Scott, If you remember back in May or June, we were studying in your CORE VIII:Time class. The topic was "Present-Past: Backstory and Non-Linear Storytelling". You posed a question to the class: "Why is It's A Wonderful Life so powerful?" IAWL is non-linear, of course. It opens at the end, with the entire town of Bedfore Falls praying for George Bailey, then goes heavily into backstory. And it works. But why? Someone in the class - I wish it was me, but, alas, it wasn't (I think it was Matt Crowley) - brought up the issue of Theme, and "the testing" of George Bailey, and it's relationship to the Bible. That's why it works. Specifically, the story of George Bailey parallels closely the Old Testament story of Job. The Book of Job centers on the theme of theodicy: Why do bad things happen to good people? That theme is universal - we all know someone who is going through this, or went through it. It's very difficult. And maddening. This film addresses that theme. John A

That's an interesting lens through which to look at IAWL. How about this? Compare to the Coen brothers movie A Serious Man? To throw another theological concept into the mix, how about the idea of Predestination. My theory is that one of the motivations George has to "shake the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and see the world" and to "build big things" is to distance himself from - specifically - the 'ghost' of his father. Obviously George developed this psychological dynamic, subconscious I might add, while his father was still alive, but it loomed over him even after his father's death. If you subscribe to the theory that what transpires in a story to a Protagonist is tied intimately to the lessons they have to learn, to the metamorphosis journey they have to travel, then Peter Bailey's death is the Call To Adventure. It had to happen in order to precipitate George's life lessons. The reason George is so furious after Uncle Billy loses that $8K is because the entirety of his Disunity emotions rise to the surface. As Potter says, "A young man who hates the Building and Loan almost as much as I do." And that's true in the sense that it is the B&L and Peter's legacy that has kept George from traveling around the world, building big things, etc. And NOW he's going to take the fall for something he has extreme ambivalence about. All of Act Three, where Clarence shows George what life would be like if George hadn't been born, is a direct assault on George's presuppositions and his Disunity state: He may have physically been disattached from his dreams of world travel / big things, but never emotionally. Clarence's revelations do that which enable George to put things in a proper perspective. So by the end, it's not so much closure for George, but the beginning an authentic life, one not ruled by his need to escape Bedford Falls, the Building and Loan, and his father's ghost, but rather one grounded in family, friendships in the community, and being a hero on a local level.

Scott, Here's another way to consider THEME in "It's A Wonderful Life" (IAWL): Think about Mr. Potter sitting in that wheelchair. We talked about this already (in GITS: Script Analysis: IAWL: Character). But it's very important. A wheelchair? The powerful, evil, and important NEMESIS in a wheelchair?? Wow. 50-odd years before the Americans with Disabilities Act. Was Frank Capra really that far ahead of the field? Maybe. This being the Christmas week, my lovely bride and I went out and visited "our DVD man" here in Moscow (he's kind of shady and illegal and all of that, yes, so please don't ask too many questions. But his inventory - oh - - to die for!!). We wanted Christmas movies. Pure, raw, sappy Hollywood Christmas movies delivered up with miracles for poor kids and everything,. Being in the Christmas spirit - a real Jimmy Stewart holiday mood - we bought "You Can't Take It With You", and watched it last night. (Never saw it before). Well, YCTIWY (1938) was a multiple Oscar winner. Best Picture. Best Director. Good movie. REALLY good movie. And a few lessons for us here. And more than a few comparisons with IAWL (1946). First: Crutches (THEME). Okay. Mr. Potter (IAWL - 1946) was in a wheelchair. "Sully" in Avatar (2009) was in a wheelchair. Ironsides on TV, was in a wheelchair. And . . . then Mr. Sycamore (Alice's father) - (played by Lionel Barrymore) was on crutches. MMmmm . . . "Similiar But Different" . . . . Hobbled on critches. And he was a Mentor Archetype . . . . Let's compare the two films ("It's A Wonderful Life" (1946): with "You Can't Take It With You" (1938): #1) Frank Capra directed both pictures. #2) Jimmy Stewart acted in both stories. * and Jimmy was a banker in both! * and he didn't like banking in both! * and he wanted to leave town in both! (do we sense a theme here . . . . ) #3) Lionel Barrymore was in both films (1938 = he was Martin Vanderhof; 1946 = he played Henry F. Potter, Nemesis) #4) Samuel S. Hinds played "Paul Sycamore" in YCTIWY; then he played "Peter Bailey" in IAWL. #5) H.B Warner played "Ramsey" in YCTIWY; then he played "Mr. Gower" in IAWL. #6) at the end of YCTIWY - the townspeople all chip in and give money to save Jimmy Stewart's character from going to prison. At the end of IAWL, the townspeople all chip in to save Jimmy Stewart's charatcter, once again, from going to prison. Sense a trend here . . . ? #7) and let's certainly not forget the important role of the black raven! In YCTIWY the raven appears in Alice's home, with her eclectic family; later, in IAWL, it seems to be an employee at the Bailey Building & Loan. #8) H.B. Warner played "Ramsey" in YCTIWY; and then he played "Mr. Gower" in IAWL. So. There you have it. An Oscar decorated film (YCTIWY - 1938) updated in 1946 as IAWL, which became a holiday classic. Similiar but different? Just wondering . . . Merry Christmas, everyone! John A