumerist tradition.

[00:19:01]It's a film of two very distinct halves, and, yeah, that feels super jarring on an initial watch, but it also feels meaningful.

[00:19:10]The film is very pointedly showing us both this suburban community at its best and at its worst, and the only difference is a refusal to conform in the most incredibly mundane, inoffensive ways.

[00:19:25]In many ways, it's a horror movie.

[00:19:28]In the same way something like a home invasion movie might say, "Look how quickly your feelings of personal security can be compromised!"

[00:19:36]Christmas with the Kranks says, "look how quickly the support network around you can completely turn on you" I definitely think Owen Gieberman was onto something when he related this movie to the Bush era.

[00:19:49]Absolutely, the film brings with it this uncomfortable tension, being so devoid of anything outside of the most stereotypical straight, white, Christian, middle-class demographic despite being set in an increasingly diverse and open society.

[00:20:06]In every way, the setting of the film feels controlled and contained.

[00:20:12]Every house on the block is made to be decorated in this garish Christmas regalia.

[00:20:18]And you have to wonder, where the hell did all the Jewish people go?! All the Muslims, all the Hindus?

[00:20:26]How would people from those communities be treated if THEY weren't celebrating Christmas, if this is what the Kranks are getting?

[00:20:33]The focus of Christmas with the Kranks really isn't Christmas, in the same way the focus of Christmas isn't really Christmas, at least in the US, where it's become so divorced from its original religious associations.

[00:20:46]Instead, it's a film about the ways in which cult mentalities can seed themselves into even the most seemingly innocent and inoffensive aspects of our everyday lives.

[00:20:57]Elaborating on his earlier checklist of cult behaviors, Michael Lagone actually put out another article discussing the term "cult" itself.

[00:22:55]Try as we might, the distinction between "cult" or "cult-like behavior" and other social norms, customs, or traditions, remains a blurry one.

[00:23:06]That isn't to say it's not a distinction that matters- there's a reason so much research has been done in the field- but the reality is, social pressure so pervades our society that elements of this stuff can pop up all over the place.

[00:23:21][STUDENTS RECITING PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE] In many ways, you could argue society IS a series of social pressures.

[00:23:31]With this in mind, I think it's easier to understand something like the volatile reaction Marty Rathbun had when Louis Theroux suggested the actors stand and applaud in the name of Elrond Hubbard.

[00:23:44]as a man who spent so long deprogramming himself from the Church of Scientology's various psychological tricks, you can imagine the discomfort of seeing young, impressionable minds so quickly fall into the thinking of "Oh, well, it's just a bit of fun. It doesn't mean anything."

[00:24:03]He's seen where things can go from there.

[00:24:05]And I think, most of all, this is what Christmas with the Kranks gets at.

[00:24:12]Something I feel I didn't stress enough with my Sky High video is that, even if I did somehow expose some eugenicist subtext to this benign kids' film, that's not me saying we're suddenly looking at secret Nazi propaganda when we see these ideas expressed in film.

[00:24:30]More so, what it's expressing is that these lines of thinking can fester in even the most unassuming, otherwise-innocent pieces of media.

[00:24:40]It can wind up in a screenplay when nobody was really thinking about it.

[00:24:45]And, at least in part, that's the point.

[00:24:48]Even the most extreme and destructive ideologies, at their core, confine themselves in the seemingly mundane.

[00:24:58]What this incredibly forgettable 2004 Tim Allen vehicle shows us is that, at the end of the day, a cult at its best behavior is indistinguishable from a harmonious, loving community, and a particularly petty, suburban, gated community can become indistinguishable from a cult.

[00:25:19]And if you think I'm dramatically overthinking what's basically just a poorly-thought-out, subpar family comedy... [MUSIC] Hey folks! Thanks for watching.

[00:25:41]Season's tidings and happy holidays.

[00:25:44]I hope you all enjoyed this one. It was kind of off the cuff, but I had fun making it!

[00:25:50]As per usual, if you liked the video, please consider giving it a like, subscribing, sharing it around, and commenting down below, all of which help me out tremendously.

[00:25:59]If you like my channel in general, I also recommend considering throwing me a few bucks over on Patreon, one of the only means by which I can keep the channel going, to be on the list scrolling by.

[00:26:10]Today I wanted to give a special thanks to: (see above) If you wanted to reach out to me, you can do so through Twitter (@lackingsaint).

[00:26:32]I also do regular twitch streams at twitch.tv/lacksaint.

[00:26:37]Lately I've been playing Pathologic.

[00:26:39]Yep.

[00:26:40]That one.

[00:26:41][VIDEO JACK] "There you go!

[00:26:43]PUSH HIM OFF THE EDGE!

[00:26:45][CHANTING] PUSH HIM OFF THE EDGE!

[00:26:46]PUSH HIM OFF THE EDGE!

[00:26:47][INCREASING SPEED] PUSH HIM OFF THE EDGE!

[00:26:48]PUSHHIMOFFTHEDGE!!

[00:26:50]yAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"

[00:26:55]This video's channel recommendation is going to be eyeballs. Wait, sorry, I meant, uh, Thought Slime.

[00:27:02]They're a great channel, discussing politics both in terms of theory and everyday life in a fun and engaging way, so please check them out!

[00:27:10]Finally, I wanted to give a thank you again to NordVPN for once again sponsoring me on this video.

[00:27:15]To take advantage of their holiday offer on a great service, check out the link in the description with the offercode JACKSAINT.

[00:27:22]Other than that, I'll see you all in the new year.

[00:27:25]As always, thanks again for watching, love you all, and stay safe.

[00:27:31]2004's Christmas with the Kranks is-- 2004's-- [SMACKS LIPS] [SMACKS LIPS] 2004's Christmumpfh-- [SMACKS LIPS] 2004's Christmas with the Kranks is a-- [SMACKS LIPS] [SLOWLY] 2004's Christmas with the Kranks is a masterpiece of contemporary filmmaking, one of the single greatest cultural esspor-- [SMACKS LIPS] Aah.

[00:27:58][CLAPS TWICE] Hi, I'm Jack Saint.

[00:28:02]Merry Christmas.

[00:28:04]And Happy Holidays.

[00:28:08][SMACKS LIPS] HI. I'm Jack Saint.

[00:28:14]Merry Christmas.

[00:28:16]And Happy Holidays.

[00:28:23]H I I'm Jack Saint.

[00:28:26]Merry Christmas.

[00:28:28]And Happy Holidays;) HI IM JACK SAINT [SMACKS LIPS] Hi!

[00:28:38]I'm Jack Saint.

[00:28:40]Merry Christmas.

[00:28:42]And Happy Holidays.

[00:28:46][SMACKS LIPS] [SMACKS LIPS] And who the fuck wears clothes in a tanning bed?!