Wonder and Cruelty: Ontological War in It’s a Wonderful Life

125 Pages·2018·1.3 MB·English

by  Steven Johnston

Wonder and Cruelty
POLITICS, LITERATURE, AND FILM
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Wonder and Cruelty: Ontological War in It’s a Wonderful Life, by Steven
Johnston

Wonder and Cruelty
Ontological War in
It’s a Wonderful Life
Steven Johnston
LEXINGTON BOOKS
Lanham • Boulder • New York • London
Published by Lexington Books
An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
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6 Tinworth Street, London SE11 5AL
Copyright © 2019 The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems,
without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote
passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Johnston, Steven, author.
Title: Wonder and cruelty : ontological war in It’s a wonderful life / Steven
Johnston.
Description: Lanham : Lexington Books, [2019] | Series: Politics, literature,
and film | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018047456| ISBN 9781498583626 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN
9781498583633 (electronic)
Subjects: LCSH: It’s a wonderful life (Motion picture) | Politics in motion
pictures. | Identity (Psychology) in motion pictures.
Classification: LCC PN1997.I758 J64 2018 | DDC 791.43/72—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018047456
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
A Tale of Two Films: “It was the story I had been looking for
all my life.” 1
Ontological Setting: “George Bailey. Yes, tonight’s his
crucial night.” 4
Eternal Return of the Same: “I’m leaving right now. . .
This is my last chance.” 9
The Gentle Face of Transcendental Terrorism: “You see, George,
you really had a wonderful life.” 40
Responsible Subjectivity: “George Bailey, I’ll love you till
the day I die.” 51
The Day After: “What are you but a warped, frustrated
young man?” 58
The Specter of Pottersville: “You’ll see a lot of strange things
from now on.” 66
One Wonder and Cruelty: “Get me back. I don’t care what happens
to me.” 70
Romance or Tragedy? “To my big brother, George. The richest
man in town.” 75
Notes 85
Bibliography 109
Index 111
About the Author 113
vii

Acknowledgments
The book might not have been written if Char Miller had not said to me
one day (while I was procrastinating on another project), why don’t you
do it now? Those were exactly the words I needed to hear. Thanks, Char.
Your skeptical instincts and critical insights are indispensable. I started
thinking seriously about It’s a Wonderful Life while doing a stint in Tampa,
where I first met Kennan Ferguson, also serving time, who encouraged and
challenged me to pursue my musings as a book project. Thanks, Kennan. I
am happily indebted to the incomparable Jane Bennett for coming up with
the book’s title. The comments and suggestions of the anonymous reader
proved invaluable as I made final adjustments to the manuscript. I would
like to extend appreciation to my Modern Political Theory students at the
University of South Florida and the University of Utah for thinking with—
and against—me as I presented It’s a Wonderful Life to them as we studied
Rousseau and Nietzsche. Thanks also to Millertime Productions, Inc., for its
technological expertise and aesthetic judgment in curating pictures for the
book. All images are from It’s a Wonderful Life (1946).Finally, as always,
I thank Judy Gallant, whose example is a perpetual source of inspiration.
ix