. . World News – USA – I’ve watched « It’s a Wonderful Life » at least 19 times. This year it took on a new meaning for me

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« It’s a wonderful life » reminded me that contagious has a different definition – one that isn’t limited to the negative connotations of disease. Attitudes and actions like gratitude, kindness, and love can also be contagious.

At the beginning of « It’s A Wonderful Life, » 12-year-old George Bailey jumps into the freezing water to save his younger brother Harry from drowning in a toboggan accident – a feat that costs George his money hearing in his left ear.

I was around this age when I watched « It’s a Wonderful Life » with my parents every year, usually on Christmas Eve – which means I’ve seen the movie at least 19 times. And that doesn’t include the times I’ve seen it replay on TV, or the times my editor made his creepy impression of George Bailey in the office.

I can recite this film line by line. Somehow I always manage to cry in the same places. And by the end of the film, I’m no doubt a bubbling mess when Harry Bailey delivers his short but powerful toast: “My big brother George, the richest man in town. ”

It was no different to see it on a Sunday afternoon in 2020. But in a year when COVID-19 was a dominant story, « It’s a wonderful life » took on a new meaning for me. The film is 74 years old, but the story of a man who longs to leave town – and who gets angrier when his plans fail – embodies what almost everyone went through during that difficult year.

Maybe it’s because the pandemic and mental health were big issues this year – or because I was tested for COVID-19 the day before I watched It’s a Wonderful Life – but this passage at the beginning of the film really stuck me out.

More than half of « It’s a Wonderful Life » is spent introducing viewers to the plight of George Bailey, a man who wants nothing more than to leave the small town of Bedford Falls, New York to see the world.

His eyes light up when the train whistles. He has travel brochures in his coat pocket.

« I just feel like if I didn’t escape, I’d go broke! » George tells his father that he longs for his son to stay home and take over the family’s lending business.

After spending more time at home than usual this year, I really felt that George’s pain went away every time I had the chance to leave Bedford Falls.

When his father dies, George gives up a trip to Europe to stay home and compete with the family business. To the wealthy, selfish banker Mr.. . Potter is not in control of anything in town (Potter is the real Bedford Falls virus), George gives his younger brother his college money and is left to run the Bailey Bros.. Building society.

And of course walking on the bank when George is on his honeymoon. George’s wife Mary – the real heroine of « It’s a Wonderful Life » (more on that later) – gives her honeymoon savings of 2. US $ 000 to save George’s business.

It is a frustration that is particularly felt in 2020 when the pandemic has cut major travel plans short. For my part, I’ve pushed back a trip to my hometown in South Carolina several times this year.

More than ever, I agreed with George’s desire to get out. And as heartbreaking as the scene is, it made George’s great breakdown more understandable in front of his family.

He has spent his entire life sacrificing his own dreams and giving something to the city of Bedford Falls. When Uncle Billy turned 8 on Christmas Eve. Having misplaced the company’s $ 000,000, George may be in jail for a business he didn’t want to work for. Despite all his best efforts, this business could collapse and the whole city into the hands of the corrupt Mr.. fall. potter.

In this dark moment, discouragement prevents George from seeing the light around him. And as the angel says at the beginning of the film, that’s worse than any illness.

The word “contagious” has become commonplace this year, both in the headlines and in daily conversations. In the midst of a pandemic, it has been directly linked to COVID-19.

But « It’s a wonderful life » reminded me that contagious has a different definition – one that isn’t limited to the negative connotations of disease. Attitudes and actions like gratitude, kindness, and love can also be contagious.

In the final act of « It’s a Wonderful Life, » George is given the opportunity to see what the world would be like without him. His eyes widen in disbelief as he sees the friendly town of Bedford Falls transform into shabby Pottersville. He wasn’t there to save his brother Harry from drowning in 1919 – a year that happened to still be feeling the effects of a pandemic flu. So Harry wasn’t there to become a World War II hero.

George wasn’t there to do his boss at the local drugstore, Mr.. . Gower, realize he accidentally mixed poison with medicine for a child. Mr. Gower went to jail for 20 years.

« Strange, isn’t it? Every man’s life touches so many other lives, » says the angel Clarence George. « If he’s not around, he’ll make a terrible hole, right? »

This year in particular, we see the power a person has to literally save lives and influence others for the better. To fight the COVID-19 disease, many people sacrifice their own desires, refrain from usual activities, and wear masks in public.

But in this era of physical distance and fear, people have also found ways to combat the kind of discouragement that overwhelms George in « It’s A Wonderful Life ». « Deseret News readers have shared numerous stories of neighbors checking each other in to make sure people have what they need and to help them when they are missing. « .

The pandemic has served countless times and has shown that dealing with others is contagious.

In George’s darkest hour, Mary, the calm and even-tempered heroine, asks for the prayers of friends and family. She contacts all of her husband’s friends and the people of Bedford Falls to help out financially. Considering what George has done for them over the years, don’t even hesitate.

In a short period of time, Mary raises more than three times the amount it takes George to get out of his bond.

I’ve always been a little annoyed that Potter would get away with stealing the money Uncle Billy « misplaced » – although an old SNL sketch has made great strides to correct that. In the end, perhaps Potter’s greatest punishment is that he has no one to turn to should he get into a situation like George.

At the end of « It’s a Wonderful Life », George is surrounded by all of his loved ones. It is a particularly poignant scene at a time when such gatherings largely do not exist. But it reminded me of my own Bedford Falls – a community of people who kept lifting me up. This community extends well beyond a single city. And while I may not see many of these people in person this year, their love and encouragement is still there. It’s in the text messages and zoom calls and handwritten letters and special gifts.

It’s a Wonderful Life George Bailey, James Stewart, Frank Capra