..a Wonderful Life. Comment

[lapauvre]

If it gives you any evidence of Right wing control of the media, tonight, December 24,2003, is the first time "It's a Wonderful Life" has been on the local cable or local television this year.

Even during the Reagan administration, and the first Bush administration, it was okay to portray greed for what it was, and what caring responsibly for your brethren was.

How far have we fallen from caring about one another? How much have we sold out to greed?

You figure out how importing voting is. Not only for the top spot, but for all the congress and locals.

The hypocrits have to go, not matter which party.

Happy Holidays all. A better year next year.

[lapauvre]

1. wonderful life

"important" that is.

[Rose Siding]

2. I just hope that this time, everyone will recognize

that Cheney *IS* Old Man Potter!

[SharonAnn]

3. I saw it on one of the cable channels a week or two ago.

Pottersville reminded me of Bushville.

Jimmy Stewart made me think of Bill Clinton, always trying to give people a better opportunity than what they had with Potter/Bush.

Potter/Bush was crooked as the day is long and would do anything for greed. Same as today.

[RBHam]

4. Potter never pays for his crimes...

The townspeople have to cover for his malfeasance (OK, so it was Uncle Barney's stupidity, too) and Potter goes on owning the town...

JUST LIKE ENRON.

An angel gets his wings, big deal, but the corporate tyranny continues...just like a good American should be conditioned too...

Plus. it's all about George Bailey. An ego-centric and selfish theme: what if I never existed? Well, of course, it turns out it would be terrible! See how important I am!

For me, Dicken's "A Christmas Carol" - the b&w version with Alistair Sim, is the ultimate Christmas morality play...

[ma4t]

5. alternate ending

I always liked the "lost alternate ending" that Saturday Night Live ran years ago. It was hilarious.

[Astarho]

6. In the script

there was a scene where after George sees his wonderful life and runs by wishing everyone and everything a Merry Christmas. After he passes Potter, Clarence appeared and told Potter he would pay for what he had done. Besides at the time it was made, there was a code for movies, you could not portray bankers as evil and you could not glorify the everyman. Maybe Capra could only push the envelope so far.

Also I disagree about the theme. I saw nothing so egocentric about it. The theme was that everything was interconnected and how one person affects everyone around him.

Personally, I thought the Patrick Stewart version of "A Christmas Carol" was pretty good too.

[RBHam]

7. i was being contrary

i actually love the show, the first time i saw it i bawled...

[Muddleoftheroad]

8. I'm a sap

And actually liked "The Waltons" Christmas show as well. Sorry I couldn't find it anywhere. Maybe, now that I live near where it took place, I see it more clearly.

[Mairead]

14. Second vote for Sim's Scrooge & Dickens

That's THE definitive story.

[wanderingbear]

9. Thats because thats ALL that use to be on.,on christmas eve and day..

All day long every channel..So they limit its showing now..

[deakonblues2k]

10. Why its not on every channel anymore

The reality of the wide spread viewing of IAWL in the past was that it was such a bomb when originally released that the studio did not even see fit to copyright it. As such, it was (for many many years) considered to be completely public domain.

That's why ever tom dick and harry who owned a UHF television station would run it over and over again during the holidays. It was simply the cheapest programming you could get!

A few years ago, NBC bought the rights to IAWL and that is why you only see it once or twice a year now. Normally once on Thanksgiving and once or twice around Christmas.

I personally could not deal with such right wing ultra-conservative media control of my favorite Christmas pablum, so I bought the DVD.

Merry Christmas All...Peace Out

[BiggJawn]

12. Not just the UHF's...

Every freakin' satellite network owned a copy, too...I think I even saw it on "American Triple Exxxtasy" one year....

[MrPrax]

17. This confirms what I read...

Not a specific 'rightwing plot', but JUST how capitalism works.

In this case, the holders of the rights have more or less retired the film to enhance it value.

I have actually noticed that there are less and less movies (old or new) being shown on accessible cable channels--largely becuase they are too valuable to just simply show.

Boy I long for the 20th century when especially old movies were the staple of late night television because, as you said, they were cheap and many were public domain...

But why let people watch an old 'near' classic or Warners B movie, when you can let them sit and watch 'infotainment' ads for sex lines, kitchen appliances and self-improvement tapes...

We are all casualties in the information revolution...

[solinvictus]

11. I watched it tonight

It's a great movie and I agree, the theme is that one life can influence the course of many others. Without George Bailey, many of Bedford Falls working class citizens would not have had the opportunity to own decent homes and when he is in trouble, they remember it.

[no_hypocrisy]

13. The movie is a blatant lie.

I volunteered my legal services to help an acquaintance save his business from being destroyed by a greedy landlord. We went to court to prevent eviction, etc.

In the meantime, this guy had given a multitude of customers regular breaks on their bills for repair of their vehicles, sometimes charging nothing. Now he was in trouble.

No one came. No one offered him money or even a loan. No one wanted to know him. It was as if they saw him coming, they'd cross the street with downward eyes to avoid him.

This happened around Thanksgiving 8 years ago. So when It's a Wonderful Life came on shortly thereafter, I was livid watching the end with all the friends and neighbors rushing in and throwing their dollars into the wicker basket. "It's a lie!" I shouted at the television.

Life is NOT a Frank Capra movie.

As a result of my client being abandoned and a couple of imprudent decisions on his part, he lost his business and his house. The lesson I got out of it was knowing my limits as an attorney: you can do your best and give your best advice, but the rest is up to the client and unpredictability of fate.

[Mairead]

15. It's a lie ONLY because people have been taught to take

Everyone has it in them to do the right thing. But the greedheads take good care to see that greed and eff-your-neighbor are rewarded.

We can overcome that. But we must choose. Each of us must choose.

People run to help elsewhere. We're not different species. If it can happen elsewhere, it can happen here again too. But we each must choose.

[The Zanti Regent]

16. John Waters' version is more true-to-life

"Female Trouble" with Divine is his vesion of "It's A Wonderful Life" and it's a lot funnier too!