MovieChat Forums > It's a Wonderful Life (1947) Discussion > This movie shows that it's best to live ...

This movie shows that it's best to live selflessly

posted 4 years ago by [deleted]
13 replies | jump to latest

According to the makers of the movie, anyway.

It always bothered me that most of all, what George Bailey wanted to do was to his his own things, especially go and see the world and do all the stuff he wanted to, but that events always conspired to prevent him from doing that and that only by being selfless did he get the admiration, love and respect of the residents of Bedford Falls who helped him out when he was in dire straits.

I always wondered if he ever did get to do the things he wanted to, eventually.

[–] liscarkat (18979) 4 years ago

It's impossible to live selflessly. Besides, the best way to be in a position to help others--emotionally, financially, or in any other way--is to be sure your own needs are taken care of first.

[–] Gd5150 (11838) 4 years ago

People who live selfishly are miserable and not helpful to anyone. No one wants their help or their presence.

[–] Otter (24464) 4 years ago

On the surface, yes. Below the surface is the message that it's best to life a *conformist* life, and that conformity is selfless. Take the job your family expects you to take, live where other people expect you to live, marry when your girlfriend wants to get married, have a passel of kids whether you want them or not, cover up other people's mistakes, bury your anger and your heartbreak deep inside and live a life of quiet desperation like everyone else. Someday people will appreciate all the sacrifices you've made... at least in films with a Fantasy element.

It's really a VERY dark film.

[–] BeaSouth (3488) 4 years ago

George didn’t seem angry or living a life of quiet desperation when he was hugging and kissing his children and thanking his selfless neighbors for rescuing him and the savings and loan at the end. The ending was the whole point of the movie, not the parts in the middle where he was resentful and mistakenly perceived himself a victim. Also, anyone with a beautiful and loving wife like that ain’t living a life of heartache. Did you see her when they first locked eyes at the gymnasium dance and how fantastic and buoyant she was through their marriage? I know you’re trolling a bit but, this was not a dark movie.

[–] Otter (24464) 4 years ago

Any movie where the hero is so unhappy that he's contemplating suicide can fairly be called "dark". Yes, I do troll a bit, but not about this, it's a movie about a man who spends years being unhappy and disappointed with the hand life dealt him.

And happy holidays to you. 2020 is almost over!

[–] Owlwise (1536) 4 years ago

I've always seen this as a midlife movie in some respects. George has done all the right things, setting aside his own wishes for most of that time ... and now his world is crumbling around him anyway. What did his life ever mean? The fantasy element could easily be seen as what's going on in his psyche, where the negative impulses created by unspoken resentment, feelings that the world has been unfair, etc., are struggling against his better nature, which knows that he's actually accomplished a great deal & that his life has indeed been meaningful, both to himself & to the entire town.

Most people, when they get to a certain age, have these questions & self-doubts. Some sadly succumb to their shadow side, others work through it & come to a greater, deeper, richer self-knowledge of themselves.

[–] Otter (24464) 4 years ago

I totally agree with your assessment of the movie - it's totally about midlife! It's a movie about adulthood and its disappointments and reconciliations, and why it's promoted as a holiday family film I have no idea, as kids won't get a lot of it.

That point in your life where it sinks in that you never got what you wanted out of life, and that most of what you haven't got is now unattainable. I mean George doesn't have a *bad* life, he's got a nice steady job and is his own boss, and has the wife of a straight man's dreams and a nice house and adorable moppets... but he didn't choose any of it or fight for any of it, other people sort of pushed him into all of it, so when things to pear-shaped there's no feelings of pride or accomplishment in his work or his family to steady his psych and he collapses into suicidal despair. I mean, my own mid-life crisis involved new education and a few field of work and a new life in a new city, my life isn't perfect, but it's MINE, a life I made for myself that is better than the old version. But George let others direct him, so when things go bad he feels that he's both betrayed himself by giving up all his dreams, and he's been betrayed by everyone around him, who steered him on a course that was headed for disaster all along.

So yeah, it's a film I understand much more now that I'm old, and have stopped living an other-directed life like George Bailey.

[–] Owlwise (1536) 4 years ago

Yes, the difference between the inner-directed life & the other-directed life! :)

You give a fine & heartfelt analysis of the film indeed.

[–] Otter (24464) 4 years ago

Some people are naturally inner-directed, like me, some people are naturally other-directed, and both sorts of person can be perfectly happy being who they are and following their natural inclination. George wants to be inner-directed, he aspires to be, but lets other people direct his decisions, and spends most of the film feeling conflicted.

You know, this is the one film that Capra ever made that has some real psychological depth, George's inner turmoil is very real, even if the solution to his problems isn't.

[–] Owlwise (1536) 4 years ago

Again, well said!

[–] BeaSouth (3488) 4 years ago

Happy holidays to you and your family as well my friend. And best wishes for the new year

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

I guess, depending on your station in life, you can do both. Being able to live up to your own ambitions without making someone else do without is the best possible scenario for everyone. While it's not very likely to happen on a large scale, we're getting closer to it.

[–] Information-Police (4895) 4 years ago

He most certainly did not live the life he dreamed of living, but the whole point of the story is that because he was a thoughtful person and did good for others, he did love a wonderful life. Sometimes, we don't appreciate that we love what we have because we get stuck on missing we thought we wanted but never had.