It's your grandparents' favorite Christmas movie. People of other generations seem to fall head over heels for it. It's that Christmas tradition you reluctantly have to do every single year NBC decides to air it.
You, on the other hand, roll your eyes at it. The movie is 71-years-old for crying out loud. What can a black and white movie that came out before Civil Rights, the Vietnam War, and 9/11 have to teach us? Santa, Rudolph, nor elves aren't even in this movie, so how could this be a Christmas movie? Heck, we want to see "Elf" or Jim Carrey's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."
Unfortunately, a large majority of young adults and college kids feel this way about "It's A Wonderful Life." They simply miss the point of the film. They get caught up in irrelevant details that blur their image of what is truly a masterpiece of a film.
To summarize for those who have never seen this movie, "It's A Wonderful Life" stars James Stewart as George Bailey, an average man with high ambitions. When we first meet our character as a young boy, we learn that he wants to be an explorer one day, traveling the globe to remote locations and building the tallest of buildings.
A decade later, we once again meet George, this time as a grown-up the day before he plans to depart for college. When tragedy strikes, he has no choice but to take over at the family business. The movie continues to show George nearly escaping the confines of the small town of Bedford Falls, but always coming up just short due to the circumstances.
When something goes terribly wrong one Christmas Eve, George contemplates "throwing away God's greatest gift." However, a life-changing experience leaves him with second thoughts.
You may be asking, "Now why would I ever want to watch a depressing movie on Christmas? Isn't Christmas supposed to be about holiday cheer and being with family?" Well, yes, it is, which is exactly why you should give this film another chance.
You, the readers, are probably around the same age as me, in your college years and still figuring out this thing we call life. Have you ever had your dreams shot down? I know I have. When I was young, I dreamt of being an astronaut and just a couple years ago, I still wanted to be a professional athlete. I'm sure this resonates with many of you as well.
Whether it be a dream that hasn't quite developed or a stage in your life that you haven't yet reached, we all have experienced let-downs within our lives.
This is why this film is perfect for any viewer, especially young adults. We are entering that stage where we are about to enter the real world. Maybe some of us already have. We will experience hardships. Life will not go exactly as we have planned it to. The story of George Bailey is the story of us, the common person. While we see our friends posting pictures at Time Square or laying on a sunny beach in California, we are at home working a blue-collar job to pay for school.
I am not saying that we shouldn't dream, that is so important, but what is also important is how we deal with those emotions when life doesn't go our way. This time of the year, and any time of the year, we should look around us and see just how many lives we've had an impact on. No matter the circumstances, we all truly have had a wonderful life.
The next time it is on TV or your grandparents want to show you it, go into it with an open mind. It's a lot more relatable than you may think. As the old saying goes, don't judge a book by its cover.
In this case, don't judge a movie by its color.
