This is some of the best political writing - and historical analysis - I've ever read. Thank you so much, Professor Reich; you're a wonder.
I lived through and suffered through the events you mention, and yes, I've seen this film at least half a dozen times over the years but never knew about the backlash to it by entrenched pre-Reaganite forces in America.
I was just a little guy at the time, and when we watched the Army-McCarthy hearings on our 15-inch television set, I was most interested in counting how many times people "took the Fifth" rather than answer questions from Senator McCarthy, who was pretty nasty and full of himself, or his assistant, Roy Cohn, a genuinely detestable worm who became in later years the person who mentored a young Donald Trump.
You've put together key elements of this history and like the best historians, have made disparate events into a cohesive story in which key elements - anti-communist witch hunts, Joe McCarthy and his purge of supposed Communists, Ayn Rand, Ronald Reagan, the accretion of wealth to an oligarchy and, finally, Donald Trump, the wannabe supreme leader of a fascist America - all follow in the storyline much like dominoes falling, one after another after another, to create eventual ruin. You've made it all make sense, this 70-plus year old stream of evil running through recent American history.
An aside but related: one key element that my mind fastens on and that has been unspoken, is how much Trump's evil mastermind of a horrific anti-immigrant policy, Stephen Miller, is so very much like Roy Cohn and going back further, a nascent Adolf Eichmann. They even look alike. Line them up and it's hard to know which is which.
Your essay should be required reading in high schools and colleges across America. Thank you.
The movie used to be an annual event in my family. It made us all feel good! It never occurred to me there were people who hated it other than movie critics. To equate it with communist propaganda blows my mind. Thank you for the history lesson.
I’ve been watching “It’s a wonderful life” since around 1970 when Jimmy Stewart said in a televised late night show that this was his favorite of all the films he acted in. At the time, I had never heard of it but because Jimmy Stewart mentioned it, I made a point of watching it. Now I watch it about once a year to remind myself that a small group of people— even one or two or four people— can make a lasting difference in the life of a community. I imagine what the historic district I now have the privilege of living in would be like if I and others had not taken a stand 30 years ago against proposals to build a concrete plant and to commercialize this otherwise residential village only half a mile from an interstate. True, this small place is but a dot on the map. Even so, the lesson holds even on a small scale. Thanks for shining a spotlight on my favorite movie and providing the history lesson which I find shocking. The fact that I am still capable of being shocked by such a history lesson is a testament to the enduring optimism of human nature
The 'hoovervilles' of today are the tent cities spread across the land where homeless/house less people of all ages now try to survive. Every few months or so, even in the progressive area where I live, we see a sad obituary about a person or a young couple who froze in their tent last night. For a high school grad with no place to go and poor paying job or no job, with rents over $1000/month living is not sustainable.
These threads go back even farther, including the novels of Steinbeck, Dos Passos and others, written in the 30s & 40s. The themes of the suffering of the laboring classes, hostility to migrants ("Okies", at that time) and the need for the people to fight back against their oppressors are still relevant. Frank Capra's earlier films also had a true populist context. The Red Scare was partly a tactic to suppress media portrayals of the down sides of unconstrained capitalism - as a manifestation of the selfish side of humanity. Big institutions, including government, business, religious establishments, etc should always be monitored for overreach. A free press and a vigilant, informed population are key elements in preventing Pottersville from becoming the norm.
After reading this post on “It’s a Wonderful Life” I’m looking forward to seeing it again, even though I’ve seen it many times. Actually, the portrayal of Potter puts me in mind of one of the “good” Republicans. It was Romney who, when seeking contributions from rich donors, said disparagingly of 47% of Americans that they were “takers”. And , of course, during last year’s COVID outbreak, these same takers were the “heroes” and “essential workers.” Very few even good Republicans support a living wage for those heroes.
The other book that comes to mind for its socialist leanings is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, where it is not only the depiction of rich people but the very fact that a family like Charlie's can have a father that works full time and yet they are as poor as they are.
