1 00:00:04,879 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: What's going on. Thank you so much for listening to 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:09,640 this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon 3 00:00:09,679 --> 00:00:12,519 to three on WBT Radio and Charlotte. And if you 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:16,719 want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, 5 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,239 my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, 6 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:22,559 go to Thepete calendarshow dot com make sure you hit 7 00:00:22,559 --> 00:00:25,000 the subscribe button. Get every episode for free right to 8 00:00:25,039 --> 00:00:27,600 your smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much 9 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:31,399 for your support Pete Calendar here, and thanks a lot 10 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:33,840 for hanging out. I appreciate it. Thank you also to 11 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:37,119 Tony Marino and Chris Crock for filling in last week. 12 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,159 I hope you had a great Christmas. All I got 13 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:44,439 for Christmas was sick. That's not true. I actually did 14 00:00:44,439 --> 00:00:47,759 get some presents too, but I got sick taken down 15 00:00:47,799 --> 00:00:50,439 by some quasiflu. I'm not really sure what it was. 16 00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:55,119 You could still hear it if you'd like. I can cough, 17 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:57,840 not into the mic because that would be gross, but 18 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:00,799 like towards the producers, I can do that. So you 19 00:01:01,079 --> 00:01:03,840 just to you know, to confirm that I still love 20 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:06,519 a bunch of the crud hanging out in the Chestel 21 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:09,159 area a bit of a stuff he knows. But I'm okay, 22 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:12,480 I am okay. I have noticed a pattern, though, like 23 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:18,599 when I am on vacation, I get sick, or maybe 24 00:01:20,439 --> 00:01:26,480 I schedule my sicknesses, or maybe the solution is I 25 00:01:26,519 --> 00:01:29,439 just don't take any more vacation time ever again, and 26 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:32,400 this way I won't be sick ever again. The logic 27 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:38,840 is undeniable. Now I was able to monitor news from 28 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:43,840 my Nike will induced semi comatost bed. I was able 29 00:01:43,879 --> 00:01:45,920 to do that, you know, because you're never really off 30 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:49,599 on vacation because if you, you know, the longer you're 31 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:53,079 out from this job, it's much like a hamster wheel 32 00:01:53,959 --> 00:01:57,359 or a treadmill that once you get off, it's very 33 00:01:57,359 --> 00:02:00,120 difficult to jump back on because it's still moving, you know. 34 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:05,079 I learned this after I was out when well, my 35 00:02:05,159 --> 00:02:10,199 first stint at WBT, when I was a host was 36 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:14,759 let go in twenty eleven, and it was about six 37 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:20,919 months I take it back, about nine months before I 38 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:23,840 ended up back in radio up in Ashville. And in 39 00:02:23,879 --> 00:02:25,639 the meantime, I had gone to work for a TV 40 00:02:25,719 --> 00:02:30,439 station where I was covering local beat stories. Right, so 41 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:36,680 I realized being sort of out of the news cycle 42 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:41,759 off the treadmill for nine months. I spent so much 43 00:02:41,879 --> 00:02:45,159 time trying to catch back up to what I was 44 00:02:45,199 --> 00:02:47,360 not able to keep up with in real time, because 45 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:50,039 it's easier to just follow the headlines, keep up with 46 00:02:50,039 --> 00:02:53,719 stuff as it's happening, then to unplug for a while 47 00:02:53,759 --> 00:02:55,879 and then come back. And I like to this day 48 00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:59,840 there are there are If there's a story that I'm 49 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:03,039 not aware of, or there's some reporting and I'm like, 50 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:06,879 I don't remember this, chances are it happened during that 51 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:09,479 nine month window. So that's why even when I'm sick, 52 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:11,960 even when I'm on vacation or a sick cation, as 53 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:16,719 I now apparently tend today, I still make an effort 54 00:03:16,759 --> 00:03:20,319 to follow the news. And so one of the things 55 00:03:20,319 --> 00:03:24,759 that I noticed from my deathbed was a Twitter account 56 00:03:25,879 --> 00:03:31,000 called Jimmy Stewart Fans. Not a race car driver. Jimmy 57 00:03:31,039 --> 00:03:34,360 Stewart was an actor and he was in the famous 58 00:03:35,319 --> 00:03:38,240 Christmas movie It's a Wonderful Life, if not the best 59 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:40,680 movie of all time, it is my favorite movie. I've 60 00:03:40,719 --> 00:03:43,280 said that for twenty years. It's my favorite movie. I 61 00:03:43,319 --> 00:03:47,199 watch it every single Christmas. I get something new out 62 00:03:47,199 --> 00:03:51,280 of it every time I watch it. And Jimmy Stewart 63 00:03:51,319 --> 00:03:55,360 fans twitter account said, did literally everybody watch It's a 64 00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:58,159 Wonderful Life this year? I don't think I've ever seen 65 00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:02,800 so many tweets about it, But I'm not complaining, and 66 00:04:02,879 --> 00:04:07,000 I have to admit I did see an unusual amount 67 00:04:07,039 --> 00:04:09,840 of tweets from people who said that they had never 68 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:14,919 seen the movie but had watched it this year. There's 69 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:19,120 a professor of philosophies and he's a Catholic. His name 70 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:23,120 is Edward Fesser, and he said his guest would be 71 00:04:23,199 --> 00:04:26,720 that the people that are watching it now may be 72 00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:33,000 particularly wistful for the basic decency, community, spirit, and simplicity 73 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,600 of life that the movie represents. Yes, it's a movie 74 00:04:36,959 --> 00:04:40,120 and life was never exactly like that, but what we 75 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:47,040 once idealized tells us much about what we once were. Right, 76 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:50,480 the thing like, that's what the thing that we are 77 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:52,720 drawn to, you know, it's the old gaze upon something 78 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:54,560 too long and you'll become like it, you know, that 79 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:58,040 kind of a deal. And the thing that people aspired 80 00:04:58,079 --> 00:05:01,560 to be like versus, say, what's the modern incarnation in 81 00:05:01,639 --> 00:05:04,720 the exact inverse would be what bad Santa? Something like that. 82 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:07,079 I've never seen the movie. I have no desire to 83 00:05:07,079 --> 00:05:09,839 see the movie. I did see one movie this week 84 00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:14,680 that I was pleasantly surprised at, which was Red One 85 00:05:15,959 --> 00:05:19,920 with The Rock Dwayne the Rock Johnson. It was entertaining. 