Gary “plastics, baby, plastics!” North discusses George Bailey’s Road to Monetary Perdition where “the buffalo gals have come out at night to vote by the light of the moon.”
In Merry Christmas, Mr. Potter!, North describes the reasons for its importance, the message of forgiveness, and the implications of fractional reserve banking.
The Guardian has called it the “most inspirational film” ever.
Time magazine centers in on the pivotal scene where George’s brother Harry toasts: “To my brother George. The richest man in town.”
But, then there is a darker side. Rather than merely “Capra-corn,” something deeper lurks beneath the film. According to one source, Capra’s mother lost her house to bankers after his father’s death and was thus eager to make the bankers the villain in his movies.
Off screen, a 1947 FBI memo branded the film subversive and “a rather obvious attempt to discredit bankers.”
And, then there is the claim of Jimmy Stewart as FBI informant in Michael Munn’s Jimmy Stewart: The Truth Behind the Legend which refers to testimony from Stewart’s ex-wife, Gloria Hatrick McLean, who claims that J. Edgar Hoover recruited the right-wing Stewart to spy on his Hollywood friends, including Frank Capra, in the name of anti-communism.
Finally, Salon tackles the most important question of all in its analysis of Pottersville vs. Bedford Falls in All Hail Pottersville! “The ‘bad’ town…jumps and jives 24/7 with hot bars and cool chicks — while ‘wholesome’ Bedford Falls is a claustrophobic snooze.”
You can even watch it right now to decide for yourself courtesy of Google Video.
My thanks to Metafilter.com for a few of the links.
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What lesson is learned from this movie?
Pitch a rock through a window, keep your wish between yourself and God (?) and it will come true. A man’s life will be ruined after his father pitches sideways from a stroke, just as the stone is cast and the wish made. Nice.
It is said that Capra made this movie (with its obvious religiosity) to stem the tide of atheism he felt was pervading. So create a story (from other sources, granted) that depicts a man becoming trapped by a fate forced upon him by another with God’s direct influence. A man is forced by conditioning and derived circumstances to sacrifice himself for the sake of others. He is even shown the Hell that would have resulted if he did not sacrifice himself.
He, of course, is not offered an insight into his fate (and those of his townmates) if he had not been trapped by Mary’s wish – that is, been born but free to go as he desired. For the sake of argument, say without Mary’s wish, the event necessary for George to stay would not have happened, the building and loan would have thrived under his father some time longer, George would have traveled and gotten his education, built his bridges and buildings, enriching his life and others, Potter still would have been denied full control of the town, the townsfolk not ruined, Harry still would have been saved as everything would have been the same until George’s departure, and therefor the transport would have been saved. The only person who would not have made out is Mary (and the then hypothetical children) who would have become the spinster/librarian. And perhaps with George leaving Bedford falls as he wished he could have met another hypothetical woman and had other kids with her, a woman who therefor became a spinster herself.
So God’s will is executed through agreeing to the selfish demands of one person, Mary. Two options are offered, George trapped in this fate, or not be born at all, a scenerio in which no one else has the ability to stave off Potter’s influence (I guess all those other lives aren’t quite so wonderful if it takes George to avoid all these other fates for all these other people). Mary and God use George for their own ends. And he’s supposed to like it. Ah, theocratic collectivism as a life lesson.
No thanks!
I agree with Brad. The main message of the film is that self-sacrifice is necessary for optimal fulfillment and friendship, while selfishness can lead to material wealth but will lead to misery and the animosity of your community. It really goes hand in hand with the FDR-era blame of the wealthy and the idealization of sacrifice that goes hand in hand with wars such as WW2 (and for which Capra did propaganda as well).
While I like the movie for its spiritual message, that what we do counts, even though we cannot always readily see the effects of our actions, its predominant political and economic message can only be repulsive to those who believe that the pursuit of self-interest (in conjunction with the rule of law) is basic to creating a thriving society.
Well, only if you’re an objectivist. And, let’s be honest, who the hell cares what they think?
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