Thank you for the history lesson. Since George Bailey was also a banker, I don't know how the movie could be seen as anti-banker. Maybe Ayn Rand suffered from PTSD, seeing a Communist behind every tree.
I think Potter is perhaps more analogous to Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Jamie Dimond, Wells Fargo leadership, and their ilk, who have made it clear that they look down on the "little people." On a local level, Indianapolis, where I live, has one of the highest rates of tenant eviction of any large city. Additionally, many tenants are forced to live in squalor because the landlords fail to maintain their properties, with little recourse. In response to the problem, our overwhelmingly Democratic city-county council and mayor enacted a tenant's bill of rights to give the obviously not wealthy tenants some control over their living conditions. The landlords promptly lobbied the Republican supermajority in our state legislature to enact what is termed a preemption law favoring the landlords, effectively overturning our local ordinance. I can imagine that if Potter were a real person living in Indianapolis today, he would be one of the leaders of those landlords.
Secretary Reich, this piece is wonderful. This is my favorite Christmas movie & I watch it every year. Thank you for the history behind it as I had no idea it disturbed the FBI et al. Makes me like it even more!
It's one of my favorite movies. I watch it every year, sometimes, I watch it twice. This year it felt more real than ever. I'm glad you watched it, too.
I love the moment in the movie Finding Nemo toward the end when all the fish are caught in the net and being hoisted to their death on the fishing boat - and the protagonist (was it Marvin? ....Dory?) keeps telling the trapped fish to swim downward. Eventually they break free.
Resistance is not futile! :)
The sort of wealth and power that we're facing, however, seems Orwellian.
Republicans have a mendacious love affair with money and power. They would label the movie as socialism, which, for them means any that helps people. They have no policy ideas and are hell-bent on building the oligarchy Russian style!
What an extremely enjoyable read of It's a Wonderful Life-- thank you! And "Trump pin up girl" is a phrase for the ages. :D (Though I'm sure Trump would deprecate Rand's appearance, as he does that of every woman, who at best just needs to have a little work done.)
I saw that movie many years ago and loved it. It is a beautiful depiction of what humanity can be and is actually longing for, in spite of the so powerful seduction of fear and anger. On the other hand, let's not give too much credit to you know who. Unlike Mr. Potter character, the other guy is a human marshmallow; a spoiled man-child used to have all his whims satisfied. He never was an entrepreneur and even less so a stateman. Which makes me think that if him and other idiots can rule and ruin the country, it is primarily because "good people" prefer washing their hands of any civic responsibility when they find it convenient. As this stunning piece of reporting from the NYT reveals (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNDgcjVGHIw), Democrats love to talk the talk but easily excuse themselves from walking the walk when it comes to the necessity of housing, education, and tax reforms. Not the politicians; us, ordinary and well-meaning people. This NYT video could be watched as a contemporary sequel to “It’s a Wonderful Life.” At the end of the day, it is not so much about what bad people do but what good people don't. I was shocked.
Cartoons and humor have their place. As does movie criticism. So does history. To use a current term, "Its a Wonderful Life" has been "divisive" in its responses over decades. No responsible critic called it a "great film" On Trump and Trumpism, try my analysis:
What to do about Trump? I know what I would do. I would set up hyped interview with cameras lights and then action. Make it a big public deal. Then I would sit down with Mr. Trump face to face he in a chair me in a chair 8-10 feet apart. Then I would ask the first question, "so Mr. Trump to start this interview off, so you still believe that the election was stolen, an illegal election and you should still be president of the United States of America?" And Mr. Trump says yes the election was illegally stolen from me and I should still be president of the United States of America. I would immediately hold my hand up like a stop sign and say, "stop this interview is over because sir you are a lying piece of crap and anything else you have to say will be considered a lie also" then all the crew, staff, etc..etc.. get up and leave, like he has done to other interviewers, but let a camera roll and a microphone on to see and listen to what the lying piece of crap has to say. Heck he might even implode jump up and try and do harm to me.. but just let him sit there all by his self.. the end.