86 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:22,279 I mean it was entertaining. And Christy and I we 87 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:26,399 have a series of Christmas movies that we own on 88 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:29,680 DVD because she can never trust the streamers. At some point, 89 00:05:29,759 --> 00:05:31,399 you know, they may pull the plug on one of Oh, 90 00:05:31,519 --> 00:05:34,600 which reminds me. Did you hear about the controversy about 91 00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:38,240 It's a Wonderful Life on Amazon Prime? Do you hear this? 92 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:45,639 Amazon Prime video came under fire for streaming a version 93 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:52,800 of Its Wonderful Life that omits about twenty two minutes. Okay, 94 00:05:52,839 --> 00:05:56,959 so they edited out twenty two minutes. Well, okay, Amazon 95 00:05:57,040 --> 00:06:00,639 Prime did not edit it out. If you had to 96 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:04,879 guess which twenty two minutes would have been edited out, 97 00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:09,800 which do you think it would have been? Well, if 98 00:06:09,839 --> 00:06:13,519 you guessed it's the entire portion of the alternate life 99 00:06:13,519 --> 00:06:17,160 where George never existed, you would be correct. That was 100 00:06:17,199 --> 00:06:19,759 the part that got edited out, which makes the movie 101 00:06:20,519 --> 00:06:26,399 completely worthless, right because without that sequence you see George 102 00:06:26,399 --> 00:06:32,519 Bailey punched in the face standing over a bridge asking 103 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:34,920 God to show him the way, and then he's gonna 104 00:06:34,959 --> 00:06:38,680 jump off the bridge. But then Clarance, the Guardian Angel, 105 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:41,079 jumps off the spoiler alert by the way here jumps 106 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:44,079 off the bridge in order to save George, and which 107 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:46,519 he does. But that's all gone now, so they chop 108 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:50,759 that out, and the next thing you have George celebrating, 109 00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:57,519 joyful to be alive and running back home. The whole 110 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:02,879 part called the Pottersville part. All of that that has gone, Hey, 111 00:07:02,879 --> 00:07:06,240 what's the point of the movie then, So people obviously 112 00:07:06,879 --> 00:07:11,360 became outraged, which I would be too if I had 113 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:14,120 known this was occurring at the time. I found out afterwards, 114 00:07:14,199 --> 00:07:17,680 I mean, after my sickness and the fever broken. All 115 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:23,600 the missing sequence is largely regarded to be the emotional 116 00:07:23,639 --> 00:07:26,920 core of the movie right now. The existence of this 117 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:31,759 abridged version is actually rooted in a creative choice not 118 00:07:31,839 --> 00:07:36,319 made by Amazon, but in the film's famously tangled copyright history. 119 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:41,600 Plus you. For nearly two decades, television stations freely aired 120 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:44,560 the film because in nineteen seventy four, the distributor failed 121 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:47,480 to renew the movie's copyright, which means that it's now 122 00:07:47,519 --> 00:07:50,199 in the public domain and now people can air it 123 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:56,439 without paying royalties. Okay, but that changed in the nineties. 124 00:07:57,600 --> 00:07:59,959 While the film itself had fallen into the public domain, 125 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:04,480 the rights to two underlying elements had been properly maintained, 126 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:06,920 so they kept their paperwork up to date for two 127 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:10,680 underlying references. One was a short story called The Greatest 128 00:08:10,759 --> 00:08:15,360 Gift by Philip van doren Stern and the musical score 129 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:21,319 by Dimitri Timokin. Republic Pictures was later acquired by Paramount. 130 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:25,519 They used those copyrights to effectively reclaim control over the 131 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:29,160 movie's distribution, saying any exhibition of the film required licensing 132 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:33,879 the copyrighted story and the music, and so the workaround 133 00:08:34,039 --> 00:08:37,440 for these TV stations that wanted to air the movie 134 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:40,360 without paying the rights was to chop out the entire 135 00:08:40,399 --> 00:08:45,960 Pottersville portion. That's how Amazon Prime came to air this version, 136 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:49,240 which is shorter, but they also did they were quick 137 00:08:49,279 --> 00:08:51,639 to point out, like, we offer the longer version two. 138 00:08:51,759 --> 00:08:55,120 But the problem was people didn't know which version they 139 00:08:55,120 --> 00:09:01,399 were fixing to watch until they get to the bridge scene. 140 00:09:01,759 --> 00:09:05,080 Maybe some labeling their Amazon might help you know. Stories 141 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:07,320 are powerful. They help us make sense of things, to 142 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:10,879 understand experiences. Stories connect us to the people of our 143 00:09:10,919 --> 00:09:14,399 past while transcending generations. They help us process the meaning 144 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:18,240 of life and our stories are told through images and videos. 145 00:09:18,519 --> 00:09:22,120 Preserve your stories with Creative Video started in nineteen ninety 146 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:24,679 seven and Mint Hill, North Carolina. It was the first 147 00:09:24,679 --> 00:09:28,360 company to provide this valuable service, converting images, photos and 148 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:32,559 videos into high quality produced slide shows, videos and albums. 