His story is one typical of a romance genre and a representation of the American Dream. The adventure of consciousness that George has lived through in dreamland is greater than any of the romantic adventures he has talked about going on. He has seen and suffered more, and more deeply and wonderfully, than any other character in the film. George does not travel the world physically, but instead mentally through the conciseness. This is not the only way in which Capra shows that life is wonderful. Watching the film you see the importance of community, family and friends. It is nice to watch a film like this, it gives you more of an optimistic look at life. It is the key reason as to why George doesn’t end it all. The idea that friendship is of much higher value than money is a key message in the final moments of the film. “George Bailey the richest man in town” is shouted by his brother. Although he never seems to be the millionaire like Potter, the ending shows he is a much richer man. Growing up he always jokes about wanting a million dollars, with the wish machine, in the shop. The final scenes demonstrate the significates of Georges life, which has an impact all over the world despite never exploring it. The film leaves the audience with positive messages. He is often the reason why George has to stay at home, to prevent Potters from controlling the whole town. These opposing characters help define the good and bad sides of these real life events and how different people acted on them. Juxtaposed to George is Potters, a greedy rich business man, who uses the fears of people and the troubles of the banks crashing for his own personal gain. It is this kind of selfless act which helps show that George is a caring and selfless person, it is these qualities that are going to get him through the hard times.

From a young age he dreams of exploring, yet whenever the opportunity comes, there is a crisis that puts him in a tough place whether to stay and help or go and follow his own personal dreams. We first meet him as a child, saving his brother from drowning and in the process going deaf. We get to see the troubling times from the perspective of George Bailey. “An angel helps a compassionate but despairingly frustrated businessman by showing what life would have been like if he never existed.” (Taken from IMDb).ĭespite what the title this is not all joy and happiness, for the most part, it shows the struggles facing both America and it’s people from the early 20th century. Let’s talk about It’s a Wonderful Life ( Frank Capra 1946). Yesterday I was hit with the message that despite the up and downs encounter within it, life is indeed wonderful.

It's a wonderful life imdb