It's a Wonderful Life
With Christmas just around the corner (less than 25 days to be exactly) I am becoming more and more filled with christmas spirit. Whether or not you are religious Christmas has always been a time of year with more giving and just a time of more caring. One of my favorite Christmas movies of all time, and movies in general, is Its a Wonderful Life. This movie has so many important themes and messages with a great setting during christmas. The movie tells the story of a man, George Bailey, who since he was young has always looked out for others and is so full of compassion; however, he encounters problems.
The movie starts with George Bailey about to fling himself over a bridge and into the icy cold water below, about to throw away his life. Clarence, an angel in heaven, is sent on a mission to save George. Flashbacks are shown to inform Clarence about George. They show how caring George is. Some examples including saving his brother from drowning in icy water and subsequently losing hearing in one of ears. Another example that is evidence of George's compassion is when he works at his Dad's business company for years, but wants to leave. His father gets sick so George takes over. George's brother was supposed to take on George's job, but the brother ends up getting engaged. Instead of traveling the world like he had planned, George stays with the business company. As the movie progress we discover more of what leads George to become despaired. The depression hits and one of the businessman in the company loses a large sum of money.
We catch up to George back on the bridge wishing he had never been born. Clarence then appears and falls into the water instead, stopping George instead. Clarence and George then embark on a journey through an alternative universe in which George is non-existent. At first George doesn't believe what he is seeing, thinking its a dream, but then becomes upset looking at this new reality. He realizes what his worth is and prays to undo what he had wished for. George is then brought to the real world and goes home. All of his family and friends arrive for a christmas party. They all had heard about his dilemma and donate their money to help George, their friend. This story shows how compassion and giving of oneself can benefit so many people, even if we don't realize the impact.