“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making
other plans.” – John Lennon
Words of wisdom uttered 35 years too late for George
Bailey to take them to heart. Who, upon reaching middle age, hasn’t felt that
sense of loss at having failed to achieve the ambitions of youth? Who actually
fulfills all the dreams he has before growing up and settling into a life of
adulthood? And who among us truly appreciates the riches we have when all we
can see are missed opportunities? It’s a story at least as old as the
Industrial Age, when increased leisure time for most people meant the possibility
of doing things most people would never have dreamed about. George Bailey has
become an enduring cinematic character because he embodies all those universal
characteristics of failed ambitions and dreams deferred or lost. George
believes his life is disappointing and sad. This is just another aspect of his
universality. For it sometimes takes an outsider to point out just how fulfilling
our lives truly are – in fiction anyway.
