It's a Wonderful Life election. The angel shows him Bedford Falls as it would have been not if he had never been born, but as it would have been if he had gone into business instead of politics. Seneca Falls, New York, claims that when Frank Capra visited their town in 1945, he was inspired to model Bedford Falls after it. The town has an annual "It's a Wonderful Life Festival" in December. In mid-2009, The Hotel Clarence opened in Seneca Falls, named for George Bailey's guardian angel. On December 10, 2010, the "It's a Wonderful Life" Museum opened in Seneca Falls, with Karolyn
It's a Wonderful Life dreams, of seeing your father driven to the grave before his time, of living among bitter, small-minded people. It is a story of being trapped, of compromising, of watching others move ahead and away, of becoming so filled with rage that you verbally abuse your children, their teacher, and your oppressively perfect wife." In a 2010 Salon.com piece, Richard Cohen described "It's a Wonderful Life" as "the most terrifying Hollywood film ever made". In the "Pottersville" sequence, he wrote, George is not seeing the world that would exist had he never been born, but rather "the world as it does