149 00:09:32,720 --> 00:09:36,080 The trusted, talented and dedicated team at Creative Video will 150 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:38,159 go over all of the details with you to create 151 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:42,080 a perfect project. Satisfaction guaranteed. Drop them off in person 152 00:09:42,159 --> 00:09:43,840 or mail them. They'll be ready in a week or two. 153 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:49,320 Memorial videos for your loved ones, videos for rehearsal, dinners, weddings, graduations, Christmas, 154 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:53,639 family vacations, birthdays, or just your family stories all told 155 00:09:53,639 --> 00:09:57,399 through images. That's what your photos and videos are. They 156 00:09:57,399 --> 00:10:00,279 are your life told through the eyes of everyone around 157 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:02,519 you and all who came before you, and they will 158 00:10:02,559 --> 00:10:05,919 tell others to come who you are. Visit creative video 159 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:09,159 dot com. By the way, the phone number seven O 160 00:10:09,279 --> 00:10:12,240 four five seven zero one oh seven nine that is 161 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:16,039 also the WBT text line driven by Liberty Buick gmc 162 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:22,279 oh that sounds a lot better with the chest congestion, GMC. 163 00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:26,480 Can we record that and isolate that? No, just kidding. 164 00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:31,559 On the text line, Mary says, so glad you are back, Pete, 165 00:10:31,639 --> 00:10:34,360 but things were broken while you were gone. It wasn't me, 166 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:39,639 that's I have Yes, I have heard. I have heard 167 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:42,080 of a great many things that got broken while I 168 00:10:42,159 --> 00:10:45,679 wasn't here. Chris, welcome back. You've really been missed. Thank you, Chris, 169 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:50,879 and Concord. Billy says, I found out this year that 170 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:55,159 asbestos was used as snow in the movie It's a 171 00:10:55,200 --> 00:11:00,480 Wonderful Life. I did not know that. That's man. I 172 00:11:00,519 --> 00:11:05,720 bet that any survivors probably got paid big time with 173 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:11,399 the mesothelioma lawsuits. Right where the asbestos fell like rain 174 00:11:11,559 --> 00:11:14,440 or in this case, snow, The snow is weird. I 175 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:16,879 did notice that this year. I don't know why. I've 176 00:11:16,879 --> 00:11:22,200 never noticed it before, but the snow was weird. First off. Okay, 177 00:11:22,279 --> 00:11:24,840 when I watch movies, I always go into it with 178 00:11:24,919 --> 00:11:30,600 the understanding that these are professional liars, right, I mean, 179 00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:33,559 that's what actors are. They're professional liars. They get paid 180 00:11:34,159 --> 00:11:40,080 more if they are better liars. Okay, not all cases, 181 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:41,440 but some people get paid a lot of money and 182 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:45,840 they're not good liars, but it is difficult for me 183 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:49,399 to suspend disbelief. I just I go into all movies 184 00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:51,600 like that. So one of the things that I always 185 00:11:51,879 --> 00:11:57,360 notice in movies is the snow. And I got a 186 00:11:57,399 --> 00:12:01,720 beef when people walk around in snow and they handle 187 00:12:01,799 --> 00:12:05,240 the snow with bare hands and they act like, you know, 188 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:10,159 it's not freezing water, right, like it's not ice, when 189 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:12,440 it is, like, it's snow that's really cold. I grew 190 00:12:12,559 --> 00:12:16,000 up in the Northeast, there was snow. Trust me, it's cold. 191 00:12:16,679 --> 00:12:19,000 You don't last very long out in the snow if 192 00:12:19,039 --> 00:12:21,440 you're getting all covered in it, because then it melts 193 00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:23,840 on you and now you're cold and wet, and that's 194 00:12:23,879 --> 00:12:25,519 how you'll catch your death. That's how you get the flu. 195 00:12:26,679 --> 00:12:28,960 And I wasn't even anywhere near any snow and I 196 00:12:29,039 --> 00:12:32,320 got it this year. So anyway, the snow I noticed 197 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:35,919 this year was weird because it doesn't melt on them, 198 00:12:36,399 --> 00:12:39,720 and it was like puffy and it would just kind 199 00:12:39,759 --> 00:12:41,759 of move all around, and I was just kind of wondering, 200 00:12:41,759 --> 00:12:44,919 I wonder what that is. So thank you, Concord Billy. 201 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:47,879 I did not know it was asbestos can you still 202 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:50,399 use that for like a snow machine on your front yard. 203 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:58,440 It's outside. But Jordan says, I started listening to you, 204 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:02,759 Pete because of when the levy breaks as your theme song. 205 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:05,879 But I think as a native North Carolinian, it's cultural 206 00:13:05,919 --> 00:13:09,759 appropriation for you to play wagon Wheel. Well, you know 207 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:17,200 you know who wrote wagon Wheel twas Bob Dylan, and 208 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:20,519 then an extra verse added by the Old Crow Medicine Show. 209 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:28,320 So I'd say there's probably equal claim North versus South 210 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:32,200 there Bob Dylan being from Minnesota a as he was. 211 00:13:34,919 --> 00:13:39,240 Richie asks if I was actually I was gone last week. Yes, 212 00:13:39,279 --> 00:13:43,519 in more ways than one, just completely out of it. 213 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:48,679 Dave says, this year I watched Fat Man. I had 214 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:51,120 never heard of it until this year. If you don't 215 00:13:51,159 --> 00:13:55,240 mind dark comedies about Christmas, I recommend it. I've never 216 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:59,039 heard of it. Is that about Santa. We also last 217 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:04,080 year began a new tradition of rewatching gremlins, so we 218 00:14:04,159 --> 00:14:08,639 watch that again this year, which one of the cops, 219 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:11,360 not the chief of the police, of the two man 220 00:14:11,399 --> 00:14:15,159 police department, that were both drunk while the gremlins savaged 221 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:18,960 the city. The younger guy, the younger cop, you know 222 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:24,200 who that was Mike from Breaking Bed and better call 223 00:14:24,279 --> 00:14:28,440 Saul the bald headed guy. That's who that was. And 224 00:14:28,519 --> 00:14:31,960 by the way, both of them should be fired, complete 225 00:14:32,159 --> 00:14:36,960 and utter drunken cowards. While they're watching these gremlins murder 226 00:14:37,039 --> 00:14:43,240 people in the streets, they drive away, they flee cowards. 