Design in Christmas Movies: A Christmas Carol

Most classic Christmas movies were originally films, but there are several that began as books, such as Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. Although it is technically a novella laced with social commentary [1], Dickens called his work a “carol” because he hoped that it would be repeated annually, and he wrote in five “staves” in an allusion to poetry, as staves is derived from the word staff, meaning stanza [2]. An instant classic, the work has thrived so long in part because it makes expert use of contrast.

Ebenezer Scrooge and Tiny Tim

The foremost use of contrast is between the protagonist of the story (though, in many ways, he is also his own antagonist) and Tiny Tim. A classic use of literary foil, the contrast between Tiny Tim and Ebenezer Scrooge is glaringly evident from the characters’ first introduction [3]. Ebenezer, because of his financial dominance, is a large and dominating character; Tiny Tim is explicitly small and insignificant. The former is harsh and cruel, the latter joyful and kind. Their foil, however, is punctuated because they are both somewhat similar: they are both tormented internally and both of their futures will lead to tragedy unless there is change. 

Figure 1: Ebenezer Scrooge and Tiny Tim, in an image from a theater production version of the story [4].

The Three Ghosts

In his story, Dickens characterizes Christmas past as an angel, Christmas present as a green-clad, extra-large spirit, and Christmas future as a Grim Reaper-esque specter. Though there have been a wide variety of presentations of these ghosts, they present a spectrum of contrast. The past and present are distinguished by the attitude of the celebration, with the past feeling more hallowed when compared to the more jovial present. Of course, both are at odds with the ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: between the past and the future, there is a total reverse of sanctity, indicating that the behaviors of people such as Scrooge has corrupted the altruistic nature of Christmas; simultaneously, the juxtaposition of the jovial and colorful present against the dismal and dark future indicates that a loss of altruism correlates to a loss in joy. This echoes much of the morality that Dickens was intending to convey [5].

Figure 2: A characterization of Dickens’s three Christmas ghosts: Christmas Past in the front left, Christmas Present to the right, and Christmas Yet to Come in the back [6].

Inside and Outside

In his first two spirit-directed tours, Dickens has Scrooge peer into several homes to watch the festivities and the joy that are hallmarks of Christmas celebration. The cold snow, the darkness of the alleys, and the loneliness outside the window is presented as otherworldly when collocated with the warmth, brightness, and sociality inside the window. It serves to subconsciously communicate to Scrooge that he is separated from the joyfulness by a barrier, being his own disposition towards others.

Figure 3: The cold snow outside contrasts sharply with the warm fire burning inside the home, giving Scrooge a metaphorical window into what could be [7].

Contrast is important to design because it creates a more vivid impression in our minds. In engineering applications or for consumer products, a higher degree of contrast is distinguishing. While it is often used in literature to convey meaning, contrast can also be expertly crafted to increase the attractiveness of a product and highlight the strengths of designs.

References

[1] Alley Theatre. "Dickensian Delights: The Historical Context of A Christmas Carol." Alley Theatre, 20 Oct. 2023, https://www.alleytheatre.org/dickensian-delights-the-historical-context-of-a-christmas-carol/.

[2] Gass, Sally. "Individuals and Events that Inspired A Christmas Carol." Denver Center for the Performing Arts News Center, 12 Dec. 2024, https://www.denvercenter.org/news-center/individuals-and-events-that-inspired-a-christmas-carol/.

[3] Gass, Sally. "Individuals and Events that Inspired A Christmas Carol." Denver Center for the Performing Arts News Center, 12 Dec. 2024, https://www.denvercenter.org/news-center/individuals-and-events-that-inspired-a-christmas-carol/.

[4] Foden-Vencil, Kristian. "Playing Tiny Tim Is All in the Family in Alliance’s Christmas Carol." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 20 Dec. 2022, https://www.ajc.com/things-to-do/playing-tiny-tim-is-all-in-the-family-in-alliances-christmas-carol/JBX4SHDRVRAFNHXTNOMTY2WABU/.

[5] Giltrow, Graham. "Ebeneezer Scrooge goes Realtime: eliminates the 3 separate Spirits." SAP Community, 18 Dec. 2015, https://community.sap.com/t5/enterprise-resource-planning-blog-posts-by-sap/ebeneezer-scrooge-goes-realtime-eliminates-the-3-separate-spirits/ba-p/13178244.

[6] Giltrow, Graham. "Ebeneezer Scrooge goes Realtime: eliminates the 3 separate Spirits." SAP Community, 18 Dec. 2015, https://community.sap.com/t5/enterprise-resource-planning-blog-posts-by-sap/ebeneezer-scrooge-goes-realtime-eliminates-the-3-separate-spirits/ba-p/13178244.

[7] Benda, David. "Ghosts of grain markets past, present & future." Farm Progress, 13 Dec. 2021, https://www.farmprogress.com/commentary/ghosts-of-grain-markets-past-present-future.

To cite this article:
Conover, Dylan. “Design in Christmas Movies: A Christmas Carol.” The BYU Design Review, 15 December 2025, https://www.designreview.byu.edu/collections/design-in-christmas-movies-a-christmas-carol.