Act Four: My opinions on every holiday controversy, consolidated

It's the holiday season, which also means it's the season of arguing about holiday pop culture and holiday customs. In the interests of getting it over with (or perhaps just giving...

Alyssa Rosenberg on culture and politics   The annual Christmas market at Alexanderplatz on Nov. 28 in Berlin. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images) It’s the holiday season, which also means it’s the season of arguing about holiday pop culture and holiday customs. In the interests of getting it over with (or perhaps just giving you more things to argue with me about), I figured I would give you a simple list of all my opinions on these controversies. In no particular order: “Die Hard” is a Christmas movie, in that it not only takes place on Christmas but directly concerns the reunion of a family at Christmas time. Saying “Happy Holidays” is not an onerous thing to do if you are unsure whether someone celebrates Christmas. “The Godfather” is not a Christmas movie merely because a subplot takes place around Christmas. “Love Actually” is generally quite bad, but both the Laura Linney and Emma Thompson subplots are good and well-acted. A lot of Christmas music is wonderful, and “Silver Bells” and “River” are the two best Christmas songs because they capture the melancholy of winter and its juxtaposition of the joy people are theoretically supposed to feel at Christmas. Nativity scenes are generally fairly tacky, beyond the obvious point that they shouldn’t be displayed on government property. Both Chinese food — the traditional Christmas Day food of American Jews — and Christmas hams are delicious. The Italian custom of the Feast of the Seven Fishes, which has become a part of my life in recent years, is also totally solid. “When Harry Met Sally” may be reasonably described as a New Year’s movie, if only to stand as a bulwark against specifically holiday-themed movies, which are an abomination. “Rent” is a Christmas movie. Benny is the hero. The price of sexual harassment should be ruin Until no man is more valuable than his potential cost to his company, sexual harassment will continue to be merely mitigated. By Alyssa Rosenberg  •   Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’ didn’t need its racist cop The movie's political shallowness undercuts its theological darkness. By Alyssa Rosenberg  •   Read more »   Getting excited about royal weddings is a betrayal of the American Revolution We bow to no man, woman or child. By Sonny Bunch  •   Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT Enjoying Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s romance doesn’t make you a bad American It's a sign of our independence that we can enjoy a royal wedding without getting worried about what it all means. By Alyssa Rosenberg  •   Read more »   ‘Roman J. Israel, Esq.’ is one of the most confounding misfires of 2017 Dan Gilroy's follow-up to "Nightcrawler" could have been brilliant. Instead, it's ... this. By Alyssa Rosenberg  •   Read more »   Recommended for you     Get The Intersect newsletter The corner of the Internet and interesting, in your inbox weekly. Sign Up  »         Share Act Four:    Twitter     Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you signed up for Act Four or because it is included in your subscription. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. Contact us for help. ©2017 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071