This is some of the best political writing - and historical analysis - I've ever read. Thank you so much, Professor Reich; you're a wonder.
I lived through and suffered through the events you mention, and yes, I've seen this film at least half a dozen times over the years but never knew about the backlash to it by entrenched pre-Reaganite forces in America.
I was just a little guy at the time, and when we watched the Army-McCarthy hearings on our 15-inch television set, I was most interested in counting how many times people "took the Fifth" rather than answer questions from Senator McCarthy, who was pretty nasty and full of himself, or his assistant, Roy Cohn, a genuinely detestable worm who became in later years the person who mentored a young Donald Trump.
You've put together key elements of this history and like the best historians, have made disparate events into a cohesive story in which key elements - anti-communist witch hunts, Joe McCarthy and his purge of supposed Communists, Ayn Rand, Ronald Reagan, the accretion of wealth to an oligarchy and, finally, Donald Trump, the wannabe supreme leader of a fascist America - all follow in the storyline much like dominoes falling, one after another after another, to create eventual ruin. You've made it all make sense, this 70-plus year old stream of evil running through recent American history.
An aside but related: one key element that my mind fastens on and that has been unspoken, is how much Trump's evil mastermind of a horrific anti-immigrant policy, Stephen Miller, is so very much like Roy Cohn and going back further, a nascent Adolf Eichmann. They even look alike. Line them up and it's hard to know which is which.
Your essay should be required reading in high schools and colleges across America. Thank you.
The movie used to be an annual event in my family. It made us all feel good! It never occurred to me there were people who hated it other than movie critics. To equate it with communist propaganda blows my mind. Thank you for the history lesson.
I’ve been watching “It’s a wonderful life” since around 1970 when Jimmy Stewart said in a televised late night show that this was his favorite of all the films he acted in. At the time, I had never heard of it but because Jimmy Stewart mentioned it, I made a point of watching it. Now I watch it about once a year to remind myself that a small group of people— even one or two or four people— can make a lasting difference in the life of a community. I imagine what the historic district I now have the privilege of living in would be like if I and others had not taken a stand 30 years ago against proposals to build a concrete plant and to commercialize this otherwise residential village only half a mile from an interstate. True, this small place is but a dot on the map. Even so, the lesson holds even on a small scale. Thanks for shining a spotlight on my favorite movie and providing the history lesson which I find shocking. The fact that I am still capable of being shocked by such a history lesson is a testament to the enduring optimism of human nature
The 'hoovervilles' of today are the tent cities spread across the land where homeless/house less people of all ages now try to survive. Every few months or so, even in the progressive area where I live, we see a sad obituary about a person or a young couple who froze in their tent last night. For a high school grad with no place to go and poor paying job or no job, with rents over $1000/month living is not sustainable.
These threads go back even farther, including the novels of Steinbeck, Dos Passos and others, written in the 30s & 40s. The themes of the suffering of the laboring classes, hostility to migrants ("Okies", at that time) and the need for the people to fight back against their oppressors are still relevant. Frank Capra's earlier films also had a true populist context. The Red Scare was partly a tactic to suppress media portrayals of the down sides of unconstrained capitalism - as a manifestation of the selfish side of humanity. Big institutions, including government, business, religious establishments, etc should always be monitored for overreach. A free press and a vigilant, informed population are key elements in preventing Pottersville from becoming the norm.
After reading this post on “It’s a Wonderful Life” I’m looking forward to seeing it again, even though I’ve seen it many times. Actually, the portrayal of Potter puts me in mind of one of the “good” Republicans. It was Romney who, when seeking contributions from rich donors, said disparagingly of 47% of Americans that they were “takers”. And , of course, during last year’s COVID outbreak, these same takers were the “heroes” and “essential workers.” Very few even good Republicans support a living wage for those heroes.
The other book that comes to mind for its socialist leanings is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, where it is not only the depiction of rich people but the very fact that a family like Charlie's can have a father that works full time and yet they are as poor as they are.