227 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:51,440 That's another takeaway I got out of that movie. Also, 228 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:56,279 I'm curious how how the old man from the guy 229 00:14:56,279 --> 00:14:58,600 that sold the gremlin or had the gremlin stolen from 230 00:14:58,639 --> 00:15:00,960 him by his grandson. I'm curiou how he tracked down 231 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:05,320 the gremlin at the house at the end of the 232 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:09,600 movie spoiler alert. Let me go over here and talk 233 00:15:09,639 --> 00:15:12,159 with Alex. Sure, Alex, how are you Merry Christmas? 234 00:15:12,519 --> 00:15:15,519 Speaker 2: Hey, Merry Christmas for your two Pete. Yeah, I just 235 00:15:15,519 --> 00:15:19,000 want to say, I don't even watch the all the 236 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:22,080 modern crap on TV nowadays, the current stuff. I like 237 00:15:22,159 --> 00:15:25,480 watching reruns of The Andy Griffiths Show and The Waltons 238 00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:27,480 and guns Smoke. That's what I grew up watching, and 239 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:31,080 that's just it's almost like comfort food to me. 240 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:36,039 Speaker 1: No, yeah, that's that's fair. I get that. I will say, like, 241 00:15:36,039 --> 00:15:38,240 like I tried going back and watching some of the 242 00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:41,600 shows that were the pop culture shows when I was 243 00:15:41,639 --> 00:15:43,960 a kid, and they just they were not good. Like 244 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:47,360 Miami Vice. I started watching some of those on some 245 00:15:47,519 --> 00:15:50,440 rerun channel and they were just awful, just awful. But 246 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:52,639 I loved every when it was on. I love Miami Vice. 247 00:15:54,279 --> 00:15:56,799 Quantum Leap was still good. I did like Quantum Leap. 248 00:15:57,240 --> 00:15:59,559 That was good. You ever watched Quantum Leap basionally back then? 249 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:03,080 Speaker 2: Yeah? I think and Andy Griffiths show, Will you know 250 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:04,919 That'll be funny one hundred years from now? 251 00:16:05,799 --> 00:16:11,240 Speaker 1: Well, to each their own. I think it's Andy Griffin. Yeah, 252 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:12,679 is it the Andy Griffin Show? 253 00:16:13,679 --> 00:16:14,120 Speaker 2: Griffith? 254 00:16:14,279 --> 00:16:16,559 Speaker 1: No, I think it's Griffin. I'm pretty sure. 255 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:21,519 Speaker 2: Hello is Griffith like d W. Griffith the film director? 256 00:16:21,679 --> 00:16:23,679 Speaker 1: No, I mean like there were two guys that did 257 00:16:23,679 --> 00:16:26,759 the afternoons here at WBT for years and uh and 258 00:16:26,799 --> 00:16:31,840 they they did deep dives on Andy Griffin episodes and yeah, 259 00:16:31,879 --> 00:16:33,360 they were very out of it because they had that 260 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:36,200 same fight, Alex. I appreciate the call. I'm pretty sure 261 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:39,240 that's what inspires the Krantz taught me because, like I 262 00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:43,879 grew up, I did not watch Andy Griffin. That was 263 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:50,159 kind of before my time. So one of the things 264 00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:52,200 about It's a Wonderful Life that I learned this year. 265 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:55,960 Do you know? The FBI thought that it was communist 266 00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:00,799 classic FBI, right, but you gotta remember the time too, 267 00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:09,079 here right, this is nineteen forty six, okay, And according 268 00:17:09,119 --> 00:17:14,200 to history dot com, FBI informants viewed It's a Wonderful 269 00:17:14,279 --> 00:17:22,200 Life as potentially subversive. Why well, they argued that the 270 00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:25,359 character of mister Potter, who, by the way, do you 271 00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:27,000 know who mister Potter was? You know who he was 272 00:17:27,039 --> 00:17:37,200 in real life? Lionel Barrymore, father of Drew Barrymore. So anyway, 273 00:17:38,319 --> 00:17:43,119 they argued that mister Potter, who was described by George 274 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:46,519 Bailey as an old money grubbing buzzard, that he was 275 00:17:46,759 --> 00:17:51,039 unfairly villainized or that no, sorry, he as this character 276 00:17:51,359 --> 00:17:58,599 unfairly villainized bankers and the upper class. So, according to 277 00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:03,759 the FBI, the picture deliberately maligned the upper class as 278 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:08,400 mean and despicable. The film represented a rather obvious attempt 279 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:12,359 to discredit bankers by casting Lionel Barrymore as a scrooge 280 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:14,920 type so that he would be the most hated man 281 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:19,920 in the picture. Well, I think, I mean it's kind 282 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:24,000 of stupid because the very fact that you describe him 283 00:18:24,039 --> 00:18:28,640 as Scrooge type sort of gives away the stupidity here, right, 284 00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:38,599 it's it's tapping into the Scrooge character from why am 285 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:40,680 I drawing a blank now on the Christmas carrot? Yeah, 286 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:44,720 Christmas Carol. Right, this is the Ebene's a Scrooge visited 287 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:48,119 by the three ghosts Christmas, Present, past, and future. So 288 00:18:49,519 --> 00:18:53,440 that was that's how I always took his character, and 289 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:55,759 that you have to have the you know, man versus 290 00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:59,839 man dynamic in the in the screenplay, you got the 291 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:03,519 versus himself and you have the man versus man. All right, 292 00:19:03,599 --> 00:19:06,960 Holiday football has arrived right With Draft Kings sportsbook and 293 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:10,240 official sports betting partner of the NFL, the Unexpected can 294 00:19:10,279 --> 00:19:13,599 turn game day into payday. And don't forget Draft Kings 295 00:19:13,680 --> 00:19:16,720 as you're back with early exit. Pretty neat function here. 296 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:19,160 If your player goes down in the first half, you 297 00:19:19,319 --> 00:19:23,039 still get paid in cash. Download the Draft Kings sports 298 00:19:23,079 --> 00:19:26,119 book app and use the code PETE. That's code pete. 299 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:28,599 New customers can bet five bucks and get two hundred 300 00:19:28,599 --> 00:19:32,039 dollars in bonus bets if your bet wins instantly. In 301 00:19:32,160 --> 00:19:35,640 partnership with Draft Kings, the Crown is yours gambling problem 302 00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:38,519 call one eight hundred gambler. In New York call eight 303 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:42,079 seven seven eight hope and why, or text hope and 304 00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:45,599 why to four six seven three six nine. In Connecticut, 305 00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:48,279 help is available for problem gambling. Call eight eight eight 306 00:19:48,359 --> 00:19:51,839 seven eight nine seven seven seven seven or visit CCPG 307 00:19:52,039 --> 00:19:55,759 dot org. Please play responsibly on behalf of Boothill, casino 308 00:19:55,839 --> 00:19:58,759 and resort Kansas. Pass through of per wager tax may 309 00:19:58,799 --> 00:20:02,279 apply in Illinois to anyone plus age, and eligibility varies 310 00:20:02,279 --> 00:20:06,640 by jurisdiction. Void in Ontario. Restrictions apply. Bet must win 311 00:20:06,759 --> 00:20:10,039 to receive bonus bets which expire in seven days. Minimum 312 00:20:10,039 --> 00:20:15,279 mods required. