phoenixwrites:

saxgoddess25:

phoenixwrites:

This is an excellently controversial question, I love it.

Unfortunately…I’m so sorry…I must disagree with you.  “It’s A Wonderful Life” is definitely a Christmas movie.  Because the climax of the film MUST take place on Christmas.

It’s for sure a weird Christmas film (it wasn’t even marketed as a Christmas film in the beginning) because, as you said, most of it doesn’t even take place on Christmas.  

To counter that point though, most of “The Santa Clause” also doesn’t take place on Christmas, and yet, that is most definitely a Christmas film.  

But the climax of the film, where George Bailey wishes he’d never been born, absatively-posalutely must take place on Christmas–the Christmas after World War 2 had ended, when his brother is returning home.  The climax cannot take place at any other time of year because Christmas is a time for magic and miracles.  “It’s A Wonderful Life” mirrors “A Christmas Carol”, whence the magic must take place the night before Christmas in order to teach our heroes an important lesson.  

George Bailey must learn what a difference he has made to Bedford Falls, Scrooge must learn what a difference he CAN make to those in his life, and the holiday of Christmas–historically magical, sacred, holiday about the magic of belief and faith–is the only way the magic can work on them.  

George Bailey couldn’t learn this on his birthday.  Or Easter.  Or on the 4th of July.  It has to be Christmas and it has to come from a Christmas angel.  It has to be Christmas when all hope seems lost for him and he nearly jumps from a snowy bridge.  It has to be Christmas when he runs through through the town and realizes what a blessing it is to be ALIVE, yelling “MERRY CHRISTMAS!” to everyone he loves.

It must be Christmas.  The whole story hinges on this event.

These discussions are interesting. I, myself, don’t really care what gets classified as a Christmas movie. Instead, the thing that always perturbs me is that apparently “My favourite things” from the sound of music is played as Christmas song. Talk about something that has nothing to do with Christmas. Just because it mentions winter and snowflakes and that they like receiving presents) does not a Christmas song make.

Christmas is my FAVORITE HOLIDAY so I have STRONG OPINIONS ABOUT IT.

Don’t even get me started on “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and how it’s commonplace for them to fucking sing “hang a shining star upon the highest bough” instead of “until then we’ll have to muddle through somehow” I WILL GET ANGRY, DON’T GET ME STARTED–

Ahem.  Have to agree.  “My Favorite Things” is definitely not a Christmas song and if you’re including it on your Christmas album, you are wrong.

I would argue that the entirety of the film (It’s a Wonderful Life) does take place on Christmas Eve, because everything we’re seeing (George’s childhood, his courtship and marriage to Mary, his arguments with Potter, his family growing, etc.) is being shown to us through Clarence’s eyes.

The movie begins where George’s friends and family are all praying for him *on* Christmas Eve. The angels hear the prayer and summon Clarence to go down to earth to stop him from committing suicide. But before he’s sent, they inform him about “who is George Bailey”–it’s all flashbacks through the years, but ALL of those flashbacks are being told *on* Christmas Eve.

Clarence then goes down to earth to stop George from killing himself, and we know that this is in fact Christmas Eve, and this is when George makes his ill-fated wish that he’d never been born. And then yes, the climax of the movie, that entire last 20 minutes or so, is all focused and centered on around the holiday of Christmas.

So I am of the camp that yes, it’s a Christmas movie, and it all takes place *at* Christmas, even if we’re seeing scenes from George’s life that don’t take place at Christmas.