by Adam Ritchie, Contributing Writer
Given the season, I though this month’s 20th Century Flicks should be a classic Christmas movie.
I have to admit, though, It’s a Wonderful Life was never on my radar until recently. Even after spending a large majority of 2022 delving into historically classic cinema, it never appealed to me. That is, until I heard (on several occasions) the Sift-Father, Aaron Dicer, extolling the virtues of Frank Capra’s 1946 Christmas movie in such a convincing manner, that I had to bump it up my list.
I’ve grown to love “old” Hollywood. I also have a great affection for Jimmy Stewart. As Alfred Hitchcock is my all-time favorite director, I feel I know Stewart’s work well from his multiple roles in Hitchcock classics like Rear Window and Vertigo,among others. Nevertheless, I remained dubious about It’s a Wonderful Life for far too long. I certainly had pre-conceived ideas I was certain would stop me enjoying it the way others do. I was aware of its pop culture status, as it is referenced endlessly in other films and TV, but I imagined it to be a sappy, overly feel-good, saccharine affair.
How wrong I was, and how happy I am to stand corrected. It’s a Wonderful Life is a tremendous film with rich themes and messages that will forever be relevant. To keep the summary short, our lead, George Bailey (Stewart) is contemplating suicide, and we aren’t told immediately why.
I thought the narrative choice is an interesting one, as through a series of flashbacks being told from one angel to another, we learn of George’s hopes and dreams. We get to know George for the decent human being he is before his guardian angel is sent to save him.
He doesn’t want to enter the family business at the Building and Loan, which was owned and operated by his father and uncle. George dreams big of having a well-travelled and well-educated life. Sadly for him, circumstance keeps getting in the way of his dreams, and ultimately he never manages to leave town. Eventually, he ends up running the family business and marrying a childhood sweetheart along the way.
George seems to be in constant battle with the town megalomaniac, Henry Potter (Lionel Barrymore), who controls most of the town with his slums and rent prices. As time moves on, we see the people closest to George, including his brother Harry, succeed in their own ways. We then see George look back on his life with resentment and disdain at never having accomplished his dreams, while everyone he was close to lives exciting and fulfilling lives. George doesn’t appear to be regretful, but he is resentful of the life he never got to live, as he was always responsible, and risk averse.
The film comes together with its messages and themes when George is shown by his guardian angel, Clarence (Henry Travers), what life would’ve been like for the town if he never existed.
I am so glad I saw this film at this stage of my life, rather than when I was younger and had less life experience. Being a man of a certain age, It’s a Wonderful Life speaks to me on so many levels. Having a “the grass is always greener” or, “I’ve wasted my life” outlook on your own life can never be a healthy disposition.
I can relate to George personally, as I’m sure many of us do. Not many of us get to live out our dreams and do the things we promised ourselves we’d do, or what we hoped we would. It’s a Wonderful Life is about appreciating the achievements you have made, and not regretting the ones you didn’t. It’s about looking back on your life and understanding the positive impact you have had on people’s life.
George represents the moral backbone of society, and the things one should do when presented with conundrums like the “what if” scenarios he is shown by Clarence. The film also speaks to what the world could look like with the absence of morality, good will, and just plain old decency.
It’s a Wonderful Life is still as relevant today as it was in 1946 because as the wealth gap continues to grow, we are witnessing firsthand a world where the greedy and powerful have all but taken complete ownership. We can argue we are well on our way to a disenfranchised population of powerless people because the system is built for the haves and not the have nots. In short, the world needs good people like George Bailey to keep the bad guys at bay for as long as possible.
Some could argue this may not be a Christmas movie because Christmas is only a brief backdrop at the end; however, for me, what makes this a Christmas movie is its key message that giving is better than receiving.
George is given the gift of being shown the world if he wasn’t in it. What he realizes is that he’d given away his life’s ambitions to enrich the lives of his townsfolk, peers, friends, and family. He made their lives better by giving financial freedom and security. If you can look back, knowing you have done the right thing by others, and enriched lives along the way, it really has been a wonderful life.
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