Slate Money Goes to the Movies: It’s a Wonderful Life

Podcast: Slate Money
Episode Date: April 12, 2022
Host: Felix Salmon
Co-hosts: Emily Peck, Cathy O’Neil (guest)

Episode Overview

This episode of Slate Money Goes to the Movies takes on Frank Capra’s beloved classic, It’s a Wonderful Life, dissecting its story through the lens of banking, community, capitalism, and the intersectionality of America’s past. Hosts Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and guest Cathy O’Neil examine the economic and social messages at the heart of the film, exploring themes such as good vs. bad banking, the role and evolution of credit, community solidarity, and the complications of privilege, race, and gender in postwar America. The discussion blends sharp analysis with humor and nostalgia, relevant for both fans of the film and those curious about its enduring legacy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Movie as a Parable About Banking and Community

• The Unique Choice of Protagonist:
  The decision to center the story on a banker (George Bailey) was a late addition to the script, repurposing Dickensian redemption within a capitalist context.

  “The decision to make our hero the custodian ... of this little building society, I think happened like, quite a few ways into revisions.” (Felix, 01:56)

• Money vs. Other “Currencies”:
  The crux of the film isn’t just about money—it’s about measuring worth through community, family, and goodwill as alternative “currencies” to cash.

  “What is a man’s worth?... constantly contrasting the concept of money as a way of measuring yourself versus other currencies, other social types of currencies like family and friends.” (Cathy, 02:45)

• Redemption Through Generosity:
  The classic film trope of finding happiness by giving away money is central to George's journey.

  “That theme ... the way you achieve nobility in this life is by giving away money rather than hoarding it... up until the very end.” (Felix, 04:39)
  “The second one is the very last line of the movie, I believe, which is like, ‘You're the richest man here. You're the richest man alive.’ Which isn't about money, right? It's about his family and his friends coming together to care for him.” (Cathy, 25:51)

Historical and Policy Context

• Setting and Real-Life History:
  The story is set during the Depression through WWII but was made as a postwar film, reflecting evolving societal hopes and anxieties, such as the desire for communitarianism over capitalism.

  “He put it into two different historical contexts ... starts in the Depression and goes up to past the war and then where the movie's made, which is post the war... this movie is ... a movie about what is the real purpose of money versus community.” (Cathy, 09:02)

• Building & Loan vs. Bank:
  The distinction between George’s Building & Loan and Potter’s bank is meaningful, reflecting the pre-FDIC regulatory environment and the emergence of federal mortgage guarantees—still exclusionary along racial lines.

  “This movie was made like more or less during the war ... outside a handful of credit unions, this kind of personal relationship banking with normal people doesn't really exist anymore.” (Felix, 12:17 - 17:07)
  “We had the guaranteed for white people mortgages.” (Emily, 13:17)

Inequities and Intersectionality

• Race, Gender, and Exclusion:
  The podcast calls out the film’s racism and sexism, noting the invisibility of Black people in the lending system and the impossibility for women, even white women, to get credit.

  “Can we just acknowledge just the problematic nature of the maid in the story? In sort of every single scene that she appeared, it was embarrassing and very cringy.” (Cathy, 14:26)
  “I think back in those days it was actually impossible for women to get a mortgage, whether they were black or white.” (Felix, 14:38)

• Mary’s Fate & Gender Norms:
  Alternative realities for female characters reveal the era’s narrow expectations:

  “The horrifying alternative reality for Mary... was to become a librarian. And I was just like, wow. You know, wow. That's the worst case scenario, I suppose.” (Cathy, 14:53)

Modern Banking, Algorithms, and Fairness

• Bankers, Bias, and Algorithms:
  The contrast between trusting a local banker (“you're a good person, here's a loan”) and today's automated credit scores emerges.

  “Nowadays ... there is no lending officer who can basically say, you're a good person, I believe in you. Here's a mortgage. It's all done by some algorithm somewhere.” (Felix, 17:07)

  The hosts discuss how credit scoring replaced old prejudices but created new ones:

  “FICO scores were invented as a response to that legislation to make things, to make it possible for bankers to still make loans… And once FICO scores were invented, they got scaled up massively ... for uses outside of loans.” (Cathy, 18:50 - 20:41)

  “It privileged people whose Facebook friends were wealthy people, obviously. So it was like, I'm going to give you a hand up, but only some of you.” (Cathy, 21:46)

• Pros and Cons of Algorithmic Lending:
  Human discretion “feels nice” but perpetuates bias; algorithms are not perfect either.

