DE Weekly: George Bailey, Sacrifice, & Meaning
Below is an archived email originally sent on December 30, 2024.
George Bailey, Sacrifice, & Meaning
“Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?”
This quote was said by Clarence Odbody, the guardian angel from the film It’s a Wonderful Life.
Being that it’s the Christmas season, you might have watched this movie recently for the dozenth time. Or, maybe, you’ve never seen it before.
I’ve read a lot of discourse about this film in the past few weeks, so I thought I’d explore some of the existential themes of it here.
It’s a Wonderful Life follows George Bailey, a man from Bedford Falls, New York, who dreamed of leaving and doing big things.
Over the course of his life, he’s faced with hard choices and setbacks he didn’t see coming. Ultimately, this leads to him leading a “smaller” life than he had envisioned. Simply put, he hasn’t accomplished what he set out to.
One night, after a series of events that leave him in a tough position, George gets drunk at a bar, and prays for help. He finds himself at a bridge, and contemplates suicide.
Before he can jump, his guardian angel Clarence steps in. Clarence himself jumps into the water, and George rescues him.
George relays that he wishes he had never been born. So, Clarence shows him an alternate timeline of a world in which he never existed.
In this timeline, George is able to see what life would have been like for those around him if he had never lived in the first place.
Without George, Bedford Falls is renamed Pottersville, after Henry F. Potter, who buys up all the property and rents it to questionable businesses, to the detriment of the townsfolk.
Without George, the pharmacist is jailed for manslaughter because George didn’t catch his mistake of messing up a customer’s prescription.
Without George, his brother Harry drowns as a kid in a frozen pond. As a result of this, many years down the road, his brother wasn’t around to serve in World War II and save the troops on his ship from an attack.
Over time, Geroge sees this alternate reality and realizes that his life has been more important than he previously thought.
He begs for his life back, and his wish is granted.
Much more than a classic Christmas movie with a happy ending, this film strongly evokes the ideas of existentialism.
George was tempted to believe it would be better if had never existed–for himself, and for others.
He was lost.
How many of us have felt the same way, at some point before? I know I have.
George wrestled with the fear of meaninglessness. He feared that all the sacrifices he made in life for others were pointless. That everything he did, he did in vain.
This caused him angst. This angst came from George’s direct confrontation with the absurd.
He felt that no matter what he did, it didn’t matter. He wasn’t good enough to protect his family, his town, and never seemed to please himself, either.
If the alternate reality he was shown by Clarence proved this to be true, then this story would have ended differently. George might have thrown himself off the bridge.
But that wasn’t the case.
The alternate reality in which George never existed was objectively worse–many peoples’ lives were impacted by his absence.
This meant that his life was not inherently meaningless.
Because of the man that he was and the choices he made, he had an inherent purpose in the world. Through his sacrifice, the world he lived in was radically different–for the better.
At one point, George was so discouraged he was unable to ask for help. He wanted to die.
Instead, he was able to see the ripple effect his virtue had on the world, and the goodness it brought.
In a way, his guardian angel Clarence showed him his essence.
In contemplating his existence, he was shown the essence of what makes his life one of purpose and meaning. Even if it was a different life than he always saw himself leading.
George might have had a “small life”. He wasn’t a rich man, he wasn’t a war hero, he hadn’t built skyscrapers in New York.
But he was a good man, a virtuous man. That was his essence in life. That was his purpose, his meaning, and his raison d’être.
“You see, George, you've really had a wonderful life. Don't you see what a mistake it would be to throw it away?” –– Clarence Odbody
Thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
Brandon J. Seltenrich
P.S.––
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. Have a Happy New Year. I’ll see you in 2025.
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