The beloved Christmas film It’s a Wonderful Life contains hidden racial and “bigoted” messages, according to a progressive college professor who argues that the fictional town of Bedford Falls is unrealistically white.
James Deaville, a music professor at Carleton University in Canada, criticized the classic movie’s score, claiming it embeds racist elements.
“If you listen closely to the sounds of the film, that’s where the racism appears — in the music,” Deaville told The Post.
A progressive college professor claims the beloved Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life contains hidden racial and “bigoted” messages.
The film stars James Stewart as George Bailey, a man driven to the brink of suicide on Christmas Eve. He is stopped by his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody, played by Henry Travers, who shows him what the town of Bedford Falls would look like had he never existed.
In that alternate reality, the once-wholesome community becomes “Pottersville,” a grim landscape of nightclubs, drunks, and general disorder.
But James Deaville, an author and Carleton University professor who lectures on music and sound in film, argues that the problem lies not just in the story — but in the movie’s music, which he claims sends the wrong message.
James Deaville, a music professor at Carleton University in Canada, criticized the timeless film’s soundtrack, arguing that it contains elements of “racism.”
He pointed to the contrast between the two versions of the town, noting that Pottersville is accompanied by boogie-woogie and jazz — which he described as a Black musical style — while the idyllic Bedford Falls features the song “Buffalo Gals,” a traditional folk tune associated with white culture.
Deaville also complained that Bedford Falls is depicted as overwhelmingly white, aside from a single Black housekeeper, and went so far as to label director and producer Frank Capra a racist.
His remarks have sparked backlash among fans of the film. Conservative commentator Matt Margolis said he was outraged after learning that an academic had accused the classic of harboring “secret racial and bigoted” messages.
Despite the criticism, It’s a Wonderful Life remains widely celebrated and has been recognized by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 greatest American films ever made.
