I was just struck tonight by how economically populist "It's a Wonderful Life" is. Seriously, it feels like the run-on-the-bank scene or the "scurvy little spider" scene could have been written by MSNBC's Ed Schultz. If this film was made today, Republicans would protest that it demonizes "job creators" like Mr. Potter. As Liberal as Hollywood is these days, they don't really make too many movies like this anymore. It's kinda sad that movies "Atlas Shrugged" get made these days, but movies like "It's a Wonderful Life" don't.
That's not to say that the primary message of "It's a Wonderful Life" is Economic Populism, but it's definitely a major theme, perhaps the biggest theme of the first half of the movie ( up until the point where Uncle Billy loses the money ). I never really how noticed this until tonight. If Democrats want to start winning House seats again, I think they should all sit down and watch "It's a Wonderful Life". If they can learn to talk about Economic Populism the way George Bailey does, they might actually be able to win some House seats in small-town Middle America.
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