  “It's a question of, like, choosing your poison, right?” (Felix, 17:07)

Memorable, Lighter Moments

• The Crow and Uncle Billy:
  The oddities of the film’s set pieces, like Uncle Billy’s animals, provoked amusement and head-scratching:

  “Why is there a crow in the bank? ... I read online the crow symbolizes death and the bank is gonna die.” (Emily, 23:19)
  “You have to take over your father's business even though it's not a good business, et cetera. Because there are things more important than money and business, right?” (Emily, 23:41)

• Crying at the Finale:
  Despite their critical commentary, all hosts confessed to the film’s emotional power:

  “That is beautiful.” (Cathy, 26:08)
  “I cried. We all cry.” (Felix, 31:18)

• Black-and-White vs. Color Debate:
  Emily inadvertently watched the colorized version—and then relented.

  “It's better in black and white. I mean, it looks weird. The colorized version does look weird. The lighting is strange. But I still cried and everything and enjoyed the film 100%.” (Emily, 31:46)

Capitalism, Communitarianism, and Legacy

• Is the Film Communist? Or Capitalist?
  The hosts debate whether the film is fundamentally anti-capitalist or just imagines a more humane, stake-holder-driven capitalism:

  “It's not that we don't have Potters anymore. It's just that they're not considered mainstream bankers.” (Cathy, 15:44)
  “It really is. It's capitalist. There's a lot of capitalism going on there... I think it's oversimplifying to say that it's communist.” (Felix, 34:24)

• Legacy and Public Domain Status:
  The film’s current status as a heartwarming holiday staple is owed to a copyright lapse in 1974, which led to its proliferation on TV:

  “It wasn't commercially particularly successful until the studio somehow... let the copyright lapse... then it appeared on television every Christmas and then everyone started to love it.” (Felix, 36:08)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Lines

• On Generosity and Worth:
  “I'm worth more dead than alive ... That's the first instantiation of that concept of what is a man worth. And then the second one is the very last line of the movie, I believe, which is like, 'You're the richest man here. You're the richest man alive.'” (Cathy, 24:24 & 25:57)

• On Social Progress & Exclusion:
  “Speaking of white people, can we just acknowledge just the problematic nature of the maid in the story? In sort of every single scene that she appeared, it was embarrassing and very cringy.” (Cathy, 14:26)

• On Dreams and Privilege:
  “Instead of shitting on this movie because the white guy got to have a dream, we should just be like, everyone deserved that dream. Right? Like, we should raise the level rather than lower our levels.” (Cathy, 30:55)

• On Crying at the Movie:
  “I cried. We all cry.” (Felix, 31:18)

• On Its Place in the Canon:
  “It's heartwarming. It's ridiculous. It's anachronistic. But, like, at the end of the day, super entertaining and warm. Like, gives you warm fuzzies in the best way.” (Emily, 38:07)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:20] Cathy O’Neil explains her love for the film and its financial curiosity
• [02:45] The symbolic importance of banks and alternative currencies
• [04:39] Redemption in film—happiness through giving, George Bailey’s sacrifices
• [09:02] Historical context: Depression, WWII veterans, communitarian spirit
• [12:17] Building & Loan vs. Bank: differences, real-life implications, FDIC
• [14:26] Racial and gender exclusions in housing and credit
• [17:07] Evolution of personal banking to algorithmic lending and its consequences
• [21:46] Social underwriting and bias: Lending Club and new credit models
• [23:19] Lighter side: crows, Uncle Billy, and awkward family business
• [25:51] The finale—“richest man in town” and emotional impact
• [31:46] Colorized vs. black-and-white debate
• [34:24] Capitalism, communitarianism, and the film’s ideological complexity
• [36:08] Public domain, legacy as a TV classic

Tone and Takeaways

• The hosts balance affectionate nostalgia with sharp, critical analysis, unafraid to call out the film’s limitations while recognizing its emotional pull.
• They blend humor and personal anecdotes with historical and policy observations, making the conversation approachable and thought-provoking.
• The central message: It’s a Wonderful Life offers a lens into American values—the constant tension between individual ambition, community obligation, structural inequality, and the search for real “worth” beyond money.

For listeners: This episode is a rich and lively exploration of a Hollywood classic, robustly analyzed for its social, economic, and cultural currents—guaranteed to deepen your next viewing of George Bailey and Bedford Falls.