Its A Wonderful Life Final Draft
Its A Wonderful Life Final Draft
Its A Wonderful Life Final Draft
SOC 3042
Kristina Safonina
It’s a Wonderful Life is often regarded as a traditional Christmas movie, but the meaning
behind the film is much deeper. The film dives into the society that George is forced to live in
and most importantly, the role everyone plays in George’s life. What is the society that George is
living in? How exactly does it affect his life? Even moreso, how is George’s society affecting his
choices? These questions are key in understand the importance of belonging. This film is an
excellent representation of how an individual’s life is shaped by what their society deems is
appropriate. The shared values that a society has may not always be suitable for every person.
Lastly, I will be evaluating whether or not this film is a warm and happy Christmas movie, or if
The film starts off with George’s family praying for him...and surprisingly, the angels
above hear their pleas. They decide to help out, but first they go back in time and see George’s
childhood. After a mishap over a frozen pond, George saves his little brother, but takes a
sacrifice himself. He loses hearing in one of his ears as a result. This marks the beginning of the
unfortunate events for George. We then see him working in the pharmacy and how two little
girls are just taken away by his charm. George once again saves a life when he realizes the
pharmacist accidentally added poison into the pills. With that, we see the angry pharmacist beat
poor George. This was a slightly difficult scene to watch, and once again, George takes the hit
Later we see George all grown up and getting ready to travel the world. He is even gifted
a nice suitcase to take with him. We see the two girls who were swooning over him as children,
one of them will be his future wife, Mary. Mary speaks with George about his travels and
George tells her about his dreams of even owning a harem. You see the evident disappointment
in Mary’s face when he says that. They end up going to a school dance together and have an
even more wonderful evening after. You can see they are quite fond of each other until George
receives a message that his father is passing away. This marks the beginning of the turn of events
for George’s future. George makes the first great sacrifice by agreeing to take over his father’s
business. He also gives his younger brother the opportunity to go to college, along with the funds
for it. His brother instead marries and goes into his father-in-law’s business. This crushes George
as he had given up his dream of going to college and flouring. He gives up his dream and helped
open a door for his brother and it backfired for George. He meets again with Mary and she
attempts to recreate their first date night...this turns out to be a great failure as George could care
less about her attempts. She tries to make him jealous by putting him on the phone with his rival
Sam Wainwright...her mother is awkwardly spying on the entire event. George then makes the
point to Mary that he will never get married...crushing her hopes once again. This is perhaps one
of the most unromantic moments in all of Hollywood which surprisingly turns into a happy
wedding seconds later. This marks the beginning of a “regular” life for George. Something he
never wanted.
Even George’s honeymoon was ruined as the bank was being threatened to close. He and
Mary made the sacrifice of giving their honeymoon money to the townspeople. Later on we see
George and Mary living in the old abandoned house they fixed up, along with four children.
George complains about the draft along with a piece on the stairs that is constantly breaking. The
real tragedy occurs when $8,000 is misplaced and George’s bank faces a grim future. He comes
home and is annoyed by everything from his house to his children. He even asks why “we have
so many children”. The local police are now after George and this is when George faces his
darkest hour. He drinks to excess, crashes his car into an old tree and finds himself
contemplating suicide. He thinks about throwing himself into an icy river until his guardian
angel jumps in instead. George once again saves a life and we begin to witness the beginning of
a new and slightly tense relationship. George is broken down, bleeding, drunk, and depressed.
George is thrown into a life where he never existed and only then does he see how much
his existence really matters. It starts off simple where his lip is no longer bleeding and his car is
no longer crashed into a tree.Then he sees that no one in the town knows who he is, he is even
kicked out of his beloved bar, he own mother has no idea who he is. George is later brought to
the tombstone of his younger brother, who died because George wasn’t there to save him from
drowning in icy waters. The old pharmacists is a beaten down drunk who ended up killing a boy,
all because George wasn’t there to stop him from selling poisoned medicine. The town that
George lives in is now filled with clubs, more bars, and more deviance. Mary is an old maid that
never married and is stuck working in the library. This shouldn’t have happened to Mary though.
As a character she was strong and desired by many, so I doubt this would have been her real fate.
This is a complete nightmare and George is sorry he’s ever wished to never be born and
of course his second wish is granted. Everything goes back to normal and George now embraces
the things he has once hated. He loves the song his daughter is playing over and over. He loves
the draft in his house, and he even loves the pieces of his house that are not even in tact. He loves
everything, he finally loves his life again. The entire town comes together to donate the money
that was lost and everything is well again. He realizes it really is a wonderful life and he is
grateful for what he has. Everything is warm and fuzzy, his guardian angel even is awarded his
wings. It’s a real “Christmas miracle” and everyone receives a wonderful “Hollywood ending”.
This is perhaps why the film is considered a happy Christmas family classic.
This movie is regarded as a warm Christmas movie, but I would argue that it is actually
quite tragic. This is a prime example of how a society shapes people into who they should be
rather than who they want to be. George has always been different from everybody else, he has
always dreamed to do great things and escape the town he lives in. He was thrusted into a life he
never wanted. Even Mary kept pressuring him into a relationship he didn’t even seem to want.
He went into a business he never wanted and lived in a house he never liked, how is he supposed
to be happy this way? It’s no surprise that he was stressed with where he was. The tragedy of
losing money wouldn’t have lead to him contemplating suicide had he have lived a happy and
fulfilled life. George was branded into his actions, he has always had a strong sense of
responsibility, but this was also his downfall. George has always made sacrifices in order to help
others, everything from saving a life at the pharmacy which leads to him being beaten, to
sacrificing his college in order for his brother to flourish. I wonder if George would even want to
limiting. This is particularly what has happened to George. The society that he lived in was
destructive to his character and who he truly strived to be. He was forced to become a family guy
who took over his father’s business. We have learned from lectures that people who do not
conform to social norms are prone to deviance and suicide, this is exactly what happened to
George. He hit a breaking point. Had he lived the life he actually wanted this would most likely
never have happened. Society plays such an instrumental role in a person’s happiness and
especially the choices that they make. Those who want to differ from the norms can be
demonized and criticized. They can be pressured into making decisions they never wanted. They
sacrifice the lives they’ve always wanted for a life that is tradition. Of course people won’t be
happy when they look at how their lives have turned out.
Why couldn’t Mary have just let George be and not pressured her desires of marriage on
him? Yes, George could have said no to all of these choices, but sometimes people are simply
too nice to say no. They try to make other people happy instead of themselves. Those few people
can make the ultimate sacrifice, their entire life dreams. George really was a product of his
society, but luckily all was well in the end. Realistically, what are the chances that it wouldn’t
end so well? Not everyone has the chance to have a do over thanks to their guardian angel. A
person like George was simply not meant for the society that was born into. That is why this
movie is so tragic if you look a little deeper into it. Once the good feeling wears off, there is a
It’s a Wonderful Life was a spectacular old movie. It can suit anyone as people will view
the film from different perspectives. If you watch the movie while keeping in mind what
socialization does to a human, it will be evident how tragic this film truly is. We are all products
of our society, it is nearly impossible for us not to be. Some people do well and do not have any
issues. Others like George are dreaming of a different life, but life throws every type of curve
ball there is to throw. Most are too nice to say no and keep moving forward in the direction they
want. There is always a moral order, the society is expected to behave a certain way, and most
people will do just that. They all live under a set of similar beliefs and values, even if that’s not
something every person wants. People like George make sacrifices for the sake of their family.
It’s the most admirable trait there is, but unfortunately it is tragic and destructive towards the
individual.