In defense of George Bailey (from EP258: Raising Jenny)

[Swamp]

In Mur's commentary for Raising Jenny, she said that the movie It's A Wonderful Life always depressed her because George Baily never followed his dreams.  Several people agreed in the discussion thread.  Then Schreiber spoke up:

By the way, I can't believe I'm the only one who's going to stick up for poor Jimmy Stewart...

OK, I wanted to, but I didn't want to get off topic too far (not a good example from a moderator).  SO I decided to split the topic out in order to give a response.  If I am the only one who comments, so be it.

I love It's A Wonderful Life!  I understand where Mur is coming from, but George Baily is putting off his adventures for more than just home and family.  Mary wanted to stay in Bedford Falls and start a family, but she would have followed George wherever his heart desired.  George's main battle was with Potter.  That is why he stayed in the first place--to stand defiantly against Potter's power, and help the community live better lives.  George proves that doing the right thing can be just as heroic as being the war hero.

The Savings and Loan was his One Ring.  Like Frodo, George Baily had a burden to bear for the betterment of all.  At his darkest hour, when all of it felt like it was for nothing, he needed to be reminded of all the good he had done.  Since I've already drawn the analogy, I might as well paraphrase Samwise Gamgee, as if he were in the role of Clearance, saying, "There's some good in this world, Mr. Bailey... and it's worth fighting for."

[DKT]

I really need to watch this movie again. It's been a few years - before I had kids, I think.

I get where Mur's coming from. Dreams are important.

I wonder if it's possible to compare George Bailey to High Fidelity's Rob Gordon? I know there's substantial differences, but there seems some similarity in the terms of Dreams.

I don't stop dreaming the older I get, but sometimes my dreams morph and change, and what was on my Top Five List of things I wanted to be doing from 10 years ago would be a lot different from what's on my Top Five List now. And while some of the things on the other list would still be cool to hit, but some of my priorities have shifted sense then, and I'm good with that. Now, I have different dreams, and I'm good with that.

[stePH]

Dave, you reminded me of this cartoon from not too long ago:

[DKT]

Ha!

Well, I was thinking of it as something more than, "Meh, good enough I guess", but it's still a comic. (Wow, haven't read QC for a while now...thanks for reminding me of it.)

[stePH]

I'd watch the shit out of QC if they made it a TV sitcom. It's got all the standard elements: group of wacky friends in varied relationships with each other, coffee shop hangout, sentient computer robots...

[Wilson Fowlie]

I read somewhere the opinion that many, if not most or even almost all of the movies produced in the 30s and 40s were (possibly subconscious) expressions of exactly what Mur said: Home is the best place to be, no matter what your dreams are.  (Wizard of Oz, anyone?)

Sadly, I think the person who expressed this opinion put it down to the fact that most of the big movie studios were run by Jews.  I forget exactly what the connection was supposed to be, but it made the underlying thesis a little less credible, as it gave the impression that the writer had an agenda beyond expressing major cinematic themes of the times.

I wish I could remember where I read it, though.

[Corydon]

I read somewhere the opinion that many, if not most or even almost all of the movies produced in the 30s and 40s were (possibly subconscious) expressions of exactly what Mur said: Home is the best place to be, no matter what your dreams are.  (Wizard of Oz, anyone?)

That's a major theme throughout literature, isn't it?  Starting with the Odyssey, of course.

[Darwinist]

I really need to watch this movie again. It's been a few years - before I had kids, I think.
I don't stop dreaming the older I get, but sometimes my dreams morph and change, and what was on my Top Five List of things I wanted to be doing from 10 years ago would be a lot different from what's on my Top Five List now. And while some of the things on the other list would still be cool to hit, but some of my priorities have shifted sense then, and I'm good with that. Now, I have different dreams, and I'm good with that.

Well said.  That sums it up for me.  My pre-kids dreams are different than my kid-in-college and another-on-the-way dreams.   And the dreams will probably change once the lads can support themselves and I get to spend all of my money.