it's a wonderful life

Mr. Gower, an old man, takes in what the young George Bailey tells him. They are surrounded by drug and pill bottles. The scene is in black and white.

The memories of a deadly pandemic hidden in one of America's most beloved films

Art about pandemics and plagues rarely gets made after the fact. Yet here's the Spanish flu in It's a Wonderful Life.

George Bailey stands on a bridge, dusted with snow, contemplating jumping off it. His eyes are wide.

PTSD

It's a Wonderful Life and PTSD

When you are in the throes of a traumatic flashback, trauma therapists recommend a practice called "grounding." In grounding, the person who needs to be pulled back to reality is encouraged to look around and pick out an object to describe in detail. I, for instance, am looking