There are always at least two angles from which you can view situations. I'm so sorry to have lived long enough to see a President (not my fault!) who only wants to see his name on everything and will go to all ends to make it happen. Have a bipartisan immigration bill, sponsored by both Dems and Reps? No can do unless it matches MY agenda. Want to stop a gov't shutdown? No can do unless it matches my agenda. This is all from a twice-impeached, 34x felon, and non-majority popular vote winner. Yep, even with his electoral win this time around, he actually discovered that he could hoodoo almost half the electorate with lies, half-lies, and unfounded promises. I lived through Nixon, Reagan, Bush (two of the scoundrels), and Trump once, I suppose that if old age doesn't get me (I'm 72 now), I'll manage to live through another 4 years, sitting on the sidelines and watching the USofA go down the tubes. Oh well, I can dodge any sort of responsibility for him, and think maybe I'll post a "NOT MY FAULT! I DIDN'T VOTE FOR HIM!" sign on each the back seat windows of my car.
Fantastic. Speaking of Twin Peaks, I recently read an allusion (frustratingly vague and brief) to its own conservative subtext. I had assumed Twin Peaks was too bizarre to lend itself easily to a socio-political decoding of that sort, but it would be fascinating to be proved wrong.
Huh. Lynch’s politics are sometimes dicey, though I’m not sure what the argument that twin peaks is conservative would be exactly…fire walk with me is a pretty searing depiction of the horrors of sexual abuse…
Excellent essay. I’ve always viewed this movie with the same skepticism as other “propaganda” put out by the U.S. (of which Hollywood fully participated) during the WWII era, especially post-WWII. As in: see what you’re fighting for, soldiers? Good ol’ fashioned American “values”.
This movie has never appealed to me. I've seen it a couple of times, years ago and never liked it. Part of it might be the 'I spent too many years working in retail and now HATE all things Christmas', but overall, it just never did anything for me.
You don't have to be Jewish to find IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE to be kind of...::shudder!::. George Bailey sacrifices his ambitions to stay and run the family Savings & Loan, gives up his honeymoon to cover a bank run, never accomplishes any of his dreams—and we're expected to see that as wonderful and life-affirming? I'd have jumped off the bridge long before he did if I'd been that trapped by circumstance!
When George Bailey snaps at his foolish Uncle Billy for losing that $8,000, it does feel a lot like the character finally letting himself say how he REALLY feels about his life. It has real resonance given George is played by James Stewart, shortly after coming back from WWII...only to find he no longer had a film career, and his father was pushing him to come run the family hardware store! The main difference was that, thanks to his heroism, his piloting, and his skills at command, the newly-minted United States Air Force were ALSO ready to offer him a job helping to build it. (I'd read he was seriously considering taking a permanent commission in the USAF when Capra asked him to star in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE.)
Though the film was a financial failure in its initial release ("Capra-Corn" at its finest!), Stewart got an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor out of it, which revitalized his acting career. As it turned out the Air Force was delighted to have him even in the Reserves, so he stayed as long as he could, rising to Brigadier General before he retired.
In a sense, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE was a possible alternate life for James Stewart, had he not become an actor and, once he was relatively successful, a pilot who went to war.
This is a tremendously satisfying look behind the psychological and sociological scenes of an iconic movie which I have always wondered about.
Will read it again and recommend it every time it comes up in North American Christmas conversation.
Pretty impressive!
There are always at least two angles from which you can view situations. I'm so sorry to have lived long enough to see a President (not my fault!) who only wants to see his name on everything and will go to all ends to make it happen. Have a bipartisan immigration bill, sponsored by both Dems and Reps? No can do unless it matches MY agenda. Want to stop a gov't shutdown? No can do unless it matches my agenda. This is all from a twice-impeached, 34x felon, and non-majority popular vote winner. Yep, even with his electoral win this time around, he actually discovered that he could hoodoo almost half the electorate with lies, half-lies, and unfounded promises. I lived through Nixon, Reagan, Bush (two of the scoundrels), and Trump once, I suppose that if old age doesn't get me (I'm 72 now), I'll manage to live through another 4 years, sitting on the sidelines and watching the USofA go down the tubes. Oh well, I can dodge any sort of responsibility for him, and think maybe I'll post a "NOT MY FAULT! I DIDN'T VOTE FOR HIM!" sign on each the back seat windows of my car.
Merry Christmas to all in Potterville :)
Your film reviews as always are outstanding. I’ll be watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” in an entirely new light.
Fantastic. Speaking of Twin Peaks, I recently read an allusion (frustratingly vague and brief) to its own conservative subtext. I had assumed Twin Peaks was too bizarre to lend itself easily to a socio-political decoding of that sort, but it would be fascinating to be proved wrong.
Huh. Lynch’s politics are sometimes dicey, though I’m not sure what the argument that twin peaks is conservative would be exactly…fire walk with me is a pretty searing depiction of the horrors of sexual abuse…
fire walk with me is amazing; one of my favorite movies ever. it is harrowing though.
I mean, it's sort of supernatural, but the metaphor is so clear that I don't think it functions as an excuse...
Genius.
Excellent essay. I’ve always viewed this movie with the same skepticism as other “propaganda” put out by the U.S. (of which Hollywood fully participated) during the WWII era, especially post-WWII. As in: see what you’re fighting for, soldiers? Good ol’ fashioned American “values”.
This is a good review.
This movie has never appealed to me. I've seen it a couple of times, years ago and never liked it. Part of it might be the 'I spent too many years working in retail and now HATE all things Christmas', but overall, it just never did anything for me.
And, let's not forget that James Stewart (aka George Bailey) introduced candidate Richard Nixon at the 1968 Republican Convention.
Stewart and Capra were MAGA forerunners.
Also, the movie is cornball flapdoodle!
Wow
My newest favorite from a long list of your consistently excellent essays.
Thanks!
You don't have to be Jewish to find IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE to be kind of...::shudder!::. George Bailey sacrifices his ambitions to stay and run the family Savings & Loan, gives up his honeymoon to cover a bank run, never accomplishes any of his dreams—and we're expected to see that as wonderful and life-affirming? I'd have jumped off the bridge long before he did if I'd been that trapped by circumstance!
When George Bailey snaps at his foolish Uncle Billy for losing that $8,000, it does feel a lot like the character finally letting himself say how he REALLY feels about his life. It has real resonance given George is played by James Stewart, shortly after coming back from WWII...only to find he no longer had a film career, and his father was pushing him to come run the family hardware store! The main difference was that, thanks to his heroism, his piloting, and his skills at command, the newly-minted United States Air Force were ALSO ready to offer him a job helping to build it. (I'd read he was seriously considering taking a permanent commission in the USAF when Capra asked him to star in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE.)
Though the film was a financial failure in its initial release ("Capra-Corn" at its finest!), Stewart got an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor out of it, which revitalized his acting career. As it turned out the Air Force was delighted to have him even in the Reserves, so he stayed as long as he could, rising to Brigadier General before he retired.
In a sense, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE was a possible alternate life for James Stewart, had he not become an actor and, once he was relatively successful, a pilot who went to war.