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Abstract

It's A Wonderful Life is both a sentimental holiday entertainment and a serious examination of a search for meaning and spiritual fulfillment. As a psychodrama that externalizes George Bailey's values and desires in the surrounding characters, the film creates a narrative we can easily relate to, but arranged as an archetypal journey that reveals a deeper spiritual significance by identifying George with Christ's quest for salvation. The increased psychodramatic density, combined with the archetypal structure, transforms a sentimental holiday entertainment into a serious work of art with lasting religious and spiritual meaning, thereby accounting for its enduring popularity.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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