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The Problem With It’s a Wonderful Life
Ah, good old-fashioned 1940s misogyny
It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
Time to decorate your tree with lights, tinsel, and your grandchildren’s homemade ornaments! Time for snowball fights and hot chocolate by the fire! Time for caroling in obnoxiously ugly sweaters! And most importantly, it’s time to sit back and watch your favorite Christmas classics. Maybe it’s one of those creepy claymation films, like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer or Jack Frost. Maybe you’re into more modern fares, like Elf or Happiest Season. We can at least agree that A Christmas Story is nobody’s favorite.
For me, my go-to has always been It’s a Wonderful Life, the 1946 Frank Capra classic. We all know the story of George Bailey, the small-town boy with big dreams to travel the world. Unfortunately, he has to put his dreams on hold when he’s forced to take over his father’s business following his death, when he falls in love, when the Great Depression hits, when he starts a family, etc, etc. He’s a good-hearted man who has consistently put the needs of others over his own desires. Following a crisis at work that could cost his family everything, he contemplates suicide, only to be rescued by an angel named Clarence who shows him just how bleak a place the world would be if he had never…
