Movies have always had a profound impact on society, and romantic comedies play a crucial role in that impact. Rom-coms allow viewers to create their own definition of romance while also providing realistic examples of relationships. This allows viewers to relate to these characters and learn from their experiences.

However, mass production has diluted the effect of movies, allowing for more stereotypes to develop with the same cliches. Hallmark, an extremely popular production company, might be to blame for this occurrence. Social studies teacher James Chochole explains why he believes this mass production has done so well.

“Audiences support what they like, and movie producers and directors know what sells tickets. They will make what the public will buy; it’s a formula that goes back [a long] time,” Chochole said.

Many can argue that Hallmark produces several movies with similar story lines and predictable endings. Hallmark has new movies that air each week, so some of these plots having similarities is expected; however, these story lines can begin to get repetitive.

“Hallmark has been profitable because they have found a formula that works…young women and older women seem to enjoy cookie-cutter [movies],” Chochole said.

Hallmark produces around 100 movies a year, 50 around the holidays. In these movies, the actors feature predominantly white characters, and as a result, the production companies are underrepresented in minorities and lack diversity.

“[Hallmark movies] are the same scenario of the sterilized, sanitized, mostly white actors with a couple [of] token minorities. They create a world that’s not in any way, shape, or form reflected in the real world. It’s what people wish their world was like,” Chochole said.

Hallmark has been a popular topic for the past few years, and many have found humor in its predictability. Senior Nat Gay focused her 2024-2025 original comedy speech on this topic. An original comedy speech is essentially a play, but one person plays all the characters by switching their voice inflections.

“I was scrolling on Instagram, and I saw these skits of people making fun of Hallmark movies. I started watching them [and realizing] they all have the same plot, and I thought it was hilarious,” Gay said.

In this original comedy, Gay decided to focus on certain cliches that appear many times in Hallmark movies. In doing so, Gay highlighted the repetition of Hallmark’s production.

“The [cliches] where the lawyer moves back to the small town, [Hallmark] definitely has its flaws, and it’s overrated,” Gay said.

Hallmark has been a very influential Christmas movie production company; however, this influence may not be beneficial, as it allows for mass production and under representation.

Hallmark’s repetitive story lines and generic plots have created many cliches for movies, diluting the effect that rom-coms have on their audience.