At the beginning of “It’s a Wonderful Life”, a 12-year-old George Bailey jumps into icy water to save his younger brother, Harry, from drowning in a sleigh accident – a heroic act that costs George his hearing in your left ear.
I was about that age when I started watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” with my parents every year, usually on Christmas Eve – which means I saw the movie at least 19 times. And that’s not counting the times I saw it as a TV reprise, or the times my editor made his weird impression of George Bailey in the office.
I can recite this film line by line. Somehow, I can always cry in the same parts. And without fail, I become a whiny mess at the end of the film, when Harry Bailey makes his short but powerful toast: “For my older brother George, the richest man in town.”
Watching on a Sunday afternoon in 2020 was no different. But in a year when COVID-19 was a dominant storyline, “It’s a Wonderful Life” took on new meaning for me. The film is 74 years old, but the story of a man who longs to get out of town – and who gets increasingly discontented as his plans go wrong – embodies what almost everyone has gone through during this difficult year.
Quarantine at Bedford Falls
Clarence: Did you call me, sir?
Senior Angel: Yes, Clarence. A man on Earth needs our help.
Clarence: Splendid. He is sick?
Senior Angel: No, worse. He is discouraged.
Maybe it’s because the pandemic and mental health were the main problems this year – or the fact that I took the COVID-19 test the day before I watched “It’s a Wonderful Life” – but this passage at the beginning of the film really stood out me.
More than half of “It’s a Wonderful Life” is spent introducing viewers to the situation of George Bailey, a man who wants nothing more than to leave the small town of Bedford Falls in New York and see the world.
His eyes light up with the sound of train whistles. He keeps travel brochures in his coat pocket.
“I just feel that if I didn’t run, it would burst!” George tells his father, who wants his son to stay home and take over the family loan business.
Having spent more time at home than usual this year, I really felt George’s pain every time an opportunity to leave Bedford Falls escaped.
When his father dies, George gives up a trip to Europe to stay home and settle the loose ends of the family business. To prevent the wealthy, self-centered banker Mr. Potter from taking control of everything in the city (Potter is the real Bedford Falls virus), George gives his younger brother college money and stays to look after the Bailey Bros. Building. Loan Association.
And, of course, there is a rush to the bank just as George is about to go on his honeymoon. George’s wife Mary – the real hero of “It’s a Wonderful Life” (more on that later) – gives up her $ 2,000 in honeymoon savings to save George’s business.
In short, George never leaves Bedford Falls.
It’s a frustration that hits especially in 2020, when the pandemic has restricted major travel plans – on my side, I’ve postponed a trip to my hometown in South Carolina several times this year.
More than ever, I resonated with George’s desire to leave. And as moving as the scene is always to be seen, it made George’s big breakdown in front of his family more identifiable.
He spent his entire life sacrificing his own dreams and donating to the city of Bedford Falls. When Uncle Billy loses the company’s $ 8,000 on Christmas Eve, George is possibly in prison for a business he never wanted to work for. Despite all his efforts, this business could end up collapsing with the entire city falling into the hands of the corrupt Mr. Potter.
In this dark moment, discouragement prevents George from seeing the light around him. And as the angel says at the beginning of the film, this is worse than any illness.
Being contagious
“Each man’s life touches many other lives.”
The word “contagious” has become commonplace this year, both in newspaper headlines and in everyday conversations. In the middle of a pandemic, he became directly associated with COVID-19.
But “It’s a wonderful life” reminded me that contagious has another definition – one that is not limited to the negative connotations of a disease. Attitudes and actions, such as gratitude, kindness and love, can also be contagious.
In the last act of “It’s a Wonderful Life”, George has the opportunity to see what the world would be like without him. His eyes widen in disbelief when he sees the friendly city of Bedford Falls become the decadent Pottersville. He was not there to save his brother Harry from drowning in 1919 – a year that, coincidentally, still felt the effects of a flu pandemic. Harry, then, was not around to become a hero of World War II.
George was not around to make his boss at the local drugstore, Mr. Gower, realize that he accidentally mixed poison with medicine for a child. Mr. Gower went to prison for 20 years.
“Weird is not it? Each man’s life touches many other lives, ”said the angel Clarence to George. “When he’s not around, he leaves a horrible hole, doesn’t he?”
This year, in particular, we are seeing the power of one person to literally save lives and influence others for the better. To combat COVID-19, many people are sacrificing their own desires, giving up normal activities and wearing masks in public.
But in this age of physical distance and anxiety, people have also found ways to combat the kind of dismay that overwhelms George in “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Readers of Deseret News shared several stories of neighbors checking in, making sure people got what they need and coming to their aid when they are at fault.
The pandemic has brought countless acts of service, revealing in the process that the way you treat others is contagious.
I had forgotten about that until I watched “It’s a Wonderful Life”.
The real hero
In George’s darkest hour, Mary, the quiet, calm-tempered heroine, requests prayers from friends and family. She continues to contact all her husband’s friends and the people of Bedford Falls to help financially. Considering everything George has done for them over the years, they don’t even hesitate.
In a short time, Mary raises more than three times the amount George needs to get rid of his difficulties.
I was always a little irritated that Potter escaped with impunity for stealing the money that Uncle Billy “lost” – although an old SNL skit made great strides to correct this mistake. Ultimately, however, perhaps Potter’s greatest punishment is that he has no one to turn to if he ends up in a dead end like George.
At the end of “It’s a Wonderful Life”, George is surrounded by all his loved ones. It is an especially moving scene during a time when these meetings are practically non-existent. But it reminded me of my own Bedford Falls – a community of people who raised me up again and again. This community extends far beyond a single city. And while I may not be seeing many of these people in person this year, their love and encouragement are still there. It’s in Zoom’s text messages and links, handwritten letters and special gifts.
“No man is a failure who has friends,” says Clarence.
I understand that more than ever now.