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see DKNG, 313 00:20:15,559 --> 00:20:21,279 dot co, slash audio limited time offer. Some messages from 314 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:25,960 the text line Jonathan and Gastonia says, I sprinkle asbestos 315 00:20:26,039 --> 00:20:29,400 on my cereal in the morning. Well, I mean doesn't everybody? 316 00:20:31,839 --> 00:20:36,519 Scott says the snow was not asbestos in It's a 317 00:20:36,519 --> 00:20:41,000 Wonderful Life. It was a safer mix of fomite, soap flakes, 318 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:46,079 sugar and water. Asbestos was used pre nineteen forty in 319 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:53,960 movies like The Wizard of Oz. Interesting Ritchie is claiming 320 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:56,519 that it's Indy Griffith with a th that's not correct, 321 00:20:56,880 --> 00:21:02,319 Dawn says Griffith with a no, that can't be correct. 322 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:05,400 Somebody sent to Wikipedia link. I don't click links, so 323 00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:08,079 I'm not going to look at that. Uh. Somebody has 324 00:21:08,079 --> 00:21:09,680 another link here. I'm not going to look at that. 325 00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:15,440 H Lionel Barrymore was Drew Barrymore's great uncle, not her father, 326 00:21:15,519 --> 00:21:18,759 says Stan, Thank you, Stan. Okay, so still related great 327 00:21:18,839 --> 00:21:22,079 uncle or maybe not so great of an uncle. I 328 00:21:22,119 --> 00:21:31,319 don't know, but they're related. So the the FBI informants, 329 00:21:31,559 --> 00:21:38,200 who uh who attacked It's a Wonderful Life through their 330 00:21:38,799 --> 00:21:41,640 uh their you know, reporting to the was It House 331 00:21:41,759 --> 00:21:44,960 on American Affairs Committee, the h u a C or 332 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:48,240 the HUAC as I call it, which, by the way, 333 00:21:48,279 --> 00:21:52,599 the hu AC ultimately did not take any action against 334 00:21:52,759 --> 00:21:55,599 the movie It's a Wonderful Life, but the bureau targeted 335 00:21:55,599 --> 00:21:59,400 the film's screenwriters, husband and wife team Francis Goodrich and 336 00:21:59,559 --> 00:22:04,720 Albert Hackett, saying they quote practically lived with known communists 337 00:22:05,079 --> 00:22:10,519 and were observed eating lunch daily with two communist screenwriters. 338 00:22:12,359 --> 00:22:16,599 The bureau failed to mention that Dalton Trumbo, who penned 339 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:20,799 an earlier version of the script, and several uncredited script contributors, 340 00:22:20,839 --> 00:22:25,640 including Albert Maltz, Michael Wilson, and Clifford Odetts, were current 341 00:22:25,799 --> 00:22:30,920 or former Communist Party members, which is I'm just as 342 00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:35,920 shocked as you are to find Communists in Hollywood. The 343 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:39,359 Committee's nineteen forty seven hearings led to the blacklisting of 344 00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:41,799 the so called Hollywood Ten, and two of the ten 345 00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:44,960 were Trumboe and Maltz, two of the people that worked 346 00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:50,240 on this film. I would simply point out here for like, 347 00:22:50,279 --> 00:22:53,319 I understand you got commies writing scripts, and sure be 348 00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:55,400 aware of it. You know, want to always be on 349 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:57,720 guard for the I mean, look at the rewrite of 350 00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:01,759 Animal Farm. Have you heard about this. They're redoing Animal 351 00:23:01,799 --> 00:23:05,839 Farm in like a cartoon version, and they're making capitalism 352 00:23:06,799 --> 00:23:11,039 the enemy, which is literally the exact opposite of what 353 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:14,559 Animal Farm was about. Right, So you should always be 354 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:21,559 on guard for you know, this kind of subliminal, underhanded, 355 00:23:22,279 --> 00:23:29,200 ulterior kinds of injecting of these types of philosophies and ideas. 356 00:23:29,599 --> 00:23:32,759 To be sure, but I would simply point out that 357 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:36,640 when watching the movie as a free market kind of guy, 358 00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:43,960 see the difference is that the government did not force 359 00:23:44,279 --> 00:23:47,319 George Bailey to make any of the sacrifices that he 360 00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:51,160 made throughout his life. Gov Go didn't do that to him. 361 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:55,759 He did so on his own. Now, he didn't like it, 362 00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:59,680 He fought against it. He didn't want to do these things, 363 00:24:00,319 --> 00:24:04,039 but he did them out of a sense of loyalty 364 00:24:04,079 --> 00:24:07,519 to his family, out of a sense of kindness, right 365 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:11,240 versus wrong. Dare I say there is more of a 366 00:24:11,319 --> 00:24:15,720 religious reason for why he's doing these things, an ethical 367 00:24:15,759 --> 00:24:20,200 code that he is following. He's not being forced to 368 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:23,640 give up his dreams of travel and building big bridges 369 00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:25,920 and all of this stuff because the government says, no, 370 00:24:26,079 --> 00:24:28,640 you got to go work for the old building and loan. 371 00:24:30,359 --> 00:24:35,640 And he and his family marry and the kids. Right, 372 00:24:35,759 --> 00:24:38,079 what do they do in the times of trouble is 373 00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:42,640 they turned to God. There was a write up a 374 00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:47,160 couple of years ago by a fella named Jason Fraley 375 00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:53,359 at WTP and he named It's a Wonderful Life as 376 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:55,640 the number one Christmas film of all time. And I 377 00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:57,960 agree with him. It's been my favorite, like I said, 378 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:01,920 for decades. And he wrote about it. He wrote this 379 00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:04,880 about the film, It's become such a fixture in our 380 00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:08,039 homes each holiday season. It's amazing how much Frank Capra's 381 00:25:08,559 --> 00:25:10,960 It's a Wonderful