Since I'm watching the movie right now, I couldn't resist this wonderful Boing Boing link.
In what parallel universe could "It's a Wonderful Life" be communist propaganda? (Don't fall in the swimming pool, George!)
I always got the biggest kick out of Michael J. Fox's "Back to the Future," because its alternative future is clearly "Potterville" for modern times. And it always freaks me out a little too, because I remember places that looked like that, in the 1980s. Like maybe even, NYC's Times Square. Wasn't that a great place to visit, back then?
But really, the only universe that this film could be "communist" (Capra's socialist/populist/progressive inclinations notwithstanding) is a universe that finds anything that ISN'T Potterville an affront, an insult to to any values worth having, right? Just ask Mr. Potter.
And when the Soviet Union fell, what was made in in its place? Potterville on STEROIDS. An utter nightmare of Potterville. Gee, I really want to live there. Maybe some University of Chicago economists can build me my own Potterville somewhere. It must be hard, tho, with Pinochet dead and all, to keep the pure-hearted spirit of Potterville alive and safe from all those evil communists.
Link: Boing Boing: Old FBI memo: "It's a Wonderful Life" is commie propaganda.
Old FBI memo: "It's a Wonderful Life" is commie propaganda
FBI documents from 1947 show that government officials once believed the Christmas movie classic "It's a Wonderful Life" was Communist propaganda. About the FBI memo titled "COMMUNIST INFILTRATION OF THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY," Blogger Will Chen writes,
I love It's a Wonderful Life because it teaches us that family, friendship, and virtue are the true definitions of wealth.
In 1947, however, the FBI considered this anti-consumerist message as subversive Communist propaganda (read original FBI memo).
According to Professor John Noakes of Franklin and Marshall College, the FBI thought Life smeared American values such as wealth and free enterprise while glorifying anti-American values such as the triumph of the common man.
Link. 1947 was the same year in which the House Unamerican Activities Committee (HUAC) began investigating suspected Communist influence in Hollywood. This led to the blacklisting of many directors, writers, and other talent. More background on that: Link.
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