Ben Shapiro, his studio adorned with Christmas decorations, claims the real hero of "It's a Wonderful Life" is Mr. Potter, the evil banker.
In what world would Lionel Barrymore's character be the hero of this movie? Maybe Ben favors the colorized version, too?
After giving an outline of the movie as little Ben sees it, Shapiro said, "Also Lionel Barrymore is correct on a financial level. The villain of this piece is actually the hero because if Jimmy Stewart gets his way all of Bedford Falls collapses."
Actually, when the community came together and saved Bailey, Bedford Falls is saved, too!
Shapiro also omits from his warped analysis that Mr. Potter steals $8K dollars from Bailey's brother, when he left it in Potter's newspaper at the bank. George panics, and when he goes to Potter for a loan, he's rebuked and attacked. This was the moment that sends George Bailey down the road of contemplating suicide.
Mr. Potter is a thief and a liar who hates the working class. So naturally, he's Ben's hero.
Shapiro claims the movie was a "sort of quasi-socialistic FDR parable intended to promote the New Deal."
Wrong. Maybe he should read about the motivations of Frank Capra.
Frank Capra never intended "It's a Wonderful Life" to be pigeonholed as a "Christmas picture." This was the first movie he made after returning from service in World War II, and he wanted it to be special--a celebration of the lives and dreams of America's ordinary citizens, who tried the best they could to do the right thing by themselves and their neighbors.
Republican idiots like Shapiro are so focused on rewriting the history of this country, they feel the need to rewrite classic movies in their right-wing extremist framing.
Throughout the movie Lionel Barrymore's character was horrible, but to conservatives like Shapiro, he's the hero because he was able to lie, cheat, and steal from the entire community, making himself richer at the expense of the entire town.
Sounds like a model of Traitor Trump.
