The exploration focuses on the psychology behind people’s love or aversion to Christmas movies, highlighting themes of transformation, faith, and personal growth. Often following the classic hero’s journey, these films inspire mixed reactions, with some finding joy in their messages of redemption and others resisting their religious undertones or rapid character arcs. The insights encourage self-reflection, suggesting that strong emotional responses to such stories may stem from deeper personal experiences or unresolved feelings.

Beyond movies, the emphasis is on self-awareness and growth. From addressing personal biases to letting go of resentment, the insights highlight introspection as key to emotional well-being. Positive principles like forgiveness and purpose are celebrated, along with an exciting preview of upcoming discussions with healthcare professionals focused on preparing for a healthier new year.

Highlights of the Podcast

0:04 – Introduction

01:34 – Exploring Resistance to Christmas Movies

03:57 – Common Critiques of Christmas Movies

06:42 – Psychological Insights into Resistance

08:24 – Personal Development and Letting Go

10:44 – Humor and Closing Remarks

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:00:04] So I did a radio call with someone who was there in Orlando there this morning, and the topic was Christmas movies and why people either like them or don’t like them. And it brought up some interesting topic that we didn’t really get into in the radio call because it’s a radio call. But the big thing was, you know why people hate them? They’re they’re typically the hero’s journey. You know, somebody who has, you know, an issue character wise, and they go through this, you know, process where they kind of, you know. Become better than themselves and you end up as a basically a different person at the end. You know, that’s the hero’s journey.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:00:47] You know, really well illustrated over several summer movies with Tony Stark and The Avengers, where first he’s all about himself, and then at the end he commits the ultimate sacrifice for his family and his friends. You know that that arc, that’s typically what it is. And so that arc is. Very well established and not really something that people have an issue with. So when we start looking at why they have an issue with them, that ends up being a pretty interesting concept. So any time that we have something that we’re abnormally resistant to, you know, a Christmas movie, for instance, you know, comes on and I hate Christmas movies. What exactly do you hate about them? You know,.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:01:34] So you if you start going into the things that you like, really bother you and you start digging into that, those are the things you really need to dig into. Things that are slightly irritating. You can let those go, but the things that are really bothersome to you, you need to find out what exactly it is. Now, there are certain things that like, you know, kind of an obvious one, like, you know, people like that. Like right now we’re dealing with the Giants, you know, human slavery, human trafficking, you know, sex trade issue. That’s obvious. We should all be very, very, very opposed to the material. Turning turning children into sex slaves is obviously something we should all be opposed to. So you don’t need to dig into that one very deep. But when you start noticing that these there’s these weird things like movies that typically people like that, you have a very big aversion to.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:02:24] Those are usually the fun things we dig into from a psychological standpoint and figure out what exactly is going on. What exactly is it that bothers you about this particular thing? And so there’s a lot of what when you when you when you look into it, one of the things that people are the most there’s two big things people are opposed to. One, the religious undertone and to the they think it’s it’s silly that somebody could make these changes over that short of a period of time And. Okay. Maybe that’s what makes the story miraculous, though, is the giant character shift over a small period of time. You know, brings me back to the way they used to be, you know, resurfacing, you know, old customs, old cultures, things like that. The religious aspect, though, is kind of an interesting one specifically because, well, a lot of times when people start looking at this religious function and they start, you know, pushing back against it. It’s it’s more often a case of. Misunderstanding anything else. And most of this is, I would say and this is an opinion on my part, driven via the church. The people will look at the church as the as, you know, the place that we’re thinking people should be getting it right and doing things right and they shouldn’t be hypocritical.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:03:57] And, you know, they should be doing the things that help push people in the right direction. And whether or not that is. Fair because churches were broken. People go to theoretically learn to get better. You know, if we start with that that center concept, that helps out. But a lot of that stuff is there. The extra resistance to it is there’s something that’s hurt inside of them. And it couldn’t it’s not just Christmas movies. It’s pretty much anything. It’s, you know, when people get hurt in relationships and they’re like, well, I’m never going to get a relationship again. Or people get hurt by deals or, you know, whatever, They’re like, Well, I’m never going to you know, I’m not going to invest anymore because, you know, that’s, you know, for rich people and whatever.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:04:47] You know, when we start seeing these big issues come up that we have extra vitriol or avoidance for, those are the ones that people really need to look into and figure out what exactly is it that. Where does this vitriol and this hatred lie? Where does it come from? Because a lot of times what it does have happening is that as you start digging through it, you find out. You don’t really have a whole lot of issues. You don’t have a whole lot of things with it. You just have a whole lot of anger and resentment built up for things that shouldn’t be there. This is one of those things where, you know, if you have a professional that you can talk to you about it. That would be fantastic because a lot of times that’s where the real development in your person happens, is when you’re like, I have this abnormal hatred or this excessive dislike or distrust of whatever it is.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:05:41] And, you know, you can start looking at that sometimes. Sometimes it’s one of those things where, you know. You have a very valid reason for having the anger, but it hasn’t been fleshed out. And you’re not you’re not using it properly. So, for instance, you know the old expression, you know, you know, what is it the. It’s the poison that you take. Hatred for other people is basically the poison you take, hoping the other person will die. That that letting them occupy, you know, space in your mind, rent free, that type of thing. Letting letting yourself fester on a problem or a person or a thing creates a lot of really negative function in your in your, in your body. So those are some of the things that you’ve got to kind of start looking into and figuring out, okay, what is it exactly that is creating these issues and that I can start to let go or move through? Those are some of the things.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:06:42] The funny thing is that with kids, with the research shows, is that the things that irritate you most about your kids are the things that make them most like you. It’s the things that you that irritate you about you when you see it in your kids. It’s the thing that most irritates you the most. And what’s funny is that people don’t recognize that. And so they’ll be like, Yeah, my kid does this, this and this is super irritating. And they’re like, You realize that you do those same things. Like, Well, no, I don’t. I don’t do those things. And you can like literally point them out to them. And so those are some of those things that, you know, are very, very interesting when we start going through it. But, you know, if there’s something that’s going on that is really bothersome to you, is abnormally bothersome to you, it’s one of those things, it’s worse kind of looking into it being like, where am I on this specific subject? Where am I on this specific topic?

