America has Become Pottersville it Needs More Bedford Falls
By: Brian Lamacraft
Tags: Illumination

America has Become Pottersville it Needs More Bedford Falls

Mr. Potter is holding you back

Credit: Wikipedia Commons (Mr. Potter)

With the holiday season approaching and the charged political climate in the United States, I keep thinking about one of my favorite holiday movies. This is the movie. It’s a Wonderful Life.

It’s about a man just trying to make it in the world. He has a business and a girl that he cares about it. He lives in this place called Bedford Falls, which is a pretty happy place to be. Everyone loves George Bailey, but there is a problem.

There is this absolute miser there who goes by the name of Mr. Potter.

I think Mister Potter represent America today, in many aspects.

America is quite grumpy, it’s getting old, and many people in America are looking for those good ole days which don’t exist anymore.

The reason they don’t exist is that America is changing. Countries have to change or they don’t grow. As our world around us changes, America will change, too. This is the natural progression of things.

Mr. Potter Doesn’t Get It.

Mr. Potter sits there in a big grumpy funk. Mr. Potter has lots of money, but he doesn’t want to give it to anyone else. He doesn’t want to share or help others. During the course of the movie, George Bailey is visited by a guardian angel, and he sees life like it would be if he weren’t born.

George Bailey goes to a place called Pottersville. this is the complete opposite of Bedford Falls. This place is much like America today. It is a hateful, dark, and grumpy place to live in. George is terrified when he’s in Pottersville. He wants to go back to Bedford Falls with all of his friends.

George just wants to be happy. Mr. Potter does everything you can to ensure that George Bailey is not happy. He is a grumpy ass miser. He tells George that he’s worth more dead than alive.

You’re worth more dead than alive! Why don’t you go to the riffraff you love so much and ask them to let you have $8,000? You know why? Because they’d run you out of town on a rail. But I’ll tell you what I’m going to do for you, George. Since the state examiner is still here, as a stockholder of the Building and Loan, I’m going to swear out a warrant for your arrest. Misappropriation of funds, manipulation, malfeasance. (Mr. Potter Quote: It’s a Wonderful Life)

America is Mr. Potter

America today is the grumpy Mr. Potter. America is all about money. It’s not about the people like George Bailey and his family that want to have a decent life. They’re not asking for much, only the basics. They don’t want to be in debt, want food on their table, want their children to be happy, and want to have decent healthcare.

The problem is that Mr. Potter doesn’t want to give them any of this. He wants them to be as miserable as possible because he is miserable. True, Mr.Potter has all of the money, but it is corrupted him to the point where he is just a miserable wreck of a human being. In fact, you can’t even call Mr. Potter a human being. This is America, it is a wreck, and it’s falling apart just like Mr. Potter.

While America falls apart, the George Bailey’s of the country are suffering because America is a grumpy old miser. America wants all the cash for a few grumpy misers who are just like Mr. Potter. America could be a nice happy place. The problem is that America is Pottersville.

“Please help me, Mr. Potter. Help me, won’t you, please? Can’t you see what it means to my family? I’ll pay any sort of a bonus on the loan, any interest, if you still want the Building and Loan..”

Unfortunately, there is no guardian angel to get everyone out of Pottersville and back into Bedford Falls. If America could look at self in the mirror, it will see that Pottersville is not a good place to be. Perhaps as the holiday season comes around, Americans might wake up and see that they really need to be Bedford Falls.

Conclusion

I’m not sure this will occur. I think America has to get even deeper into Pottersville before they finally wake up and see the light. There is a guardian angel out there for America, but finding that Guardian Angel will take one hell of a lot of effort from everyone.