Tag Archives: Frank Capra

Peace on Earth and Happy Holidays

Old man Potter and his little lackey

I just got through watching a traditional Christmas classic, It’s a Wonderful Life. If you have not seen the film, you should make the effort. It is perhaps one of the greatest pieces of Americana Progressivism that ever did exist. It simplifies the struggle between good versus evil as any film does of course, only this film sides with the working and middle classes (especially in those days when the middle class was very small). Oh yes, as the above image shows, the Mr. Potter of modern times is good old Dick Cheney, and his little lackey (that goes for you too!) is our naive El Presidente, who preside over a party that cuts taxes for the rich, then cut education, Medicare and student loan funding. They even tried to destroy Social Security!

It is quite ironic, because Frank Capra’s incredible film It’s a Wonderful Life was a classic Progressive tale, and is now whored out by the Universal-NBC network (who purchased the rights to the film) to sell crap. On this celebration of Jesus’ birth, we make the even more powerful Mr. Potters even richer!

As I watched that film again this Christmas Eve, I really understood why that film speaks to so many Americans.

First off, the film detailed the lives of Americans that lived through the Roaring Twenties, The Great Depression and World War II, the appropriately called, “Greatest Generation. This “greatest” generation figured out that the Republicans of the twenties screwed up our country so bad, that they elected F.D.R. (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) 4 times. No wonder they were so great! They turned their backs on the senseless obsession with capitalism in favor of a viewpoint that embraces the brotherhood of humanity.

If you notice, throughout the film, the greatness of America is portrayed through the lens of American Progressivism. The rich and evil Mr. Potter does everything he can to control the lives of the townspeople. The heroes of the town, the Bailey’s, invest in the growth of the town, the growth of families and the growth of good common sense ethics.

When the bank goes bust (during the Depression era bank panic) George Bailey pleads to the bank account holders to keep their money in the Bailey Building and Loan because the evil Mr. Potter is not selling, he’s buying!

George Bailey gave up all his “rugged individualism” influenced dreams for a larger dream, one that included his family’s desire to help the working class live out their existence in a good home:

Just remember this, Mr. Potter: that this rabble you’re talking about, they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath?

There is a strong undercurrent of Democratic-Socialism in the film that could only be said in the early post-war years. Mr. Potter is portrayed as everything that is wrong in the world, and is perhaps among the greatest villains of any film in history. He is undoubtedly evil, and undoubtedly empty. Potter owns the bank, has the powerful sway with the police and owns the largest slum in town. Bedford Falls without George Bailey becomes Pottersville, and is host to numerous gambling halls, shady night clubs and bars.

Frank Capra, the films Producer and Director, was coaxed into the U.S. Army by General Marshal to create war propaganda flicks like the Why We Fight series, and over sought many other films that carried forth the message of the war effort.

When he returned to entertainment films, it was as if he never left the set of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Unfortunately America was sick of war, and along with it, the Great Depression and the fight for socialism. His films gradually returned to lighter topics and It’s a Wonderful Life was not a success at the box office. In fact, it did so poorly, its copyright was allowed to expire.

In the end, another casualty of World War II was populism. Instead of creating a better society that helped benefit the soldiers returning or the women that worked to create planes, the pendulum swung the other way, and the old-man Potters of the world took control. Materialism was the real disease that infiltrated American society, while Communism was just another lie fed to the polulation by the wealthy.

It’s a Wonderful Life underscores the lost opportunity the people in America had, and should be seen as one of the last great populist messages before the flood of anti-communism destroyed the voice of the American people.

The sad reality of life, is that there will always be a Mr. or Mrs. Potter, and they will always do whatever they can to take what we have away from us.

As I was suggesting with this picture, Ol’ Dick Cheney fits the bill pretty well.

George Bailey: You sit around here and you spin your little webs and you think the whole world revolves around you and your money. Well, it doesn’t, [ Mr. Cheney ] . In the whole vast configuration of things, I’d say you were nothing but a scurvy little spider. And…
[turning to his aide]
George Bailey: And that goes for you, too!

I would gladly wish you a Merry Christmas, and if you practice Christmas (in the commercial non-religious sense, or the midnight mast or devout sense) please take this message as that. If you are a politically active or one of those other assorted misguided Christians, I wish you a Happy Holidays!