Light still has the ability to shock 382 00:25:11,079 --> 00:25:14,920 viewers with the same reaction quote, I forgot how dark 383 00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:19,960 it is, how serious, how little it actually focuses on Christmas. Indeed, 384 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:23,559 Capra uses the holidays as a framing device for an 385 00:25:23,599 --> 00:25:27,119 in depth character study into one man's life of disappointment, 386 00:25:27,799 --> 00:25:31,319 As critic David Thompson writes, quote, the film that had 387 00:25:31,319 --> 00:25:34,400 failed in nineteen forty seven had become a token of 388 00:25:34,599 --> 00:25:38,599 uplifting fellowship. Yet it was a film noir full of regret, 389 00:25:39,119 --> 00:25:42,799 self pity, and the temptation of suicide. How could so 390 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:47,400 many people convince themselves that it was cheery? The answer 391 00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:51,200 can only be that Capra shines through the darkness with 392 00:25:51,319 --> 00:25:57,200 such blinding truth. It's a fable of mankind's interconnectedness, where 393 00:25:57,279 --> 00:26:00,880 each of us is an irremovable cause in a wheel, 394 00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:04,480 where you can only take that which you have given, 395 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:06,839 and where no man is a failure who has friends. 396 00:26:08,119 --> 00:26:12,799 The infamous Capracorn, as they called it, had finally found 397 00:26:12,799 --> 00:26:17,160 its proper doses, providing proving rather that we need the darkness, 398 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:21,079 to see the light, the lows, to feel the highs, 399 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:25,839 the despair, to feel the inspiration, in my case this 400 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:30,000 past week, sickness, to feel healthy, to appreciate, to be 401 00:26:30,039 --> 00:26:33,799 grateful for your health. Steven Spielberg called it a five 402 00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:38,480 hanky movie tearjerker, saying it's one of the three movies 403 00:26:38,519 --> 00:26:43,640 he watches before shooting every film. It was recently named 404 00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:46,720 in the named the most inspirational film of all time 405 00:26:46,759 --> 00:26:49,480 by the AFI. What better tribute than the fact that 406 00:26:49,519 --> 00:26:52,599 Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart always considered this movie the 407 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:57,400 best film either of them had ever made in their lives. 408 00:26:59,279 --> 00:27:10,680 There was a piece from twenty thirteen I still have it. 409 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:14,640 It's a piece by Matt Lewis written atthweek dot com 410 00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:22,359 and this was republished recently in like twenty fifteen. I 411 00:27:22,359 --> 00:27:25,200 think with the anniversary of Love Actually, which is okay, 412 00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:28,839 movie not safe for kids, but I mean I like 413 00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:30,960 it fine, Christy and I watch that movie every year 414 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:39,519 as well. Different kind of message. But it's a wonderful life. 415 00:27:39,519 --> 00:27:43,039 In contrast to Love Actually, it's a wonderful life Actually 416 00:27:43,039 --> 00:27:47,839 has good lessons ranging from moral to financial to practical. 417 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:53,599 Number One that your life has purpose. One of the 418 00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:57,759 obvious points of the film is that without George Bailey around, 419 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:03,119 so many things would have been different. Right. The impact 420 00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:06,720 of his life stretched far beyond the small town of 421 00:28:06,759 --> 00:28:12,480 Bedford Falls, and so too does yours. Your life. You 422 00:28:12,519 --> 00:28:17,039 have no idea how significant you are in the lives 423 00:28:17,559 --> 00:28:21,880 of other people. You'll never know, Like, you will literally 424 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:25,279 never know what impact you have had on other people. 425 00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:30,160 That's only part of the reason of value your life. Though, 426 00:28:30,160 --> 00:28:33,200 aside from serving others, our lives should be viewed as 427 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:38,240 a gift. Right at exactly ten forty five tonight Earth time, 428 00:28:38,319 --> 00:28:42,400 that man will be seriously thinking of throwing away God's 429 00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:47,000 greatest gift. Oh no, says Clarence, right, like that's talking 430 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:55,519 about suicide. That's the like, that's the gift of your life. 431 00:28:55,599 --> 00:29:00,759 Another lesson keeping up with the Joneses is for or SAPs. 432 00:29:01,839 --> 00:29:06,599 This message message is subtly sprinkled throughout the film. What's 433 00:29:06,599 --> 00:29:08,960 the matter with our car? Remember? Is it a good 434 00:29:09,039 --> 00:29:12,319 enough for you? I don't do a good Jimmy Stewart impression. 435 00:29:12,440 --> 00:29:18,920 Just sorry. George's ambition to be more than he is 436 00:29:20,039 --> 00:29:22,480 creates a lot of his own problems and is the 437 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:25,759 cause for a lot of his restlessness and his unhappiness, 438 00:29:26,039 --> 00:29:29,000 right constantly overlooking all of the things that he has 439 00:29:29,039 --> 00:29:32,160 in his life because he wants to do these other things. 440 00:29:33,079 --> 00:29:35,440 This is what I want. Is not to say you 441 00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:39,440 shouldn't strive to be better, but that maturity requires that 442 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:43,079 you find a balance. Learning to fully appreciate the blessings 443 00:29:43,119 --> 00:29:45,599 we have is a daily struggle for a lot of us. 444 00:29:46,119 --> 00:29:50,200 But most of today's pop culture just reinforces consumerism and 445 00:29:50,319 --> 00:29:55,119 naked ambition. The question is, how are we defining our 446 00:29:55,240 --> 00:30:00,279 worth these days? It's a wonderful life leaves a with 447 00:30:00,359 --> 00:30:04,079 a clear message that no man is a failure who 448 00:30:04,119 --> 00:30:10,839 has friends? Right, So how do you define worth? Your worth? 449 00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:15,519 How do you define your purpose? And are are you 450 00:30:15,559 --> 00:30:18,119 being drawn to a purpose that you don't want to 451 00:30:18,119 --> 00:30:23,839 do but maybe you should? All right, I'll pick it 452 00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:25,799 up there with some more lessons from Matt Lewis, which 453 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:29,480 again I've kept this piece for now twelve years because 454 00:30:29,519 --> 00:30:31,720 I think he hits every one of these lessons right 455 00:30:31,759 --> 00:30:34,160 on the head. All right, if you're listening to this show, 456 00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:35,759 you know I try to keep up with all sorts 457 00:30:35,759 --> 00:30:37,799 of current events, and I know you do too. And 458 00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:41,319 you've probably heard me say get your news from multiple sources. 