Dreaming of a White Christmas

The Importance of Socioeconomic Privilege in “Home Alone”

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An eight year old boy is left behind by his family during the holidays. Alone and vulnerable, he is forced to fight off the self-proclaimed Wet Bandits — a duo of robbers who will go to ridiculous extents to loot his house. For most of us, including myself, the film Home Alone is a Christmas classic.

Home Alone’s ability to create whimsy and humor around a rather dire situation is almost effortless. It is easy to laugh as Kevin shops for groceries and tries on his dad’s aftershave. The chaotic scene where the thieves are mercilessly attacked by Kevin’s booby traps is a family favorite. When this little boy finally reunites with his family, we are too ecstatic to remember that they forgot him in the first place.

This film stars an all white cast that play characters who live in an upper-middle class, American dream of a Chicago neighborhood. The presence of cops is welcome, evident at the beginning of the film when a “police officer” — really a Wet Bandit — walks into the McCallister household without an invitation, and is received with appreciation. When Kevin goes missing, his mom calls the Chicago PD when they land in Paris and is met with a disinterested response. Eventually, the police send a disgruntled officer to check on Kevin, and assumes no one is in the house when Kevin — who is frightened and hides — doesn’t come to the door. We finally see the police in all their heroic glory when they finally arrest the robbers and allow us to forgive their previous indifference towards the plight of the McCallister family.

As I watched Home Alone for the umpteenth time, I realized that the film’s reliance on the cop-savior narrative indirectly creates the moral fabric of this film. Frankly, the plot of Home Alone is heartwarming because the characters are allowed to make mistakes, legally and socially speaking. Kevin’s family, despite their blunders, is a “good” family. The situation was justified. Mom and dad were frazzled. Kevin was being annoying. And of course, they did the “right” thing by reaching out to law enforcement. After all, it was an accident!

Home Alone builds compassion around a situation that would have immediately sparked conversations around parental responsibility and accountability if the family was working class and/or people of color. I am positive that a black or brown Home Alone would have ended with Kevin in CPS custody. The parents would be considered antagonists — cruel, careless, and not worthy of having children. Joe Pesci dressed as a cop in the middle of the house would have caused panic rather than comfort.

The McCallister’s whiteness is what allows this film to be lighthearted. It is generally well known that cops and other legal institutions are more sympathetic towards white people than people of color. White children make up almost 79% of the child population, but only about 51% of the child welfare system. As I watched the movie, I was amazed that Kevin’s family never once feared losing him, instinctively reaching out to law enforcement for help. The cops seem blissfully ignorant that the thieves they eventually arrest were robbing a house occupied only by a child — who was close to getting fatally injured but was luckily saved by an older neighbor.

This movie is a perfect depiction of what the legal system would consider reckless endangerment. Given the law-bound carceral society we live in, it is shocking that the McCallisters did not face any consequences. The Chicago PD barely bat an eye at Kevin’s situation, simply happy to have arrested two dimwitted robbers. Despite what happens, the McCallister family reunion at the end was joyful and free from legal issues, a luxury that seems to be retained only for the most privileged of families.

As I looked beyond the moments of comedic relief and one liners, this fun-filled classic is now a fascinating piece of social commentary. A film almost worthy of being a Law & Order: SVU episode, Home Alone has accidentally become a reflection of racial and economic privilege. The McCallisters unknowingly hide in their whiteness to evade any legal and social consequences of their actions. This family is yet another symbol of how American socioeconomic structures benefits the financially-secure white population.

I have been a religious viewer of Home Alone for as long as I can remember. As an adult who is aware about the systemic inequities in the U.S., I find it difficult to overlook the issues that this film inadvertently highlights. It is unfortunate that even the most timeless of Christmas movies can not escape the brutal truths of American society.

Merry (late) Christmas, ya filthy animals.