Cultural censorship surrounding Christmas has been on the rise in recent generations, as evidenced by the increased use of secular imagery and generic wishes of “happy holidays.”
For that reason, many Americans gravitate toward classic works like the 1946 film “It’s A Wonderful Life.” But many of those who sat down to watch the familiar Jimmy Stewart movie on Amazon Prime were in for a jarring experience, as Breitbart explained:
In the “Potterswville scene” of the film, George tells Clarence the angel that he is worth more to his family and friends dead than he is alive. Clarence then tells George that he must earn his wings and proceeds to show George what the world would have been like if George Bailey never existed.
The scenes that Clarence reveals to him showing the world without him leads George to the realization this his life has been important to the ones he loves and that epiphany causes him to run back into his home town filled with love and the Christmas spirit.
But not when Amazon Prime got involved. Fans of the film are aghast that the streaming service cut out a key part of that plot above, the Daily Mail reported.
In the Amazon Prime “abridged” version of this classic film, the scene goes from Clarence telling George his has to earn his wings to George running through the streets of Bedford Falls in delirious happiness, resolved to renew his zest for life, all without showing viewers why he made that key turn around from crestfallen and suicidal to joy and happiness.
The conspicuous edit drew an array of social media responses:
Just beyond awful. pic.twitter.com/sGNdLOQCpI
— Germain Lussier (@GermainLussier) December 24, 2024
That is like… the entire point of the movie? That’s like they removed the Death Star run from a new hope and just showed s foils into attack position and then cut to it blowing up! Or the medals scene! Literally insane.
— Michael (@mdanderson) December 24, 2024
Political correctness destroying art and tradition!
Amazon Prime slammed for removing main scene of It's A Wonderful Life
https://t.co/R2Z0cGhJLp— Jean (@jeaniegirlTN) December 24, 2024
🇺🇸 AMAZON PRIME BUTCHERS CHRISTMAS CLASSIC
Amazon Prime's "abridged" version of It's A Wonderful Life removes the entire Pottersville sequence—the pivotal moment where George Bailey sees a world without him.
The cut jumps straight from his suicidal thoughts to his joyful… pic.twitter.com/GlBgjMFFRw
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) December 25, 2024
For its part, Amazon Prime Studios did respond to the criticism and offered excuses that didn’t stem the tide of backlash, as reported by the Daily Mail:
Amazon Prime has clarified that the full version of the film still remains on their platform.
Moreover, it appears the version of the film was released following a copyright dispute regarding the scene, which was based on a short story.
However, this was not enough for many of the movie’s fans, who claimed the abridged version was the one easiest to find on the platform.
One X user wrote: ‘Why do you need an ‘abridged’ version of this? The original is fine. It’s on streaming.
‘You can pause or fast-forward or stop watching if you get bored. Why does this exist?’
Another added: ‘Ok let’s make the polar express but without the train parts. And die hard but without Hans gruber.’
ADVERTISEMENT
Here’s some additional commentary about the controversial decision:
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!