459 00:30:41,799 --> 00:30:45,039 Why Well, because it's how you detect media bias, which 460 00:30:45,079 --> 00:30:48,000 is why I've been so impressed with ground News. It's 461 00:30:48,119 --> 00:30:51,559 an app and it's a website and it combines news 462 00:30:51,559 --> 00:30:53,480 from around the world in one place so you can 463 00:30:53,559 --> 00:30:56,880 compare coverage and verify information. You can check it out 464 00:30:56,920 --> 00:31:01,559 at check dot ground, dot news slash pete. I put 465 00:31:01,559 --> 00:31:04,519 the link in the podcast description too. I started using 466 00:31:04,519 --> 00:31:07,440 ground News a few months ago and more recently chose 467 00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:09,440 to work with them as an affiliate because it lets 468 00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:13,079 me see clearly how stories get covered and by whom. 469 00:31:13,319 --> 00:31:16,279 The blind spot feature shows you which stories get ignored 470 00:31:16,319 --> 00:31:19,240 by the left and the right. See for yourself check 471 00:31:19,359 --> 00:31:23,839 dot ground, dot news slash pete. Subscribe through that link 472 00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:26,759 and you'll get fifteen percent off any subscription. I use 473 00:31:26,799 --> 00:31:29,920 the Vantage plan to get unlimited access to every feature. 474 00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:32,920 Your subscription then not only helps my podcast, but it 475 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:36,079 also supports ground News as they make the media landscape 476 00:31:36,119 --> 00:31:39,759 more transparent. Going over, it's a wonderful life I was. 477 00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:43,400 I was told that during the week of my near 478 00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:49,559 death flew at also Christmas vacation, that a lot of 479 00:31:49,559 --> 00:31:53,039 the best of shows were all filled with very lighthearted topics, 480 00:31:53,039 --> 00:31:56,000 and then you know, my best of was Raymond Ibrahim 481 00:31:56,039 --> 00:32:00,000 talking about fourteen hundred years of violence between Muslims and Christs. 482 00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:04,920 So okay, so this is me making a meen, but 483 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:07,480 it's not. I usually do this topic every year because 484 00:32:07,519 --> 00:32:09,920 it again, I watch the movie every year and the 485 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:14,240 lessons I think are worth remembering as you start the 486 00:32:14,279 --> 00:32:19,839 new year. In fact, there was another write by Tony Saruga, 487 00:32:20,319 --> 00:32:24,319 who is a substack GUYE whistleblower investigator guy, and he 488 00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:28,519 was talking about It's a Wonderful Life on Twitter and 489 00:32:28,559 --> 00:32:32,720 he said, in connection to the points I made before 490 00:32:32,759 --> 00:32:36,480 the break, he said, the film's deepest insight isn't just 491 00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:38,880 that no man is a failure, who has a failure, 492 00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:43,160 who has friends. It's that real impact is almost always 493 00:32:43,160 --> 00:32:47,240 invisible in the moment. The lives that you steady, the 494 00:32:47,319 --> 00:32:51,839 small kindnesses that you extend, the responsibilities that you shoulder 495 00:32:51,880 --> 00:32:55,839 when nobody else will. These things ripple outward in a 496 00:32:55,880 --> 00:33:00,400 way that you may never see. A strong sense of 497 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:06,880 purpose does not erase pain. It transforms it. The sense 498 00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:11,039 of purpose transforms pain. It doesn't merely explain why hard 499 00:33:11,119 --> 00:33:15,279 things happened. It asks what are you now responsible for 500 00:33:15,359 --> 00:33:19,680 because they did happen. Faith at its best does the same. 501 00:33:20,079 --> 00:33:23,039 It doesn't promise that everything was meant to be in 502 00:33:23,119 --> 00:33:26,599 order to make suffering palatable. It invites you to look 503 00:33:26,599 --> 00:33:29,039 at what has been entrusted to you in light of 504 00:33:29,079 --> 00:33:33,079 what you have endured. He says. Georgie's story reminds us 505 00:33:33,079 --> 00:33:37,000 that meaning is rarely found in the grand escape, but 506 00:33:37,079 --> 00:33:42,640 in the faithful presence sticking around. The dreams we surrender 507 00:33:42,759 --> 00:33:45,880 don't always vanish. They often become the raw material for 508 00:33:45,960 --> 00:33:49,440 something more enduring than we even imagined. If you are 509 00:33:49,519 --> 00:33:53,279 carrying the weight of roads not taken, of dreams deferred, 510 00:33:53,599 --> 00:33:56,200 of a life that feels smaller than you once hoped, 511 00:33:56,960 --> 00:34:03,279 watch this movie not as nostalgia but as revelation. You 512 00:34:03,359 --> 00:34:05,839 may not see the full difference that you have made yet, 513 00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:09,280 but it is there, and it matters more than you know. 514 00:34:11,559 --> 00:34:16,840 Another lesson from Matt lewis bad guys don't always get punished. 515 00:34:17,880 --> 00:34:20,800 And this has been when I read this twelve years ago, 516 00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:25,960 Like this one has stuck with me ever since. Nothing 517 00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:29,599 bad happens to Potter. He gets to keep Uncle Billy's 518 00:34:29,719 --> 00:34:36,719 envelope of cash. Spoiler alert, The movie deserves credit for 519 00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:40,280 not solving every problem with the tinkling of a bell. 520 00:34:41,920 --> 00:34:43,840 Did you know that in the nineteen forties the Motion 521 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:49,880 Picture Production Code definitely stipulated that criminals must be punished 522 00:34:49,880 --> 00:34:53,400 for their crimes. That was part of the rules. If 523 00:34:53,440 --> 00:34:55,159 you were making a movie, you had to do that. 524 00:34:56,199 --> 00:34:58,840 And the case has been made that mister Potter might 525 00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:03,719 have been guilty of lars. In addition to avoiding a 526 00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:06,239 predictably sappy trope, By the way, there is an alternate 527 00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:09,199 ending that they found. It was first aired I don't know, 528 00:35:09,239 --> 00:35:14,039 probably about ten or fifteen years ago. You can find 529 00:35:14,039 --> 00:35:18,039 it too if you find just Google. It's a wonderful life. 530 00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:23,760 Alternate ending Saturday Night Live, where Uncle Billy remembers that 531 00:35:23,880 --> 00:35:27,039 Potter took the envelope and they go and they they 532 00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:30,800 drag them through the streets. Anyway, in addition to avoiding 533 00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:33,840 a predictably sappy trophe, he says, Capra also reminded us 534 00:35:33,880 --> 00:35:39,840 that sometimes bad people get away with doing bad things. Also, 535 00:35:40,199 --> 00:35:44,559 this is a very good lesson too. Don't hire someone 536 00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:49,559 just because their family. This is admittedly more of a 537 00:35:49,599 --> 00:35:53,480 practical maxim but with all the touchy feely lessons in 538 00:35:53,519 --> 00:35:56,719 the film, it's important to cull some not so obvious 539 00:35:56,760 --> 00:36:00,519 and not so pleasant realities as well. Uncle Billy, the 540 00:36:00,559 --> 00:36:05,800 brother of George's father, nearly ruined the business. He drank 541 00:36:05,880 --> 00:36:08,199 on the job. He didn't really seem to be a 542 00:36:08,320 --> 00:36:13,000 very productive employee, you know, even in the best of times. 