It's a Wonderful Life . . . Is it? Really?

[Snypiuer]

Is it just me, or is the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" nothing more than a propaganda piece to make people believe that a life of giving up EVERYTHING they ever wanted, so that everyone else around them can have THEIR dreams come true, is BETTER than actually having their own dreams come true? Does ANYONE else see the conundrum here? How is a lifetime of bitter disappointment better!? Everyone in the movie that benefits from George Baileys' sacrifices seem pretty, freaking happy while ol' George just trudges on and makes the best of what he has to work with.

 

George had dreams and the ambition to make those dreams come true. Instead, well, let's make list of ol' Georges', so called, "Wonderful" life:

 

1. It starts with his idiot brother. Said brother falls through the ice and George saves him, causing George to get sick and get an ear infection - which leads to him having hearing problems. That's O.K., ol' George is a trooper. He gets older and gets a job.

 

2. George works at a pharmacy where his boss gets some bad news and, in his misery, mistakenly fills a prescription with poison. When George points out the mistake, his boss smacks him. Where? That's right! In his bad ear! Take that George! Save a life, go deaf in one ear!

 

I'd like to take a break to say, I miss the days when it was O.K. to smack a kid - even if it wasn't even YOUR kid. I'd also like to point out that, if ol' George had learned his lesson from this incident, that no good deed goes unpunished, he wouldn't have had a lifetime of disappointment - so MAYBE ol' George just got what he deserved. Back to the list!

 

3. George gets older and saves his money. He's going to travel! George is going overseas! George is going to college! Georges' dad has a stroke and the board of directors for the Savings and Loans, his dad started, won't keep it open unless he, George, takes his dad's' place! LUCKY GEORGE!

 

4. It's O.K. ol' George is a man with a plan. He'll postpone his dreams and use the money he saved to send his idiot brother to college so that HE can come back and run the Savings and Loans. George is a freaking GENIUS! Georges' idiot brother isn't such an idiot and comes back from college with a wife and says (I'm paraphrasing here - YEAH, that's what I'm calling it!), "So, George, buddy, I'm getting laid regularly and her old man is giving me a job, sooo . . . thanks for the edumacashun and SEE YA SUCKER!"

 

At this point, George should just head to the bridge.

 

5. George decides if he's going to be stuck running the Savings and Loans, he might as well get laid regularly too. So, he gets married and plans to use the money he was saving to travel the world (that is, until his idiot brother showed up and flushed THAT dream down the toilet), to honeymoon in New York and Bermuda. It's not traveling the world, but it's something - and you can't deny the man his honeymoon! Wait for it . . . that's right! There's a run on the banks and, instead of just letting the Savings and Loans get bought out, he uses the honeymoon money to cover the deposits.

 

You hear that? That's the sound of an overworked toilet flushing another of ol' George Baileys' dreams.

 

6. This one is ALL on George. He creates a residential development of nice homes and, basically, sells them at cost TO THE SAME PEOPLE THAT FORCED HIM TO USE HIS HONEYMOON MONEY TO COVER THEIR DEPOSITS! How about make a bit of a profit George? No? Take a rest toilet, that one ol' George deserves to eat!

 

7. Here's another one all on George. He's offered a job making more money than he ever could hope for and he turns it down - George, your freaking wife is pregnant! Arghh!

 

8. War! Yay! It's not ideal, but there is travel and you can pretty much count on adventure. And, who's going to say anything or judge ol' George for signing up? Why, it's his duty as an American! Wait a minute . . . get your 4F butt back to the Savings and Loans George! You half-deaf . . .

 

9. George gets to be the air raid warden while friends and family become war heroes and rich from selling parts to the military. At least he's getting laid - 4 kids.You go George!

 

10. Finally, after all that, and ol' George is resigned to just living the rest of his life stuck in the same town he was born in and never left, working at a job he never wanted, what happens? His uncle, the TRUE idiot of the family absent-mindedly places the Savings and Loans $8,000 bank deposit in a folded newspaper and HANDS it to the banker who hates George and wants nothing more than to see him thrown in jail - actually, it wouldn't be a stretch to say he REALLY wants ol' George dead! George is going to prison! He doesn't want to, but let's face facts here, does ANYTHING in ol' Georges' life point to him NOT being locked up? Hey, George, at least you'll finally get out of Bedford Falls and, not to worry, you'll STILL be getting laid regularly - whether you want to or not!

 

All this leads to George realizing he's worth more dead than alive, you know what? I know I said "FINALLY" on the last one, but there's more.

 

11. George decides to give up his "DREAM", of just existing, in order to save the Savings and Loans. That's right, he's going to give up LIVING so that the business doesn't get shut down and people aren't thrown in jail and his family doesn't have to be ashamed that he was locked up. Get that straight, it wasn't because he was worried he was going to end up having the back of his head shaved and the face of a woman tattooed on it that his cell-mate called Martha. No, IT WAS TO SAVE THE BUSINESS AND TO SAVE HIS FAMILIES' REPUTATION.

 

12. You would THINK that would be enough. No. No, it's not. An angel shows up to help ol' George? No. The angel has a dream. A dream to, one day, have wings! What better way to get them than to rub ol' Georges' face in the fact that he had to suffer through life long disappointment so that OTHERS could, not only, do what he was only allowed to dream of, but to live FAR better lives than him. And, on top of that, make him believe he's being SELFISH for wishing he had never been born instead of living a life of broken dreams that has lead him to the point where he is WILLING TO KILL HIMSELF! Go for it Clarence, get them wings!

 

13. Hmmmm, 13 . . . figures. Final, finally. George sees the error of his selfish, selfish ways, more clearly than a reluctant guest in Stockholm and realizes he's the "RICHEST MAN IN TOWN" because everyone is willing to help him. George, George, George, you poor, pathetic, delusional fool. These same people will throw the fact that they gave you a few dollars to help keep you out of jail, right in your face the VERY first time they're late making a payment on a loan you've ALREADY made to them. And, your rich friend, the one who could pay the $8,000 outright, if he wanted to, only gave you a line of credit. You'll have to pay back everything you borrow from it. George! You will NEVER be able to afford to leave Bedford Falls! You will die there and the last thing you're going to think on your death bed is, "I should have let that idiot drown!"

 

So, there we have it. A "WONDERFUL LIFE" where the hero of our story lives a life of disappointment and the villain, who is ALREADY the richest man in town gets $8,000 for free, in a day and age when $8,000 could buy you a freaking huge house.

[TLDunn213]

I've never watched the movie.

And this quick look at it tells me

My instincts were right.

I'd hate watching a story like this.

 

To help lighten another's burden is one thing

Overburdening yourself while you're at it is another.