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:07:30] You know, do I have the. Do I have? Have I pointed myself in the right direction as a proposition? So and and it’s one of those things where that’s, you know, and I’ve done that multiple times with my irritation with the medical function, which has kind of got me back to the point where it’s I try to say this all the time. It’s not the medical doctors that I have an issue with. It’s the organization and the FDA and the nation, the CDC and the pharmaceutical groups who are pushing the false information for profit. So, you know, in that kind of helps me kind of focus for, okay, here’s here’s where the actual problem lies. And so we can go kind of attack that. And so, you know, that was just the thing that I kind of thought of when we started looking at these when I did this radio. And it was like, what is it about holiday movies that people can’t stand?

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:08:24] But that’s really kind of where a lot of this lies is the is the idea that, you know, one Christmas is is. Beneficial. Miraculous can help, you know, if you lean into it and lean into the teachings of Christ. You know, you can change your life and change who you are and move down the road. And then the resistance to that and what that resistance is really there for, why that resistance is there, that type of a path? Walking down that road is kind of an interesting piece for a lot of people because a lot of times what I like I said, it’s, you know, well, these people here represented something that I don’t view as right.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:09:03] And so there’s my issue is, well, that issue isn’t with the actual teachings and issue isn’t really with Christmas. She really isn’t with you know. The the philosophy of of Christ for the Christian Bible. It’s with a group of people. And it’s interesting to get to know what that is because if you’re like, I, I don’t like hypocrites. So they boil it down to that, then it’s like, okay, well where in your life are you exhibiting, you know, hypocrites? Like, where where are you, this person? And maybe those are things that you can kind of work on and change. But the other thing is, is that there’s a giant, giant amount of good that’s in the in most religions, but specifically in the Christian religion, the Christian doctrine of reciprocity and forgiveness and bettering yourself and walking your path. And, you know, you were put here to do something very specific.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:09:56] There’s a purpose. There’s a goal to lean into that. And that is the actual walk of God of Christ is to, you know, follow the path that you were destined to be on. Those type of things is a really, really, really good message. And I think it’s being greatly distorted. But the thing is, is that if we start looking at what it is that exactly that makes us the most angry, when we boil it down, there’s a lot of stuff in there that you can change about you to. Really remediate or relieve some of these issues. It’s an interesting thing. It’s a it’s a thought process path that goes from that and in our piece. But it was just one of those things that we talked about this morning in Orlando. And I was like, well, it’s a very it’s a very interesting question to ask that I can give three minutes on, but that’s kind of where it was.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:10:44] So yeah. And then at the end of the interview, he did ask me, Is it really Christmas until we see Hans Gruber fall from the Nike Tower? And my answer is obviously no, because Die Hard is my favorite Christmas movie, which I think throws an interesting piece in this whole deal. So anyway, you guys have a good time. We’re going to do a we’re going I’ve got a lot of podcast lined up with professional health care professionals, dentists, pediatricians, docs. We’re working on two different plastic surgeons right now. To get on this. We can have a great conversation about picking your health care team for the new year starts December 16th, so should be pretty fun. We’ll see you guys there. Thanks for your time.

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Dr. Matt Chalmers

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