543 00:36:15,239 --> 00:36:17,599 He had too many wild animals in his house too. 544 00:36:17,800 --> 00:36:20,320 Like there's probably a lesson about like raby shots in 545 00:36:20,360 --> 00:36:24,400 there too. So just because he's your uncle, if the 546 00:36:24,400 --> 00:36:26,840 guy's drinking on the job and losing thousands of dollars 547 00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:31,440 risking your very liberty, probably not wise to keep him 548 00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:37,880 on the payroll. Also, appreciate how blessed you already are, 549 00:36:38,079 --> 00:36:39,960 which is kind of related to an earlier point. But 550 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:46,119 his whole perspective, Bailey's whole perspective changes, right, because the 551 00:36:46,159 --> 00:36:50,800 stuff that does matter, family, friends, faith, right has now 552 00:36:50,880 --> 00:36:53,719 risen to such pre eminence in his life that all 553 00:36:53,800 --> 00:37:00,119 the rest of it doesn't matter. Here's another lesson, how 554 00:37:00,239 --> 00:37:04,440 to deliver a good toast. Remember when Martini moves into 555 00:37:04,480 --> 00:37:07,440 the house, may help him move his help move Martini 556 00:37:07,480 --> 00:37:10,840 into the house and into one of the Bailey homes. 557 00:37:11,039 --> 00:37:15,480 And they give the toast. George and Mary deliver a 558 00:37:15,519 --> 00:37:19,679 toast bread that this house may never know hunger, salt, 559 00:37:19,800 --> 00:37:23,159 that life may always have flavor and wine, that joy 560 00:37:23,159 --> 00:37:28,719 and prosperity may rain forever. That's a good toast. You 561 00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:31,360 might want to like commit that to memory or something 562 00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:33,599 for the next housewarming. I mean, you could swap out 563 00:37:34,239 --> 00:37:37,159 the bread and salt, not the wine, obviously, but you 564 00:37:37,159 --> 00:37:38,920 could swap out the bread and salt for something else. 565 00:37:38,960 --> 00:37:41,000 But like, it's a good toast. Should always have a 566 00:37:41,039 --> 00:37:43,880 good toast, you know, ready to go. And no I'm 567 00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:45,840 not talking about the toast that you gave in college 568 00:37:45,880 --> 00:37:51,360 at the drinking game. Okay. Also, marry the right person. 569 00:37:53,039 --> 00:37:56,519 George's mother in the movie tells him that Mary is 570 00:37:56,559 --> 00:37:59,920 the quote kind who will help you find your answers. 571 00:38:01,159 --> 00:38:03,440 Mary was in town all along, right under his nose 572 00:38:03,480 --> 00:38:06,360 the whole time. Once they get married, she sticks with 573 00:38:06,440 --> 00:38:10,320 him through thick and thin. Romance is one of the themes 574 00:38:10,239 --> 00:38:12,679 in the film, but not the dominant theme like it 575 00:38:12,719 --> 00:38:15,800 is in the movie Love Actually, and the romance between 576 00:38:15,800 --> 00:38:20,920 Mary and George is deeper and more palpable. Matt Lewis says, 577 00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:24,119 I would argue This is because real romantic love transcends 578 00:38:24,159 --> 00:38:27,960 the superficial love at first sight belooney that Hollywood sells us. 579 00:38:28,599 --> 00:38:33,159 Now I have added to this list, I would add, 580 00:38:33,760 --> 00:38:36,440 you know, don't mouth off to a stranger in a 581 00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:40,119 bar unless you want to get your face punched. That's 582 00:38:40,159 --> 00:38:44,719 a good lesson from the movie as well. Also a 583 00:38:44,800 --> 00:38:48,039 lesson after watching it this year, I noticed this for 584 00:38:48,119 --> 00:38:50,880 the first time. I've seen it obviously dozens of times, 585 00:38:50,880 --> 00:38:55,280 but for some reason, I never really thought about it 586 00:38:55,360 --> 00:38:58,000 much when i'd seen it before. But this year I 587 00:38:58,079 --> 00:39:00,519 noticed it, and I thought, this is a lesson we 588 00:39:00,559 --> 00:39:03,800 should take from this movie, which is, don't be like Bert, 589 00:39:03,880 --> 00:39:08,920 the cop who shoots wildly into a crowd in order 590 00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:13,119 to gun down George Bailey in the street as he's 591 00:39:13,159 --> 00:39:16,320 running away. Like, first off, you're shooting a guy who's 592 00:39:16,400 --> 00:39:19,840 running away, And what did he do to warrant you 593 00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:24,440 to shoot him? Nothing? Like he didn't like he was 594 00:39:24,440 --> 00:39:26,039 trying to get away. He's like, I'll get out of 595 00:39:26,039 --> 00:39:28,400 my way, Bert, although I do think he punched Burt. Okay, 596 00:39:28,400 --> 00:39:31,559 So there's another lesson. Don't punch a cop or you'll 597 00:39:31,559 --> 00:39:35,800 get shot at Two good lessons from that one interaction 598 00:39:36,760 --> 00:39:38,719 because that as Bailey runs down the street, Burt just 599 00:39:38,760 --> 00:39:41,360 starts shooting out. He's just like firing his gun down 600 00:39:41,360 --> 00:39:43,239 the street. I'm like, what is he doing? He could 601 00:39:43,320 --> 00:39:47,840 kill somebody. But that's Pottersville, you know, it's a whole 602 00:39:47,880 --> 00:39:53,239 different world than Bedford Falls. Spencer Claven he said, there's 603 00:39:53,320 --> 00:39:57,400 no such thing as true schmaltz. Oh sorry, there is 604 00:39:57,480 --> 00:40:00,679 such a thing as true schmaltz. And it's unendurable, right, 605 00:40:00,760 --> 00:40:05,639 it's insufferable true schmaltz. But then there are sincerities so 606 00:40:05,800 --> 00:40:09,960 tender and true that C. S. Lewis says, we take 607 00:40:10,039 --> 00:40:13,880 our revenge on them by calling them names like sentimentalism 608 00:40:14,199 --> 00:40:18,480 and naivete. People do this to the movie. It's a 609 00:40:18,519 --> 00:40:21,880 wonderful life. People smear it. They make fun of it, 610 00:40:22,280 --> 00:40:27,119 not because it's too saccharin, but because it is too profound. 611 00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:33,039 It touches deeper where we hurt more. It touches deeper 612 00:40:33,079 --> 00:40:35,960 than we care to admit. And I think that's why 613 00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:40,800 people bash this movie. Although I have noticed there are 614 00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:43,800 way fewer people that are willing to do so publicly 615 00:40:43,880 --> 00:40:48,400 now than I remember twenty years ago. All right, that'll 616 00:40:48,440 --> 00:40:51,079 do it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. 617 00:40:51,199 --> 00:40:53,320 I could not do the show without your support and 618 00:40:53,400 --> 00:40:56,079 the support of the businesses that advertise on the podcast, 619 00:40:56,440 --> 00:40:58,519 so if you'd like, please support them too and tell 620 00:40:58,559 --> 00:41:00,199 them you heard it here. You can also be become 621 00:41:00,239 --> 00:41:04,000 a patron at my Patreon page or go to thepetecleanershow 622 00:41:04,119 --> 00:41:06,639 dot com. Again, thank you so much for listening, and 623 00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:12,360 don't break anything while I'm gone.