My Favorite Film Superhero

For those of you who have enjoyed (or suffered through) my last few blog entries on movie superheroes, you will be excited to know that this is my final entry on the subject. Based on the titles alone, you would think that I am a huge comic book fan. Surprisingly, I am not. Although I enjoy a great deal of comic book movies, I have never read a comic nor have ever been that interested in the genre. I could not tell you backgrounds or histories of any comic book character except the obvious details or what has been revealed in movies or some television cartoons. I simply enjoy good movies about good people who stand as examples for good in this day and age when true heroes are often lacking in the media.

Because of the reasons explained in the previous entries, comic book heroes are well-known symbols of the traits we all strive for. That being said, my favorite film superhero is not to be found in any comic book (at least that I am aware of). In fact, he is not even to be found in color. He does not wear a cape, does not have super powers, and cannot afford to buy gadgets or fame like Ironman or Batman. He is not a genius, and does not even like what he does each and every day of his life. He is not big or strong or physically gifted; instead, he is deaf in one ear. Few of us would probably choose to live his life if given the opportunity. Yet I have never looked up to any other movie character more than I look up to him. Who is he? George Bailey.

For those who don't recognize the name or the face (other than perhaps that the character is played by Jimmy Stewart), George Bailey is the main character in Frank Kapra's timeless masterpiece "It's a Wonderful Life." Although billed as a holiday movie because of the time that the movie was released (and the brief role that Christmas plays as a backdrop), the movie is in fact wonderful to view at any time of the year. In fact, I often watch the movie before big events in my life (finals, bar exams, etc.) in order to remind myself of what my ultimate goals really are.

George Bailey was not a hero for any one great act he committed, but for the constant personal desires that he was willing to give up in order to do the right thing and help those around him. George's calling was not admirable--he had no great powers or influence in the city of Bedford Falls. Instead, he ran his father's nickle-and-dime Building and Loan that allowed the poorer individuals in the city get into their own home. He never had much money, and lived in a run-down house that he and his wife spent years trying to renovate. Although a content life, such did not live up to George's dreams. From his youth, George wanted to travel abroad, attend college, and build stuff. Looking at what his life became, George was constantly saddened that he had never left his "crummy little town."

Yet it was precisely George's dreams, combined with his willingness to forgo such things in order to help his family and neighbors, that makes Mr. Bailey such a powerful character and example. George did not travel abroad because his father died and he chose to forgo his trip to put his affairs in order. George did not go to college in order to save the Building and Loan from falling into the hands of the wicked and self-gluttonous Mr. Potter. George never left the town to find a new job to allow his brother to get a good job with a manufacturing company. George did not even get a honeymoon because he spent all of his money keeping the Building and Loan from failing when the stock market crashed. What made George incredible wasn't all that he had done, it was all he did not do in order to serve those around him.

In perhaps my favorite scene of the entire movie, George goes to Mr. Potter in order to beg for a loan. His uncle had accidentally lost the money deposit that the Building and Loan needed to keep its books straight. Yet when George approached Mr. Potter, he instinctively took the blame for the lost money despite his own innocence. He risked ruin and jail instead of ratting out his brain-dead uncle. It is this sort of selflessness that gets lost in today's world, where every individual and corporation's actions are designed to avoid liability even at the cost of the greater good.

Whenever I need inspiration, I put in our copy of "It's a Wonderful Life." In George Bailey's example, I can remind myself of what is truly important: that real heroes are not made by great acts, but by the small and simple things that help those in need at the time they most need it. Most of us will not likely leave a legacy that will be recorded in history books. Instead, our legacies will be written in the minds and memories of those whom we have the pleasure of coming into contact with. I always find it worth while to consider what kind of legacy I am leaving.

At the end of "It's a Wonderful Life," George Bailey was hailed as the richest man in Bedford Falls. He was rich not because he was financially wealthy but because he had won the hearts of all those who had the pleasure of knowing him. Now that truly is wealth that we should all aspire to.