Thank you for the history lesson. Since George Bailey was also a banker, I don't know how the movie could be seen as anti-banker. Maybe Ayn Rand suffered from PTSD, seeing a Communist behind every tree.
I think Potter is perhaps more analogous to Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Jamie Dimond, Wells Fargo leadership, and their ilk, who have made it clear that they look down on the "little people." On a local level, Indianapolis, where I live, has one of the highest rates of tenant eviction of any large city. Additionally, many tenants are forced to live in squalor because the landlords fail to maintain their properties, with little recourse. In response to the problem, our overwhelmingly Democratic city-county council and mayor enacted a tenant's bill of rights to give the obviously not wealthy tenants some control over their living conditions. The landlords promptly lobbied the Republican supermajority in our state legislature to enact what is termed a preemption law favoring the landlords, effectively overturning our local ordinance. I can imagine that if Potter were a real person living in Indianapolis today, he would be one of the leaders of those landlords.
Secretary Reich, this piece is wonderful. This is my favorite Christmas movie & I watch it every year. Thank you for the history behind it as I had no idea it disturbed the FBI et al. Makes me like it even more!
It's one of my favorite movies. I watch it every year, sometimes, I watch it twice. This year it felt more real than ever. I'm glad you watched it, too.
I love the moment in the movie Finding Nemo toward the end when all the fish are caught in the net and being hoisted to their death on the fishing boat - and the protagonist (was it Marvin? ....Dory?) keeps telling the trapped fish to swim downward. Eventually they break free.
Resistance is not futile! :)
The sort of wealth and power that we're facing, however, seems Orwellian.
Republicans have a mendacious love affair with money and power. They would label the movie as socialism, which, for them means any that helps people. They have no policy ideas and are hell-bent on building the oligarchy Russian style!
What an extremely enjoyable read of It's a Wonderful Life-- thank you! And "Trump pin up girl" is a phrase for the ages. :D (Though I'm sure Trump would deprecate Rand's appearance, as he does that of every woman, who at best just needs to have a little work done.)
I saw that movie many years ago and loved it. It is a beautiful depiction of what humanity can be and is actually longing for, in spite of the so powerful seduction of fear and anger. On the other hand, let's not give too much credit to you know who. Unlike Mr. Potter character, the other guy is a human marshmallow; a spoiled man-child used to have all his whims satisfied. He never was an entrepreneur and even less so a stateman. Which makes me think that if him and other idiots can rule and ruin the country, it is primarily because "good people" prefer washing their hands of any civic responsibility when they find it convenient. As this stunning piece of reporting from the NYT reveals (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNDgcjVGHIw), Democrats love to talk the talk but easily excuse themselves from walking the walk when it comes to the necessity of housing, education, and tax reforms. Not the politicians; us, ordinary and well-meaning people. This NYT video could be watched as a contemporary sequel to “It’s a Wonderful Life.” At the end of the day, it is not so much about what bad people do but what good people don't. I was shocked.
Cartoons and humor have their place. As does movie criticism. So does history. To use a current term, "Its a Wonderful Life" has been "divisive" in its responses over decades. No responsible critic called it a "great film" On Trump and Trumpism, try my analysis:
https://columbusfreepress.com/article/america-first-excavation-trumpism-and-trump-agenda
What to do about Trump? I know what I would do. I would set up hyped interview with cameras lights and then action. Make it a big public deal. Then I would sit down with Mr. Trump face to face he in a chair me in a chair 8-10 feet apart. Then I would ask the first question, "so Mr. Trump to start this interview off, so you still believe that the election was stolen, an illegal election and you should still be president of the United States of America?" And Mr. Trump says yes the election was illegally stolen from me and I should still be president of the United States of America. I would immediately hold my hand up like a stop sign and say, "stop this interview is over because sir you are a lying piece of crap and anything else you have to say will be considered a lie also" then all the crew, staff, etc..etc.. get up and leave, like he has done to other interviewers, but let a camera roll and a microphone on to see and listen to what the lying piece of crap has to say. Heck he might even implode jump up and try and do harm to me.. but just let him sit there all by his self.. the end.