In the thirty-second episode of The Pop Culture Lens podcast, Christopher Olson and CarrieLynn Reinhard welcome friend of the podcast Kadee Whaley to discuss the classic Christmas movie, It’s a Wonderful Life (1946).

In this episode, the three discuss the nature of the Christmas genre, as represented in this Frank Capra film that has become seminal for the Christmas season in the United States. Capra’s conservative ideology is compared to the film’s messages, which at times support his views, but at other times appear to support a socialist perspective that contradicts his beliefs. The discussion considers the film’s position as a piece of Americana, and how its messages work to produce the mythology of the United States and normalize the American culture for its immigrant citizens.

If you want to listen to Matt Singer in the podcast that Christopher referenced in this episode, then you can find it here.

Many thanks goes out to production assistant, Jean-Michel Berthiaume, for helping produce this episode.

As always, you are encouraged to become a part of this conversation by visiting any of the podcast’s social media sites. You can also talk with Christopher Olson on Twitter (@chrstphrolson) and at his academic blog seemsobvioustome.wordpress.com. And you can talk to CarrieLynn Reinhard on Twitter (@mediaoracle).